Bubbles
What Are Bubbles?
Bubbles let you organize your ripples (rooms) into access groups. When you create a wave, it starts with a bubble called "Main." You can rename it, delete it, or create additional bubbles to gate certain ripples behind membership.
Ripples that are not assigned to any bubble are open to everyone. Assigning a ripple to a protected bubble restricts it to that bubble's members. No bubble is special — they all work the same way.
For example, a language school might have:
- Main (open) — Welcome session, community lounge
- Students (protected) — Classroom ripples, homework review
- Premium (protected) — One-on-one tutoring, masterclass recordings
Open vs Protected
Each bubble has an access mode, controlled by the Protected access toggle in the bubble detail panel:
- Off (Open) — anyone can see and enter the ripples in this bubble
- On (Protected) — only bubble members can access these ripples. The admin assigns members manually.
Creating Bubbles
Go to Wave Settings → Bubbles and click New Bubble in the sidebar. Give it a name and it's ready to go.
Assigning Ripples to Bubbles
Ripples can belong to one or more bubbles. A bubble acts like a protective gate, so a ripple that does not belong to any bubble is open. You can assign ripples in two ways:
- Drag and drop — drag a ripple from the Ripples view onto a bubble in the sidebar
- Bubble detail — select a bubble and use the ripple assignment section
Managing Bubble Members
Select a bubble in the sidebar to see its members. You can:
- Add members from your wave's member list
- Remove members to revoke access to that bubble's ripples
Members must first be wave members before they can be assigned to additional bubbles.
What Visitors See
On your wave's storefront:
- Open bubbles — ripples are visible and accessible to everyone
- Protected bubbles with Visible to non-members turned on — ripple cards show a lock icon. Clicking reveals which bubble grants access.
- Protected bubbles with Visible to non-members turned off — ripples are completely invisible to non-members
Setup Checklist
Before your event or session, walk through this checklist to make sure your access is configured correctly:
Ripples: Check in Wave Settings → Bubbles. Select each bubble and confirm the ripples listed are the ones you intend.
Access mode: Open = anyone can enter. Protected = only assigned members can enter. If you want everyone you invite to access your ripples, keep the bubble open.
Member access: Inviting someone to your wave does NOT automatically give them access to protected bubbles. You must either:
Add them to the bubble manually (Wave Settings → Bubbles → select bubble → add members), or
Use an invite link with bubble pre-assignment (Wave Settings → Members → Generate Member Link → select Bubbles)
Non-member visibility: If a protected bubble has Visible to non-members turned off, non-members cannot see the ripple cards at all. Turn it on if you want people to see what's available before they have access.
Test: Open your wave page in an incognito/private browser window. Can you see the ripples you expect? Can you join them? If not, your members can't either.
Common Problems
"I invited members but they can't see or enter any ripples"
This is the most common issue. It happens when:
- All your ripples are in a protected bubble, AND
- The invited members were not assigned to that bubble
The fix: Go to Wave Settings → Bubbles, select the protected bubble, and add your members to it. Alternatively, if you don't need access control, switch the bubble to open.
"Members joined my wave but the page looks empty"
Your protected bubbles likely have Visible to non-members turned off. Members who haven't been added to the bubble are treated as non-members of that bubble — they can't see anything.
The fix: Either add them to the bubble, or turn on Visible to non-members so they can at least see the locked ripple cards and understand what access they need.
"I set everything to protected and hidden, and now nobody can get in"
If every bubble is protected and hidden, and members haven't been assigned, your wave appears completely empty to everyone except you.
Quick recovery:
- Go to Wave Settings → Bubbles
- Select any bubble and turn off Protected access — this makes it open
- Alternatively, remove ripples from their protected bubble — unassigned ripples are open to everyone
You can re-enable protection later once you've assigned members to the right bubbles.
"I want everyone I invite to have full access — do I need bubbles?"
No. Ripples that are not assigned to any bubble are open to everyone. If you don't need to separate access between different groups, just leave your ripples unassigned — or keep them in an open bubble. You don't need to create additional bubbles unless you specifically want to restrict some content to certain people.
"I set up bubbles during a live event and locked people out"
Avoid making bubble changes during a live session. If you need to restructure access:
- Warn your participants that you'll be making changes
- Make the changes quickly in Wave Settings → Bubbles
- Ask participants to refresh their page if they still can't see ripples
The safest approach is to configure bubbles before your event starts.
The Two Things to Remember
Inviting someone to a wave does not give them access to protected bubbles. Wave membership and bubble membership are separate. You must assign members to each protected bubble, or use invite links with bubble pre-assignment.
If a bubble is protected and hidden, non-members see nothing. Not even a lock icon. If you want people to know content exists, turn on Visible to non-members.
Related
- Guest Access — guest passes can grant access to specific Bubbles
- Invitations — member links can pre-assign joiners to Bubbles
- Join Policies — how the join flow works based on your bubble configuration
Tips
- Rename or delete the Main bubble — it's not special, just a starting point
- Use bubble chips on ripple cards to help members understand the access structure
- When in doubt, keep things simple — unassigned ripples are open, one bubble works for most communities
- Configure bubbles and test access before a live event, not during
- Use invite links with bubble pre-assignment to avoid the manual step of adding members to bubbles after they join