Find and join Communities
You can connect with people who share your interests by joining a public or private Community in Google+. Stay up to date on what’s happening in your Communities by seeing Community posts in your stream and getting notifications.
How public and private Communities work
When you join a Community in Google+, you can see posts from that Community in your home stream and share posts to that Community. You can join public or private Communities.
How public Communities work
- You can see posts on public Community pages even if you aren't a member of the Community.
- If you join a public Community, anyone can see posts you make and a list of members in that Community.
- Only members of the Community can post or comment on a Community post.
- Non-members can +1 a Community post or comment.
How private Communities work
- If you join a private Community, only members can see your posts in that Community.
- Members and people who have been invited to join a private Community, including people with access to an active invite link, can see who is currently in the Community.
- Important: If an owner deletes a private Community or revokes your membership in it, you may no longer be able to access content in that Community, including what you posted. You can still find a record of your post in your Activity Log.
Join a Community
- On a computer, open Google+.
- You can find a Community to join two ways:
- Search on a topic of interest to you
- In the Navigation menu, click Communities, then click Discover more and scroll through recommended Communities
- To view a Community before you join it, click the Community.
- Once you find a Community you want to join, click Join. If you need permission to join a Community, it will say Ask to join instead.
Choose how much to see from a Community
You can choose how much content from a Community shows up in your home stream:
- On a computer, open Google+.
- In the top left, click Menu
Communities.
- Click the Community you want to see more or less from.
- At the top of the left panel, click More options
.
- Click Preferences.
- Next to “Manage amount of posts in home stream,” click the Down arrow
.
- Choose the amount you want to see from that Community.
- Click Close.
Get updates when there are new posts
You can choose whether to get notifications from Communities that you join:
- On a computer, open Google+.
- In the top left, click Menu
Communities.
- Click the Community you want to change notification settings for.
- At the top of the left panel, click More options
.
- Click Preferences.
- Next to "Get notified about new posts" click the toggle switch on or off.
- Click Close.
Note: For some large Communities, you may not be able to turn notifications on.
Choose the order of posts you see from a Community
- On a computer, open Google+.
- In the top left, click Menu
Communities.
- Click the Community that you want to choose the order of posts for.
- At the top of the left panel, click More options
.
- Click Preferences.
- Next to "Sort by top posts or most recent," click the Down arrow
.
- Choose between "Top posts" and "Most recent."
- Click Close.
Leave a Community
When you leave a Community:
- You won't see regular updates from that Community in your home stream.
- You won't be able to share posts to that Community.
- You may not be able to see the Community's page.
To leave a Community:
- On a computer, open Google+.
- In the top left, click Menu
Communities.
- Click the Community you want to leave.
- At the top of the left panel, click More options
.
- Click Leave community.
- Click Leave.
See someone else’s Communities
You can see another person's Communities on their profile if they’ve chosen to share their Communities:
- On a computer, open Google+.
- Open the person’s profile.
- On the top right above the person’s Communities and collections, click View all.