Classifying a Page

The byline is the line near the top of every page showing who created it and when. When classification is enabled in your space, a Classification item appears there with a coloured dot indicating the page’s current level.

This is the main place where day-to-day classification happens.

Selecting a classification level from a Confluence page.

Reading the byline indicator

What you see	What it means
A coloured dot and level name	The page is classified at that level. Hover for the level description.
A grey or disabled icon	Classification is enabled in the space, but this page is not classified yet.
Just “Classification” with no coloured dot	Classification is not available here (disabled, or the space is blocked).

Classifying or re-classifying a page

1. Click the Classification item in the byline.
2. The dialog opens showing the available classification levels for your space.
3. Click the level you want. Each level shows its colour and description.
4. The dialog shows “Saving classification…” — a short, multi-step save. Do not refresh the page yet.
5. When you see “Classification saved ✓ — refresh the page now”, click Done and refresh.

Caution

Why you must wait for the confirmation: applying a classification is several steps (restrictions, then label, then status, then tracking). If you refresh the page in the middle of the save, the restriction tracking can desync and your next classification change may remove the wrong groups (restrictions appear to accumulate). Always wait for the green confirmation before refreshing.

What happens when you pick a level

Classify automatically:

• Applies view and edit restrictions to the page using the Confluence groups attached to that level. Afterwards, only people in the allowed groups can view or edit the page.
• Adds a label (for example INTERNAL) to the page.
• Updates the byline dot and the page banner.
• Records the classification in the Classification Report.

Changing the level later cleanly removes the previous level’s restrictions and applies the new ones.

Who can classify a page?

You must have edit access to the page. Classify checks this before making any change:

• If you can edit the page, you see the full level picker.
• If you can only view the page, you see a read-only view that shows the current classification but does not let you change it.
• Confluence administrators can classify even restricted pages, matching Confluence’s normal admin override.

This prevents a page reader with view-only access from changing a page’s restrictions.

First time in a space (onboarding)

If classification is not yet enabled in your space, the dialog adapts to your role:

• Space administrators see a short onboarding flow: a list of available global templates to preview and apply, right inside the dialog. Pick one and the space is set up instantly (see Space Settings).
• Non-admins see: “Classification is not enabled. Contact your space admin.”

Blocked spaces

If your Confluence admin has blocked classification for this space, everyone (including space admins) sees:

“Classification is not available in this space…”

No level picker appears, and pages here cannot be classified. See Space Access Control.

Tips

• The coloured dot is visible to everyone, but the dialog only lets editors change it.
• Re-classify freely — switching levels is safe and cleans up the old restrictions for you.
• If the banner or dot looks wrong after a change, refresh the page — the byline indicator updates on reload.

Related

• Page Banner — the header strip that appears once a page is classified.
• Space Settings — where the available levels come from.
• FAQ