Hide all comments until you review them
Nothing is public under your posts until you have read it.
On this page
Before you start
- Everything still arrives in your inbox.
- Nothing becomes public until you unhide it.
- Switching it off does not unhide what was hidden.
Switch on Hide all comments.
Hide all comments, at the end of the rules
You will see New comments arrive hidden, labelled Hide all.
Work the inbox and unhide the good ones.
InboxFiltersVisibility: Hidden, Label: Hide all
You will see What you unhide becomes public; the rest stays hidden.
Switch it off when the moment passes.
The same switch, when you no longer need it
You will see New comments arrive visible; old hidden ones stay hidden.
If something is off
- My page looks dead
- Nothing is public until you unhide it. Work the inbox daily.
- I switched it off but comments are still hidden
- It applies to new comments; unhide the old ones in bulk.
- Customers say their comments disappear
- They still see their own comment; nothing was deleted.
Common questions
Does Hide all comments hide comments that were already public?
No. It hides every new comment on that page from the moment it is on; comments that were already public stay as they were. For an existing backlog, use Post cleanup on the post and hide in bulk.
Can I unhide many comments at once after Hide all?
Yes. In the inbox, filter Visibility to Hidden and Label to Hide all, then unhide one at a time or in bulk. What you unhide becomes visible to everyone; the rest stays hidden.
Is Hide all comments the same as turning comments off?
No. People can still comment, everything still arrives in your inbox, and only the public view is affected. The author and their friends still see their own comment, and nothing is deleted.
When is Hide all comments the right choice?
For a launch, a crisis, a regulated business, or a page you have inherited, when nothing should be public before someone has read it. Someone then has to work the inbox, because genuine comments stay hidden until you unhide them.
For agents: plain text of this guide · all guides
For agents
Guide: Hide all comments until you review them
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/moderation-rules/hide-all-comments-until-you-review-them
Topic: Moderation rules
Time: about 2 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: Nothing is public under your posts until you have read it.
Context: Hide all comments is the strongest rule. Every new comment arrives hidden and stays hidden until you unhide it. It is the right setting for a launch, a crisis, a regulated business, or a page you have inherited.
Before you start
1. Everything still arrives in your inbox; only the public view is affected.
2. Genuine comments stay hidden until you unhide them, so someone has to work the inbox.
3. It can be switched off at any time; comments already hidden stay hidden until you unhide them.
Steps
Step 1 of 3: Switch on Hide all comments.
Where: At the end of the rule list on the Moderation tab.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation-whitelist.en.webp (Hide all comments, the last rule.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation-whitelist-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Every new comment on that page arrives hidden, labelled Hide all.
Step 2 of 3: Work the inbox and unhide the good ones.
Where: Filter Visibility to Hidden and Label to Hide all. Unhide the comments you want public, one at a time or in bulk.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the inbox)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-hidden.en.webp (Unhide, on a hidden comment.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-hidden-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The comments you unhide become visible to everyone; the rest stay hidden.
Step 3 of 3: Switch it off when the moment passes.
Where: The same switch. New comments are then judged by your other rules as normal.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation-whitelist.en.webp (The same switch, off again.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation-whitelist-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: New comments arrive visible again. Anything already hidden stays hidden until you unhide it.
If something is off
Problem: My page looks dead
Fix: That is the cost of this rule: nothing is public until you unhide it. Work the inbox daily, or switch to the specific rules instead.
Problem: I switched it off but comments are still hidden
Fix: Switching off applies to new comments. Unhide the old ones in bulk from the Hidden filter.
Problem: Customers say their comments disappear
Fix: They can still see their own comment, and so can their friends. Tell them nothing was deleted.
Common questions
Question: Does Hide all comments hide comments that were already public?
Answer: No. It hides every new comment on that page from the moment it is on; comments that were already public stay as they were. For an existing backlog, use Post cleanup on the post and hide in bulk.
Question: Can I unhide many comments at once after Hide all?
Answer: Yes. In the inbox, filter Visibility to Hidden and Label to Hide all, then unhide one at a time or in bulk. What you unhide becomes visible to everyone; the rest stays hidden.
Question: Is Hide all comments the same as turning comments off?
Answer: No. People can still comment, everything still arrives in your inbox, and only the public view is affected. The author and their friends still see their own comment, and nothing is deleted.
Question: When is Hide all comments the right choice?
Answer: For a launch, a crisis, a regulated business, or a page you have inherited, when nothing should be public before someone has read it. Someone then has to work the inbox, because genuine comments stay hidden until you unhide them.
Related guides
Hide, unhide and undo: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/hide-unhide-and-undo
The twelve rules, one by one: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/moderation-rules/the-twelve-rules-one-by-one
Act on many comments at once: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/act-on-many-comments-at-once
Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/moderation-rules/hide-all-comments-until-you-review-them.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt