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FootyCollect provides granular privacy controls to manage who can see your collection, profile, and individual items. Whether you want to share your collection publicly or keep it completely private, FootyCollect gives you full control.

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Understanding Privacy Levels

FootyCollect implements privacy at three levels:
  1. Profile Privacy - Controls visibility of your user profile
  2. Item Privacy - Controls visibility of individual items
  3. Draft Status - Items in draft mode are always private

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Privacy Model

# User model (Profile Privacy)
class User(AbstractUser):
    is_private = models.BooleanField(default=False)
    biography = models.TextField(blank=True)
    location = models.CharField(max_length=100, blank=True)
    avatar = models.ImageField(upload_to=avatar_file_name, blank=True)
    favourite_teams = models.ManyToManyField(Club, blank=True)

# BaseItem model (Item Privacy)
class BaseItem(models.Model):
    is_private = models.BooleanField(default=False)
    is_draft = models.BooleanField(default=True)
    user = models.ForeignKey('users.User', on_delete=models.CASCADE)

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Profile Privacy

Control the visibility of your entire profile and collection.

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Making Your Profile Private

1

Access Profile Settings

Navigate to your profile page and click “Edit Profile” or go directly to /users/~update/.
2

Toggle Privacy

Find the “Private Profile” setting:
  • Checked - Your profile and all items are private
  • Unchecked - Your profile is public (item privacy is per-item)
When enabled, your is_private flag is set to True.
3

Save Changes

Click “Save” to apply the privacy setting. Changes take effect immediately.

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What Private Profiles Hide

When your profile is private:
FeatureVisibility
Profile PageOnly you can view
BiographyHidden from others
LocationHidden from others
AvatarHidden from others (default avatar shown)
Favourite TeamsHidden from others
Collection ItemsOnly you can view
Feed PresenceYour items don’t appear in public feeds
Setting your profile to private overrides individual item privacy settings. All items become private regardless of their individual privacy flags.

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Public Profiles

Public profiles (default) allow others to:
  • View your profile information
  • See your biography and location
  • View your avatar
  • See your favourite teams
  • Browse your public items (items with is_private=False)
You still control item-level privacy even with a public profile.

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Item Privacy

Control visibility for individual items in your collection.

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Setting Item Privacy

1

Create or Edit Item

When adding or editing an item, locate the privacy controls in the form.
2

Set Privacy Flag

Toggle the “Private Item” checkbox:
  • Checked - Item is private (only you can see it)
  • Unchecked - Item is public (visible based on profile privacy)
The is_private field is updated on the BaseItem.
3

Save Item

Save the item to apply privacy settings.

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Public vs Private Items

Public Items (is_private=False):
  • Visible in public feeds (if profile is public)
  • Visible on your public profile page
  • Searchable by others
  • Photos visible in public views
Private Items (is_private=True):
  • Only visible to you
  • Never appear in public feeds
  • Not searchable by others
  • Photos only visible to you
Item privacy is independent of profile privacy UNLESS your profile is private. Private profiles force all items to be private.

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Bulk Privacy Updates

Update privacy for multiple items at once:
  1. Navigate to your collection list
  2. Use bulk edit mode (if available)
  3. Select items to update
  4. Apply privacy setting to all selected items

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Draft Status

Items in draft mode have special privacy handling.

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What Are Drafts?

Drafts are items that:
  • Are being created but not finalized
  • Have is_draft=True flag set
  • Are automatically private regardless of privacy settings
  • Often have photos still being processed

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Draft Behavior

class BaseItemManager(models.Manager):
    def public(self):
        return self.filter(is_private=False, is_draft=False)
    
    def drafts(self):
        return self.filter(is_draft=True)
Drafts are:
  • Always private (never in public feeds)
  • Only visible to the owner
  • Excluded from public querysets

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When Items Leave Draft Status

Items automatically transition from draft to published when:
  1. All photos are uploaded and processed
  2. AVIF conversion completes for all photos
  3. The is_processing_photos flag is set to False
  4. The system sets is_draft=False
1

Item Creation

When you create an item, it starts as a draft:
is_draft = models.BooleanField(default=True)
2

Photo Processing

Photos are uploaded and processed in the background:
  • is_processing_photos=True while photos convert to AVIF
  • Draft status remains until processing completes
3

Automatic Publishing

When all photos are processed:
# From jersey_views.py
self.object.is_draft = False
self.object.save()
The item becomes visible (subject to privacy settings).
You can manually mark items as drafts to hide them temporarily. This is useful for items you’re still cataloguing or photographing.

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Privacy in Different Views

How privacy settings affect various parts of FootyCollect.

