Is my profile live yet? Control who can see it while you build

Worried your half-built profile is already out there for the world to see? Let's settle that. Your profile is only live if you turned it on, and you can flip it back to private any time. This guide shows you how to check, and how to keep working in peace until it's ready. It's no trouble.

Is my profile public right now?

Here's the short answer: a new profile starts private. It only goes live the moment you turn on Published. It doesn't publish itself.

Good news if you've finished setup: it ends with a Start designing button that saves your profile as a private draft, not a live page. So a brand-new profile stays private until you turn on Published yourself. Not sure where yours stands? Use the checks below.

How can I tell if my profile is published?

You have three quick ways to check. Any one of them tells you for sure.

1. Open your profile settings and look at Visibility & Features. If the Published toggle is on, your profile is live. If it's off, your profile is private.
2. Open your profile in the Designer and look at the main button in the top bar. If it says Publish profile, you're not live yet. If it says Published with a checkmark, or Publish changes, your profile is live.
3. Open your public link in a private browser window. If the page loads, it's live. If you get a "page not found" message, it's private (or the link is wrong).

The Designer button and the Published toggle always agree, since they control the same setting.

What people can see when your profile is published

When Published is on, your profile is public. Anyone who has your link can open it and see whatever you've added: your name, photo, bio, links, and any sections you've shown. There's no password and no gate. If you've published an empty starter profile, visitors see that empty page.

A few things stay off until you turn them on, even when your profile is live:

• Search engines. Your profile won't show up on Google unless you also turn on Search Engines in Settings. Being published is not the same as being findable.
• Embedding. Other sites can't embed your profile unless you turn on Embeddable.
• AI discovery. AI tools can't reach your profile unless you turn on MCP Available in Settings. (The Designer's quick Settings dialog labels the same toggle AI discovery (MCP).)

So "published" means "anyone with the link can open it." It does not mean the whole internet has found you. For getting visitors, see get found after you publish.

What people can see when your profile is private

When Published is off, your profile is not public. Your link won't open for anyone, including you. Visitors get a "page not found" page instead. Search engines can't index it, and it won't appear anywhere public.

Your work is safe. Turning off Published hides the page, but it keeps every link, section, and post. Turn it back on whenever you're ready and it all comes back.

Keeping my profile private until it's ready

If you'd rather build in private first, keep Published off until you're happy with the page.

1. Open your profile settings.
2. Under Visibility & Features, turn off the Published toggle.
3. Select Save changes at the bottom. You'll see a short "Settings saved." confirmation.

Your profile is now private. Build it out as much as you like, then come back and turn Published on when it's ready.

Take a published profile back to private

You can pull a live profile back any time, and your content stays put. From your profile settings, find Visibility & Features, switch the Published toggle off, and select Save changes.

Your link stops opening for visitors right away. Nothing is deleted. When you're ready to go live again, turn Published back on and save.

There's a second route if you're mid-build: in the Designer, select the Settings control (the gear) in the left sidebar, switch Published off in the dialog, then publish or save to apply it. Not sure which screen to use? See Settings vs the Designer.

Can I work on my profile without changing the live page?

Yes. A draft lets you edit privately while your live page stays exactly as visitors see it now. Your edits don't go live until you choose to publish them.

In the Designer, open the menu next to the publish button and choose Save as draft. Your edits are saved, but your live profile doesn't change. The full walk-through is in publish your profile and save drafts, which also covers coming back to a draft and rolling back to an earlier version.

Can I see my profile before I make it public?

Yes, and you don't have to publish first. You have two ways to see your work, and both work while your profile is private.

The Designer shows a live preview right on the screen as you build. The big area on the right updates as you type. That preview is yours alone.

The Preview button in the top toolbar opens the same profile in a new tab, at full width the way a visitor will see it. It works even while your profile is private. A bar across the top reminds you the page isn't published yet, so only you can see it, and select Back to editor to come back. For more, see how to view your live page.

I published too soon and want it private again

Turned your profile on before it was ready and want it back out of sight? No harm done, and nothing gets deleted. The fix is the same as Take a published profile back to private above: turn the Published toggle off in your profile settings and select Save changes. Everything you'd added stays in place. Take your time finishing it, then publish when you're happy.

My link won't open, but I think I published

A link that won't open usually comes down to one of two things, and both take a moment to sort out.

• The profile is private. Open your profile settings and check that Published is on under Visibility & Features. If you turned it off, or saved a draft instead of publishing, the link won't open.
• The address is slightly off. Your link is your-handle.notrouble.com. Check the spelling of your handle. You can find or change it on your profile settings page in the Handle field. See change your handle if you need to.

Once Published is on and you're using the right address, your link opens for everyone.