> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.listen.land/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Control Who Can Access and Respond to Your Interview

> Choose between Open access and Access Code mode to control who can start a conversation — from broad public research to private panels.

ListenLand gives you two access modes — **open** (anyone with the link) and **access code** (only people who know the code). Use access codes to target a specific group of respondents without exposing your interview to the public.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Open Access">
    Anyone with the interview URL can start a conversation. No code, no sign-up, no friction.

    **Best for:**

    * Public feedback campaigns
    * Community research and open surveys
    * Embedding in your product or docs where you want maximum participation
    * Social sharing and forums

    **How it works:**

    * Your interview link resolves to the start screen for anyone who visits it
    * Respondents optionally enter their name and email, then begin immediately
    * The link can be shared broadly — anyone who finds the URL can respond

    **To enable Open Access:**
    Open your interview settings and make sure **Access** is set to `Open` (this is the default for all new interviews).
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Access Code">
    Respondents must enter a code before they can start the conversation. Anyone without the code sees a prompt and cannot proceed.

    **Best for:**

    * Private research panels and recruited participants
    * Paid or incentivized studies
    * Internal employee surveys
    * Beta user feedback where you control who participates

    **To enable Access Code:**

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open interview settings">
        Navigate to your interview from the dashboard and open the **Settings** tab.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Switch access to Access Code">
        Under the **Access** field, select **Access Code**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Set or copy your code">
        Enter a custom passphrase, or copy the auto-generated code. This is the code you'll share with your respondents.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Share the code with your respondents">
        Send the code alongside the interview link — e.g., in your recruitment email or screener. Without it, respondents will be blocked at the start screen.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Warning>
      Access codes are simple passphrases — they are not cryptographically secure. Anyone who receives the code can share it. Don't rely on access codes to protect sensitive or confidential information from determined users.
    </Warning>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Public conversations

The **public conversations** setting controls what happens after a respondent finishes their conversation.

| Setting                | What respondents see after completing                 | Who else can view                 |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| **Disabled** (default) | A simple thank-you message                            | Only you (the interview owner)    |
| **Enabled**            | A shareable link to their own conversation transcript | Anyone with the conversation link |

When public conversations are enabled, each completed response gets its own URL at `https://listen.land/c/[conversation-id]`. Respondents can bookmark or share their own transcript, and you can share individual conversations with stakeholders directly from the response view.

This is particularly useful for UX research where you want to pass individual stories to a design team, or for any study where giving respondents a copy of their own conversation adds value.

To toggle this setting, open your interview's **Settings** tab and flip the **Public Conversations** switch.

<Note>
  Access codes only control who can *start* a conversation. The interview link itself always resolves to a public landing page — anyone can visit the URL and see the start screen. The code gates entry into the conversation, not visibility of the page.
</Note>