# Set up custom roles

Choose which conversations an agent can handle and which contact details they can see, at account level or for a specific inbox.

## Create a role

As an administrator, go to **Settings → Custom Roles → Add custom role**. Enter a recognizable name and description, select the required permissions, and click **Submit**. To change a role later, edit it and click **Update**.

The role's permissions determine access. A name such as **Only Assigned** or **Masked Number** is just a label.

## Choose conversation access

- **Manage all conversations** allows work across conversations in the inboxes the person can access.
- **Manage unassigned conversations and those assigned to them** suits people who pick work from an unassigned queue.
- **Manage participating conversations and those assigned to them** suits people who should handle only their assigned or participating conversations.

For **Only Assigned**, select **Manage participating conversations and those assigned to them** and leave the other two conversation permissions off. Assign a test conversation to the agent before checking their view.

For full conversation coverage within permitted inboxes, select **Manage all conversations**. This does not add the agent to any inbox.

## Choose contact visibility separately

- **Show contact name** permits a name without full contact details when the other contact permissions are off.
- **View contacts and contact panel** allows contact-detail access and also makes contact names visible.
- **Manage contacts** allows contact management and also makes contact details and names visible.

To hide stored phone numbers and email addresses, leave **View contacts and contact panel** and **Manage contacts** off. To hide the name too, also leave **Show contact name** off. Follow the complete [contact-masking recipe](https://docs.bow.chat/getting-started/mask-contact-details).

Leave **Manage reports** and **Manage knowledge base** off unless the person needs those capabilities. If Custom Roles is unavailable, ask your account administrator or Bow Chat support to check availability for your account.

## Apply the role and grant inbox access

1. Set the role when [adding or editing the agent](https://docs.bow.chat/getting-started/add-agents) in **Settings → Agents**.
2. [Add the agent as an inbox collaborator](https://docs.bow.chat/getting-started/inbox-access).
3. In that inbox's **Collaborators**, review **Role in this inbox**. **Use account role** inherits the role above; a selected inbox-specific role takes precedence for that inbox.
4. Save and test using the agent's login. Administrator access is broader, so your own administrator view cannot verify their restrictions.

Next: [Test access](https://docs.bow.chat/getting-started/troubleshoot-agent-access).

Canonical: https://docs.bow.chat/getting-started/custom-roles
Version: 1
Updated: 2026-10-17T13:47:08.199Z