Understanding Permission Levels

Learn about the different permission levels available for team members in SupportRetriever.

Permission Overview

SupportRetriever offers three main permission levels:

  1. Admin - Full access
  2. View Conversations - Read-only access
  3. Reply to Conversations - Read and write access

Admin Permission

What It Includes

Full access to all features:

  • ✅ View all conversations
  • ✅ Reply to all conversations
  • ✅ Manage team members
  • ✅ Access all settings
  • ✅ View statistics
  • ✅ Manage forms

When to Use

Grant admin permission to:

  • Team leads or managers
  • Trusted team members who need full access
  • Users who manage the account
Note: Admin permission gives complete access. Only grant this to trusted team members.

View Conversations Permission

What It Includes

Read-only access to conversations:

  • ✅ View conversations
  • ✅ See message history
  • ✅ View metadata
  • ❌ Cannot reply
  • ❌ Cannot manage settings
  • ❌ Cannot manage team

When to Use

Grant view permission to:

  • Team members who need to monitor conversations
  • Managers reviewing support quality
  • Analysts studying customer interactions
  • Read-only observers

Reply to Conversations Permission

What It Includes

Read and write access:

  • ✅ View conversations (automatically included)
  • ✅ Reply to conversations
  • ✅ Send messages to customers
  • ✅ Use saved replies
  • ❌ Cannot manage team
  • ❌ Cannot change settings

When to Use

Grant reply permission to:

  • Support agents who respond to customers
  • Team members handling day-to-day support
  • Anyone who needs to communicate with customers

Permission Hierarchy

Permissions follow a hierarchy:

Admin
  └─ Includes everything

Reply to Conversations
  └─ Includes View Conversations

View Conversations
  └─ Read-only access

Permission Combinations

You can only assign one permission level per team member:

  • Admin - Cannot also have View or Reply (already includes both)
  • Reply - Automatically includes View (cannot have View separately)
  • View - Standalone read-only access

Changing Permissions

To change a team member's permissions:

  1. Remove the team member
  2. Add them again with new permissions

Or update permissions through the team management interface if available.

Permission Display

Team members see their permissions in:

  • Conversation views (if they can reply)
  • Settings page (their access level)
  • Error messages (if they lack required permissions)

Example Scenarios

Small Team

  • Owner: Admin
  • Support Agent: Reply to Conversations
  • Manager: View Conversations (for oversight)

Large Team

  • Team Lead: Admin
  • Senior Agents: Reply to Conversations
  • Junior Agents: Reply to Conversations
  • Analyst: View Conversations
  • Manager: View Conversations

Solo with Help

  • Owner: Admin
  • Assistant: Reply to Conversations (handles responses)
  • Consultant: View Conversations (periodic review)

Security Considerations

  • Permissions are enforced at the API level
  • Users cannot access features they don't have permission for
  • Permission changes take effect immediately
  • Removed team members lose access immediately

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