A public status page is best when customers, prospects, or partners need to see service health directly. A private status page is better when the audience is internal, restricted, or tied to sensitive systems. Many teams end up using both: one public page for customer-facing services and one private page for internal operations.
If you are implementing the public side, see Create a public status page. This guide explains when each model makes sense.
What is a public status page?
A public status page is accessible without login and is designed for customers or external stakeholders.
It usually includes:
- customer-facing components
- active incidents
- maintenance notices
- historical uptime and incidents
- subscription options
Public pages are useful when customers need immediate answers during downtime.
What is a private status page?
A private status page is restricted to internal teams, specific customers, or invited stakeholders.
Private pages are common for:
- internal IT operations
- enterprise customer environments
- partner-only infrastructure visibility
- pre-release or sensitive services
They let you communicate operational details without exposing everything publicly.
When to choose a public status page
Use a public status page if:
- customers depend on your app or API directly
- outages generate support tickets quickly
- transparency is part of your reliability posture
- prospects evaluate operational maturity during sales
This is especially common for SaaS, APIs, developer tools, and hosting products.
When to choose a private status page
Use a private status page if:
- the systems are internal only
- updates may expose sensitive operational details
- each customer has different visibility rules
- compliance or contractual controls restrict what can be shown publicly
A common hybrid model
Many teams use two layers:
| Page type | Audience | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Public | All customers | High-level service health and incident updates |
| Private | Internal teams or specific accounts | More granular environment or infrastructure detail |
That gives customers the transparency they need without overexposing internal systems.
What should stay public?
Keep public updates focused on:
- affected customer-facing systems
- expected impact
- mitigation progress
- next update timing
Do not overload public updates with unnecessary internal detail.
What should stay private?
Keep private updates for:
- low-level infrastructure diagnostics
- customer-specific environment details
- access-restricted systems
- internal runbook references
Practical rule of thumb
If a customer would reasonably ask support about it, it probably belongs on a public page.
If the update is only useful to internal responders or reveals sensitive architecture details, it probably belongs on a private page.
FAQ
Should SaaS companies use a public status page?
Yes, in most cases. If customers rely on the service day to day, a public status page reduces confusion and support load during incidents.
Can a team use both public and private status pages?
Yes. That is often the best setup for teams that need external transparency and internal operational detail at the same time.
Does a private status page replace incident communication?
No. If customers are affected, they still need a customer-facing communication channel even if the deeper operational detail lives privately.