What “private” actually changes
On WordPress.com, privacy is a site-wide setting, not a per-post toggle. You find it under Settings, Reading, Site Visibility, and it applies to a site that has already been launched. Once private, visitors must be approved, logged-in WordPress.com users to see the site.
WordPress.com offers Private under Settings, Reading, Site Visibility for launched sites; private sites require approved logged-in WordPress.com users. Source
Two boundaries matter before you touch the setting:
- One private post is a different tool. A single post set to private is a content-level choice. Making the whole site private changes who can reach every page, feed and archive.
- Self-hosted WordPress is out of scope. The Settings, Reading, Site Visibility path described here is a WordPress.com feature. A self-hosted install is governed by its own configuration, which this guide does not cover.
Audit before you switch
Changing visibility is easy to do and awkward to undo quietly. Work through this checklist first and record what you find, so you can tell later whether anything changed for the wrong people.
| Check | Why it matters | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds viewer roles | They will be the people still able to see a private site | Names, roles, date added |
| Who is invited versus subscribed | The documentation treats invited viewers and subscribers as distinct groups | Which list each person is on |
| Newsletter list size and source | Subscribers may expect email even when the site is gated | Count, signup source, last send date |
| Plugin-dependent features | Privacy mode can affect some Jetpack features | Which features you rely on today |
| Media and embeds already public | Privacy changes future access, not copies others already hold | Known shares, downloads, embeds |
The documentation distinguishes invited viewers from subscribers, and it notes a plugin-side consequence worth planning for.
The private-site documentation distinguishes invited viewers and subscribers and notes that privacy mode can disable certain Jetpack features on plugin-enabled sites. Source
If you run Jetpack-connected features, list them before the switch and confirm afterwards which still behave as expected. Do not make the site public again purely to rescue a plugin; treat that as a separate troubleshooting question with its own cause.
Decide who should keep access
Use the audit to sort people into three buckets before you change anything:
- Keep as approved viewers. People who genuinely need the site and will log in with a WordPress.com account.
- Move to newsletter only. People who want your emails but do not need the site itself. Confirm what they will still receive.
- Remove. Former collaborators, test accounts and anyone who should not retain access.
Write down the decision per person or per group. A private site with a stale viewer list is private in name only.
Switch visibility and verify the result
- Confirm the site is launched, since the setting is described for launched sites.
- Go to Settings, Reading, Site Visibility and select Private.
- Save, then open the site in a logged-out browser window. You should not see the site content.
- Log in as an approved viewer and confirm the pages you expect are reachable.
- Check each Jetpack-dependent feature on your pre-switch list and note what changed.
- Send a short note to subscribers explaining what they will and will not see from now on.
Limits worth stating plainly
- Historical copies are not recalled. Making a site private does not promise that screenshots, saved pages, feed readers or third-party copies disappear. Do not tell anyone otherwise.
- Privacy is not deletion. Gating access is a visibility change, not removal of stored content.
- Subscriber access is not site access. Being on a newsletter list does not by itself make someone an approved viewer.
- Plugin behaviour can shift. Some Jetpack features may be disabled in privacy mode on plugin-enabled sites; verify rather than assume.
Where a username check fits, and where it does not
If, during the audit, you find a public username you want to look up, TraceSeek can search 3,000+ platforms and return a free first scan in roughly 20-30 seconds. It reports public matches as leads, not proof of ownership, and it cannot sign in to accounts, change privacy settings or confirm anyone’s real identity. It is not a way to see private accounts and it does not erase anything.
Common failure paths
| Symptom | Likely cause | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| A colleague can still see the site | They are an approved logged-in viewer | Review the viewer list, not the privacy toggle |
| A subscriber says they lost access | Subscriber status was mistaken for viewer approval | Explain the difference and decide whether to invite them |
| A Jetpack feature stopped working | Privacy mode on a plugin-enabled site | Troubleshoot that feature on its own; do not reopen the site as a fix |
| Old images still circulate | Copies held elsewhere | Accept the limit; request removal where you have standing |
| Site is still public after saving | Setting not applied to the launched site | Recheck Settings, Reading, Site Visibility |