Internal vs. External Users

In Softr, we distinguish between two user types: Internal and External. Each subscription plan has a maximum number of internal and external users allowed for a given app, which is described in our pricing. Therefore, it’s important to understand this distinction, and here we are going to explain these two types, providing real-life examples.

Internal vs. external users

In order to be considered an internal user, a user should satisfy ANY of the following criteria:

• The app user has the same email domain (if the user’s email is john@softr.io, “softr.io” is his email domain) as any of the collaborators in the workspace where the given app is located.

• The app user has an email domain that is whitelisted in the domain-based signup section of the Signup block.

External users, on the other hand, are all the users that satisfy NONE of the criteria above. So, let’s consider specific examples to get a better idea of how this works.

The collaborator case

Let’s say you’re building an internal tool (e.g. an applicant tracking system) for a company named “XYZ” and have added the head of HR (joanne@xyz.com) as a workspace collaborator to work on the application as well. So, the applicant tracking system is going to have internal users such as HR managers, recruiters, etc. on one hand and external users such as applicants on the other. Therefore, if an HR manager with an email james@xyz.com signs up for the application, he’ll automatically fall under the internal users category. Meanwhile, all the applicants that sign up with their various email domains, will be considered as external users.

The domain-based signup case

Now, let’s imagine that you’ve built an employee directory for your company named “YZX,” where employees can log in to explore the profiles of other employees, get familiar with company policies, track vacations, and so on. You’ve added a public signup form to your application but have used the domain-based signup feature to specify that only people with the “yzx” email domain (i.e. the employees of the company) can sign up. As a results, all the company employees that sign up will fall under the internal users category.