Permissions define who can access documents in a collection. By default **no permissions** are granted to any users, so no user can access any documents. Permissions exist at two levels, collection level and document level permissions.

In Appwrite, permissions are **granted**, meaning a user has no access by default and receives access when granted. A user with access granted at either collection level or document level will be able to access a document. Users **don't need access at both levels** to access documents.

## Collection level

Collection level permissions apply to every document in the collection. If a user has read, create, update, or delete permissions at the collection level, the user can access **all documents** inside the collection.

Configure collection level permissions by navigating to **Your collection** > **Settings** > **Permissions**.

## Document level

Document level permissions grant access to individual documents. If a user has read, create, update, or delete permissions at the document level, the user can access the **individual document**.

Document level permissions are only applied if Document Security is enabled in the settings of your collection. Enable document level permissions by navigating to **Your collection** > **Settings** > **Document security**.

Document level permissions are configured in individual documents.

## Common use cases

For examples of how to implement common permission patterns, including creating private documents that are only accessible to their creators, see the [permissions examples](/content/docs/advanced/platform/permissions#examples/index.html) in our platform documentation.