Task permissions

Access to a task in Asana is contextual and there are a variety of situations that affect who can access a task:

In this article, we'll explain:

• How to identify the task's permissions
• Who can see your task
• How to give access to your task
• How to limit access to your task

Private task

 

Verifying a task is private and not in a project:

1. Above the task name, a banner will indicate that the task is private to you and any task collaborators.
2. The project field in the task details pane indicates whether the task belongs to a project or not.

Tasks created in My tasks default to private tasks that don't belong to any projects or have collaborators.

Who can see this task?

Access to a private task that doesn't belong to a project:

Private tasks that don't belong to a project can only be accessed by collaborators.'

How can I give access to this task?

Sharing a private task that does not belong to a project:

1. Make the task public — Making the task public will make it public to all organization members, but they will have to search for it in order to access it.
2. Add the task to a project(s) — Adding the task to a project will give all members of the project and team members access to the task.
3. Add someone as a collaborator — Adding someone as a collaborator will give them access to the task.

Before adding the task to a project, be sure to note the project's permissions.  

How do I limit access to this task?

To limit access to a task that doesn't belong to a project, you can:

1. Make the task private to its collaborators
2. Remove all collaborators to make a task private to you

Do not remove yourself as a task collaborator or you'll lose access to the task as well.

Public task

Verifying a task is public and doesn't belong to a project:

1. Above the task title, a banner will indicate that the task is visible to everyone in [Organization Name]
2. The project field in the task details pane indicates whether the task belongs to a project or not

Who can see this task?

Who can see a public task that doesn't belong to a project:

1. All organization members
2. Task collaborators

How can I give access to a task that doesn't belong to a project?

1. Add someone as a task collaborator — Adding someone as a task collaborator will provide them with access to this one task. If they're an organization member, then they already have access to the task via search.
2. Add the task to a project — Adding the task to the project will give all project members access to the task.

Before adding the task to a project, be sure to note the project's permissions and who is a project member.  

How do I limit access to a public task that doesn't belong to a project?

1. Remove people as task collaborators — By removing all task collaborators, except yourself, organization members will no longer receive task notifications, but can still access the task by searching for it.
2. Make the task private — Click on the task actions button from the task details pane, and select Make private. Since the task doesn't belong to any project, it will only be visible to you and any task collaborators.

Tasks in a project that is shared with organization or team only

Verifying a task is in a project with the shared with organization or team only privacy setting:

1. The project field in the task details pane indicates the project the task belongs to. Click the project's name to load the project.
2. After loading the project, the header will indicate that the project is Shared with [team or organization name].

Who can see this task?

Who can see tasks in a team only or shared with organization project:

Team only: Project members, task collaborators, and members of the team the project lives in.

Shared with organization: All members of the organization.

 

How can I give access to tasks in a team only project?

Add someone as a task collaborator — Adding someone as a task collaborator will provide them with updates on the task. If they're already a project member or team member, then they can already access the task.

Add someone as a project member — Adding someone as a project member gives them access to all tasks in the project. If they're a team member, then they can already access the task.

Add someone as a member of the team — Adding someone as a member of the team gives them access to all tasks in the project.

How can I give access to tasks in a shared with organization project?

Tasks in projects that have the shared with organization privacy setting are already accessible by every organization member.

How do I limit access to this task?

• Remove task collaborators: they will no longer receive task notifications. If they're a project member or team member, then they can still access the task.
• Remove project members: they will no longer receive task and project notifications. However, if they are also a member of the team in which the project exists, they can view the task and other tasks in the project because it is public.
• Remove the task from the project: project members will no longer have access to the task, but task collaborators can still access the task.
• Make the project private: team members will no longer have access to the task or the overall project, but project members and task collaborators will still have access to the task.

Tasks in a project which is private to members

Verifying a task is in a project that is private to members:

1. The project field in the task details pane indicates the project the task belongs to. Click the project's name to load the project.
2. After loading the project, the header will indicate that the project is Private to project members.

A yellow bar will appear above the project field in the task details pane if the task's access is limited to a group of people. This yellow bar will list out exactly who has access to the task.

Who can see this task?

Who can see tasks in a private to members project:

1. Project members
2. Task collaborators

How can I give access to tasks in a private to members project?

1. Add someone as a task collaborator — Adding someone as a task collaborator will provide them with access to just the one task. If they're a project member, then they already have access to the task.
2. Add someone as a project member — Adding someone as a project member will provide them with access to all tasks in the project.
3. Make the project public to its team by changing privacy settings to team only — Sharing the project with its team will allow members of the team to access the project and its tasks.
4. Make the project public to the organization by changing privacy settings to shared with organization — Making the project public to the organization in this way will provide access to all members of the organization.

How do I limit access to this task?

• Remove task collaborators: they will no longer have access to the task. However, if they are also a project member, they can access the task again from the project, but won't receive notifications on the task anymore.
• Remove project members: they will no longer have access to the task, or any tasks in the project unless they are still a collaborator on the task.
• Remove the task from the project: project members will no longer have access to the task, but task collaborators will still have access to the task.

Request access to a private task

You can reach out to the assignee of a private task to request access. To do so:

1. Click on the link to the private task you need access to. You will see a screen that explains that you don't have access to that task.
2. Click on Request access to ask the assignee of that task for access.
3. The assignee will get a task explaining that you have requested access and will have the option to add you as a collaborator.

Accept or deny requests to add collaborators to a private task

If you don't have access to a private task, you can request to be added as a collaborator. For you to access that task, your request must be accepted first.

• When you request access to a private task, the assignee will get a task to notify them that access is being requested. The assignee can then add you to the project to provide you access.
• If no one is assigned to that task, the task to provide or deny access will be assigned to the task creator if they still have edit access.
• If no one is assigned to that task and the task creator doesn't have edit access, the first collaborator with edit access will get the task to accept or deny access.
• If the task is accessible to members of a project, the task to accept or deny access will be assigned to the project owner. If the project doesn't have an owner, the task will be assigned to a member with edit access to that project.