This article contains information on the View Message Content permission in Aware, how it controls message visibility across modules, its defaults, prerequisites, module-specific behavior when disabled, and its use in restricting content access for certain roles.
| Q: | What is the "View Message Content" permission? |
| A: | It is a new role-level permission that controls whether users assigned to that role can view the actual content of messages (text, attachments, etc.) within Aware. When disabled, message content is masked across Spotlight, Signal, and Search & Discover while still allowing the user to perform administrative tasks like policy management, user management, and export generation. |
| Q: | Which Aware modules support this permission? |
| A: | Spotlight, Signal, and Search & Discover. The permission appears in the Permissions section of each module when creating or editing a role. |
| Q: | Is this permission enabled or disabled by default? |
| A: | It is enabled by default for all existing and new Aware roles. Administrators must explicitly disable it for roles where content access should be restricted (e.g., MSP or Service Delivery admin roles). |
| Q: | What prerequisites does this permission have? |
| A: |
Enabling "View Message Content" requires the following permissions to also be enabled:
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| Q: | What happens in Spotlight when the permission is disabled? |
| A: |
The behavior differs by report type:
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| Q: | What happens in Signal when the permission is disabled? |
| A: | Message excerpts are hidden from the events list. In Event Details, the message content panel is replaced with a "Message Content Restricted" banner. The Download button for Bulk Exports is disabled. Export Event only includes Scope & Triggers and Actions details. Users can still build new Bulk Exports or Export as CSV if other related permissions allow. |
| Q: | What happens in Search & Discover when the permission is disabled? |
| A: | Under All Content and Marked Content, Report Summary and Ask sections are hidden, search functionality is hidden, and click-through on search results is disabled. Under Exports, users can still build new exports if other permissions allow, but the Download button for generated exports is disabled. |
| Q: | Do permission changes require users to log out and back in? |
| A: |
No. Changes to the View Message Content permission take effect immediately for active sessions. |
| Q: | Has the "View Searches" permission name changed? |
| A: | Yes. The existing Search & Discover permission "View Searches" has been renamed to "View Search Results" with updated subtext "View results of a search." Additionally, the "Manage Search Results" subtext has been updated to "Mark and export results of a search result". |
| Q: | What is the intended use case for this feature? |
| A: | This feature is designed for organizations that want to delegate administrative capabilities in Aware to third-party or partner roles (such as MSP admins or Service Delivery admins) without granting them access to confidential message data. It enables a separation between operational management and content access. |
| Q: | Can I restrict content access for some modules but not others? |
| A: | No. The View Message Content permission applies across all three modules (Spotlight, Signal, Search & Discover) for a given role. You cannot enable it for one module and disable it for another within the same role. |
| Q: | Will restricted users see an indication that content is hidden? |
| A: | Yes. In Signal Event Details, a "Message Content Restricted" banner replaces the message content view panel. In other areas, the relevant sections and buttons are simply hidden or disabled. |
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