What Profiles are, what they can and can't do, and which kinds of permissions you'd typically build with them.
Profiles are Continu's mechanism for granular permission management. They let you define exactly what an Admin or Creator can do — view content from specific departments, manage users within their region, modify settings without touching content, and so on.
The key constraint: Profiles can only limit Admin and Creator accounts. They don't grant permissions to User or External User accounts. A regular learner can't be given expanded permissions through a Profile. Profiles refine what someone with a privileged role can do, not what every user can do.
Profiles is an add-on feature in Continu. If your instance doesn't have Profiles enabled, reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
For the strategic frame on user access and permissions overall, see User Management: Who Has Access to What, and Why. For the in-depth permissions reference, see Profiles Permissions In-Depth Guide.
What Profiles Are Useful For
Department-scoped Creator permissions. A Creator who only manages Sales content shouldn't have access to HR or Compliance content. A Profile scopes Creator access to specific departments.
Settings-only Admin permissions. A platform admin who manages settings and integrations but shouldn't see all user data. A Profile gives them admin-level settings access without learner-data exposure.
User-management Admins by region. Regional admins who manage users in their geography only. A Profile scopes their user management to defined attributes (location, department, etc.).
Limited-permission Creators by content type. A Creator who only manages Workshops, or only manages Assessments. Profiles let you split content authoring responsibilities cleanly.
Common Profile Patterns
Admin Settings only. Modify Continu settings; no learner data, no content management.
Admin Users (demographic-scoped). Manage users within defined attribute boundaries (department, location, etc.).
Creator (department-specific). View, create, and manage content only within assigned departments.
The patterns above are examples — Profiles are flexible enough to handle most permission models your org needs. The In-Depth Guide walks through each permission individually.
Where This Fits
You're here because you're trying to understand what Profiles can do. To create one, see Creating Profiles. To assign existing Profiles to users, see Assigning Users To A Profile. For the comprehensive permissions reference, see Profiles Permissions In-Depth Guide.
See Also
- User Management: Who Has Access to What, and Why — the strategic anchor on access strategy.
- Profiles Permissions In-Depth Guide — every permission, what it does, when to grant it.
- Creating Profiles — building a Profile.
- Assigning Users To A Profile — putting users in a Profile.
- Edit an existing profile — modifying a Profile after creation.
- Delete A Permissions Profile — removing a Profile permanently.
Profiles refine Admin and Creator permissions, not User or External User. Add-on feature — check with your CSM if you don't have it. Granular permission management is what they're for.