July 5
Share a story map with a public or private link
You can now share a story map as a link — public or private — and let anyone open the full board right in their browser. No StoriesOnBoard account and no login required: recipients read the map, open cards and their details, browse personas, and view releases, just like a viewer with an account would. And you stay in control of exactly what they can see.
Public or private — your call
There are two independent link types, each with its own settings:
A public link is made for wide sharing — forums, social posts, docs. By default it's locked down (names, comments, web links, and release details are hidden), so you choose what to reveal.
A private link is made for specific people you send it to. By default it's more open, showing names, comments, web links, and release details.
You turn either on from the board's Share dialog. Enabling one doesn't affect the other, and each keeps its own visibility settings. You can also copy or regenerate the link, or switch a map back to private at any time.
Choose what viewers can see
For each link type you control which parts of the board are visible:
People's names and attribution
Comments
Web links
Estimates, business value, effort, and priority
Release details (goals, dates, status reports)
The "About this board" panel
When you turn something off, it's completely absent from what the visitor's browser receives — there's no empty placeholder and no hint that hidden content exists.
Copy a link to the whole map, a card, or a release
Besides the whole board, you can copy a private link straight to a specific card or release, so the person you send it to opens right on it. Admins manage sharing and copy links; if you want, you can also allow editors to copy links without giving them access to the sharing settings.
A preview when you share, and who can find it
Paste a public link into Slack or social media and it shows a preview with the map's title and description.
Public and private links differ in how discoverable they are, by design:
Public maps can be indexed by search engines. A public link is meant for wide reach, so it can be found in search results.
Private links are never indexed. They're explicitly told to stay out of search engines, never show up in results, and don't leak in the browser's referrer — they only reach the people you send them to.
Start from one of our example maps
We publish a set of public example story maps. When you open one while signed in, a "Clone to my workspace" button copies it straight into your own workspace, so you can start from a ready-made map and adapt it to your project.
Private by design
Shared boards are read-only and built to keep everything else safe. Visitors can't edit, comment, or reach your settings, integrations, attachments, or search. Behind the scenes a shared board only ever includes what's needed to render it — no email addresses, user ids, integration credentials, or private tokens.
Tracked in your audit log
Sharing activity is recorded in your workspace's audit log: each time a shared board is opened, and each time a private link is copied, regenerated, or its sharing settings change — so you can keep an eye on how your shared maps are being accessed.