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

1. On a computer, open Google+.
2. 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 Recommended and scroll through recommended Communities
3. To view a Community before you join it, click the Community.
4. 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:

1. On a computer, open Google+.
2. In the top left, click Menu  Communities.
3. Click the Community you want to see more or less from.
4. At the top of the left panel, click More .
5. Click Preferences.
6. Next to “Manage amount of posts in home stream,” click the Down arrow .
7. Choose the amount you want to see from that Community.
8. Click Close.

Get updates when there are new posts

You can choose whether to get notifications from Communities that you join:

1. On a computer, open Google+.
2. In the top left, click Menu  Communities.
3. Click the Community you want to change notification settings for.
4. At the top of the left panel, click More .
5. Click Preferences.
6. Next to "Get notified about new posts" click the toggle switch on or off.
7. 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

1. On a computer, open Google+.
2. In the top left, click Menu  Communities.
3. Click the Community that you want to choose the order of posts for.
4. At the top of the left panel, click More .
5. Click Preferences.
6. Next to "Sort by top posts or most recent," click the Down arrow .
7. Choose between "Top posts" and "Most recent."
8. 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:

1. On a computer, open Google+.
2. In the top left, click Menu  Communities.
3. Click the Community you want to leave.
4. At the top of the left panel, click More .
5. Click Leave community.
6. 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:

1. On a computer, open Google+.
2. Open the person’s profile.
3. On the top right above the person’s interests, click View all.