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Collection List View

Your collection list (/collection/items/) shows:
  • Your view: All items (public, private, drafts)
  • Others’ view (if profile public): Only public, non-draft items
  • Others’ view (if profile private): No access

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Feed View

The feed (/collection/feed/) displays:
  • Your items: Based on your privacy settings
  • Others’ items: Only public, non-draft items from public profiles
  • Filtering: Uses BaseItem.objects.public() queryset

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Item Detail View

Accessing /collection/items/{id}/:
  • Owner: Always can view
  • Others (public item): Can view if profile is public
  • Others (private item): Access denied
  • Drafts: Only owner can view

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Search Results

Search respects privacy:
  • Your searches include all your items
  • Public searches exclude private items and drafts
  • Profile privacy overrides item privacy
Privacy checks are enforced at the database query level using custom managers, ensuring private items never leak into public views.

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Privacy Best Practices

Start private, go public gradually - Create items as private while you’re building your collection, then make select items public when ready.
Use item-level privacy for sensitive items - Keep your profile public but mark valuable or personal items as private.
Review privacy before sharing - Check your privacy settings before sharing your profile URL with others.
Understand draft behavior - New items are drafts by default. They become public/private based on your settings once photos are processed.

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Sharing Your Collection

Once you’ve set up privacy, you can share your collection.

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Public Profile URL

Your profile URL is: 
/users/{username}/
Share this URL to let others view your:
  • Public profile information
  • Public collection items
  • Activity feed (public items only)

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Sharing Individual Items

Share specific public items using: 
/collection/items/{item_id}/
The item must be:
  • Not private (is_private=False)
  • Not a draft (is_draft=False)
  • From a public profile
Others can view the item’s:
  • All photos
  • Full details (club, season, brand, etc.)
  • Description and metadata
  • Condition and special attributes
Private items and items from private profiles return “Access Denied” or 404 errors when accessed by non-owners.

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API Privacy

If using FootyCollect’s REST API, privacy is enforced:

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Public Endpoints

GET /api/items/
GET /api/users/{id}/
GET /api/feed/
These endpoints:
  • Return only public data
  • Filter out private items and profiles
  • Respect draft status

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Authenticated Endpoints

GET /api/my-collection/
POST /api/items/
PATCH /api/items/{id}/
These endpoints:
  • Require authentication
  • Show all your items (public and private)
  • Allow privacy modification via is_private field
API documentation is available at /api/docs/ (Swagger UI) and /api/schema/ (OpenAPI spec). Privacy rules are documented in each endpoint’s specification.

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Advanced Privacy Configuration

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Privacy at Database Level

FootyCollect uses database indexes for efficient privacy queries: 
class Meta:
    indexes = [
        models.Index(fields=['user', 'is_private', 'is_draft']),
    ]
This ensures fast filtering of public/private items even in large collections.

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Custom Privacy Managers

# BaseItem manager
BaseItem.objects.public()  # is_private=False, is_draft=False
BaseItem.objects.private()  # is_private=True
BaseItem.objects.drafts()  # is_draft=True

# MTI model manager (Jersey, Shorts, etc.)
Jersey.objects.public()  # base_item__is_private=False, base_item__is_draft=False
Jersey.objects.private()  # base_item__is_private=True
Jersey.objects.drafts()  # base_item__is_draft=True
These managers automatically filter querysets based on privacy flags.

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Privacy in Templates

Templates can check privacy: 
{% if item.is_private %}
  <span class="badge bg-warning">Private</span>
{% endif %}

{% if item.is_draft %}
  <span class="badge bg-secondary">Draft</span>
{% endif %}

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Troubleshooting Privacy

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Items Not Appearing in Feed

If your items don’t appear in public feeds:
  1. Check is_private flag on the item
  2. Check is_draft flag on the item
  3. Verify your profile is not private (user.is_private=False)
  4. Ensure photos have finished processing

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Cannot View Shared Item

If others can’t view your shared item:
  1. Confirm the item is public (is_private=False)
  2. Verify the item is not a draft (is_draft=False)
  3. Check your profile privacy setting
  4. Clear any caches that might be stale

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Privacy Changes Not Applying

If privacy changes don’t take effect:
  1. Verify the item saved successfully
  2. Check for validation errors
  3. Clear browser cache and refresh
  4. Check if view-level caching is active (cache invalidates automatically but may take up to 15 minutes)

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Privacy and Demo Mode

Demo instances have special considerations:
  • Database resets every 3 hours
  • All data is visible to demo users
  • Privacy settings are reset with the database
  • Don’t add sensitive or private items to demo instances
Demo instances are NOT suitable for private collections. Use demo mode only for testing features, not for storing real collection data.

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Next Steps