---
title: "Set team policies"
description: "Set shared chat defaults, model access, feature permissions, and spending limits for members of a managed team."
canonical: "https://bearly.ai/docs/teams/policies/"
markdown: "https://bearly.ai/docs/teams/policies.md"
---

# Set team policies

HTML: [https://bearly.ai/docs/teams/policies/](https://bearly.ai/docs/teams/policies/)

> Set shared chat defaults, model access, feature permissions, and spending limits for members of a managed team.

Policies give a team administrator one place to set the defaults, tools, models, and limits available to groups of members.

> **Note**
> Policies are available to administrators of managed teams. Members do not see the **Policies** tab. On a team that is not managed, the tab shows **Managed only** and an **Upgrade to Managed** option instead of the policy editor.


## