Virtual event access permissions: who can do what
Ten minutes before the session, a speaker's assistant is asking to share the screen, and nobody is sure who is allowed to say yes.
The short answer
List every person who will join your virtual or hybrid event, give each a role, and write down what each role may do and who may change it. Then ask the platform supplier to confirm in writing which of those roles and rights the platform actually supports.
Permissions are an organiser decision before they are a platform setting. If the matrix is not written first, people end up with whatever rights the default settings give them.
Roles first, settings second
Think in roles: organiser host, co-host, speaker, moderator, technical support, staff observer, registered attendee, guest. Different platforms name and group these differently, so take the names from your own programme and ask the supplier how they map.
Avoid giving a role more rights because it is easier than asking. Extra rights are the usual way an unintended person ends up sharing a screen or removing someone.
The roles and rights matrix
| Role | Likely needs | Likely should not have | Who approves changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organiser host | Start and end session, admit people, control recording as agreed | Rights not needed beyond event owner and a deputy | Event owner |
| Co-host or producer | Manage speakers, run the running order | Removing the host | Event owner |
| Speaker | Share slides, speak, be seen | Admitting attendees, ending session | Programme owner |
| Moderator | Manage questions and chat, admit speakers to stage | Ending session, changing recording | Event owner |
| Technical support | Help individuals join and troubleshoot | Seeing private chat unless agreed | Event owner |
| Registered attendee | Watch, ask questions, vote if provided | Screen share, unmuting without invitation | Registration lead |
| Guest or observer | Watch only | Interaction, downloads | Event owner |
Ask the supplier, in writing
- Which roles exist on the platform and what can each do?
- Can rights be changed by a person during the session, and who can do it?
- Can a speaker be given rights for one session only?
- How are attendee names and email addresses shown to other attendees?
- What happens to rights if the host loses connection? See backup host allocation.
- Is there an audit record of who held which role?
Registered or open access
Decide whether attendance is by registered invitation or open link, and who may share a link. Link control is covered in more depth in access-link security.
If recordings or attendee lists are involved, note the questions for your privacy and legal advisers. The matrix records what you have asked them and what they have confirmed; it does not state the answer.
Test it before the day
- Create test accounts for each role with the supplier's help.
- Walk through the programme as each role, trying what that role should and should not be able to do.
- Correct the matrix and the settings together, then record the date tested.
- Freeze changes to the matrix on an agreed date before the event.
Worked example · Fictional example
A half-day industry webinar with six speakers
Fictional organisation and figures, illustrative only.
A fictional chamber runs a half-day webinar. The matrix names one event owner as organiser host with one deputy, a producer, two moderators and six speakers. At the test, a speaker can unintentionally admit people from the waiting area because the supplier's default role allows it.
The supplier confirms in writing that the setting can be changed, and the producer retests. The matrix is updated to say speakers share slides only. Registration is by invitation; no open link is published.
Use this yourself
Roles and access permissions matrix
Copy into a table, one row per named person or role, and send it to your platform supplier with the questions below.
- Registered or open access, and who may share links:
- Who can change a role during the event:
- Answers received from supplier (date and form):
- Questions sent to privacy and legal advisers (date):
- Date matrix frozen:
| Person or role | Role name on platform (supplier to confirm) | May do | Must not do | Approved by | Tested on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event owner | |||||
| Deputy host | |||||
| Moderator 1 | |||||
| Speaker (each) | |||||
| Technical support | |||||
| Attendee |
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- A small event with fewer than a handful of roles.
- The supplier provides a clear written description of roles.
- You can test each role before the event.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- The event has members-only content, a vote or confidential discussion.
- Several speaker agencies, sponsors and staff each expect special rights.
- Nobody on the team owns the platform settings and the organiser's decisions together.
Need the permissions settled with all parties?
A conference project lead can draft the roles matrix from your programme, collect the supplier's written answers, take decisions from the event owner and run the role-by-role test. The platform and its settings stay with the supplier; privacy and legal questions go to the people competent to answer them.
Questions organisers ask
Should speakers be co-hosts?
Only if they need the rights that role carries. Many speakers need only to share slides and speak. Ask the supplier what each role allows before assigning it.
Who should hold the highest-level role?
Two named people from the organiser, so that one can cover for the other. Avoid giving it to many people for convenience.
What about attendees who share their link?
Link control is a security question for the supplier and your IT adviser. See the access-link page and ask what the platform offers.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.