What are subgroups?

Subgroups are designed to allow you to nest groups under an existing Access Group in order to control access or segment your members. With subgroups:

• Organize members under a single topic, like location, interests, profession
• Create content that is accessible by the parent group in order to give all subgroups individual access (i.e. create a channel accessible to all interest groups by adding the parent group as opposed to each subgroup)

What limitations do subgroups have?

• Paid and Course Access Groups cannot be or have sub-groups. 
• Automated groups cannot be or have sub-groups. 
• A subgroup isn't offered on My Groups while its parent is Hidden. Members find joinable subgroups under their parent on My Groups, so if the parent's Visibility is Hidden, they can't see or join its subgroups there.
• Anything shared with the parent reaches every subgroup. Subgroup members count as members of the parent, so a channel made private to the parent is open to all of its subgroups. To keep a chat to one subgroup, share it with that subgroup only.

How to move a group out from under its parent

In Settings > People > Access Groups, open the 3-dot menu on the subgroup's row and click Move. Set New Parent Group to No Parent and click Move. Members stay in the group. Move isn't available for paid, Course and automated groups.

To take the parent off a private channel, hover over the channel in the sidebar, open the 3-dot menu and click Edit. Under Private channel, click the X next to the parent group and click Submit.

How to create a subgroup for an existing Access Group?

Settings > People > Access Groups

1. Go to Access Groups in your Heartbeat settings.

2. Select the group (must be Admin Controlled or Joinable) and press the 3-dot menu to select "Create Subgroup"

   
    

How can I use subgroups for my community?

🧭 1. Interest-Based Communities

Example: A wellness community with a parent group called “Fitness Enthusiasts” and sub-groups for Yoga, Running, Strength Training, and Nutrition.

• Members can join one or more sub-groups to find like-minded people.
• Channels or events open to all fitness members can just be shared with the parent group — and everyone in sub-groups automatically gets access.
  Why it’s useful: Keeps the structure clear while letting content flow upward to all interest-based members.

🌎 2. Location-Based Groups

Example: A global community with a parent “Regional Hubs” group and sub-groups for New York, Austin, Toronto, and London.

• Local members connect in their own hubs, while global announcements or discussions can go to everyone via the parent group.
  Why it’s useful: Makes it easy to manage access to region-specific channels and still reach the full network at once.