Pausing comments on shared links

What pausing does

Pausing comments on a shared link freezes feedback without taking the link down. Reviewers can still open the link and read every existing comment and reply — they just cannot add new ones, edit their own, or change status.

Use it when you need to stop incoming feedback for a round of review, a handoff, or a release freeze, but still want clients and reviewers to see the thread so far.

The same toggle works across all three share types:

• Website and media projects — shared via a project link.
• Documents — shared via a document link.
• Web apps — shared via a web app link, and the live comment widget embedded on your own site.

How to pause comments

1. Open the project, document, or web app you want to pause.
2. Click the Share button to open the share modal.
3. If you have not generated a share link yet, create one first.
4. Turn on the Pause comments toggle.

The toggle takes effect immediately. You can switch it back off at any time to resume commenting — the same link keeps working in both states, so you never have to regenerate it or re-send it to reviewers.

By default the toggle is off and comments are allowed.

What reviewers see when paused

Guests and reviewers who open a paused link will see:

• The full thread of existing comments and replies — nothing is hidden.
• The Comment tab disabled, with a tooltip that reads "Comments paused by owner".
• The shared page opens in Browse mode instead of Comment mode.
• Reply inputs inside comment threads replaced with a small notice: "Comments and replies have been paused."
• Edit, status change, and unresolve controls hidden on comments they previously posted.

If a reviewer had the page open in another tab before you paused it, their tab will lock down the moment they try to post, edit, or reply. They will see a "Comments have been paused" toast and the rest of the UI updates to match a fresh visit — no silent failures.

What still works while paused

• Reading every existing comment and reply.
• Deleting their own comments and replies — pausing is about stopping new feedback, not locking in content reviewers may want to retract.
• Browsing the project, document, or web app exactly as before.

On the live comment widget, your own workspace members keep full commenting access even when pause is on. Only guests are blocked. This lets your team keep internal coordination going while external feedback is frozen.

Pausing the live widget on your site

If you embed Huddlekit on your own live site with the web app widget, the same Pause comments toggle in the web app share modal also controls the widget. When pause is on:

• Guests visiting your site see the widget with the Comment tab disabled and the same paused notices inside threads.
• Your workspace members still see the normal commenting UI.

There is no separate switch — one toggle covers both the shared board page and the embedded widget for a given web app.

Unpausing

Turn the Pause comments toggle off in the same share modal. Commenting resumes immediately for everyone on the link and on the live widget. Existing reviewers do not need to refresh for the Comment tab to come back — it re-enables on their next action.

Common questions

Does pausing hide existing comments? No. Everything posted before the pause stays visible. Pause only blocks new comments, replies, and edits.

Does the share link change when I pause? No. The same URL keeps working. You can pause and unpause as often as you want without re-sharing.

Can reviewers delete their comments while paused? Yes. Deletion is not blocked by pause.

What happens if someone has the page open when I pause? Their tab continues to render until they try to post or edit. The first attempt is blocked with a toast, and the UI updates to show the paused state for the rest of the session.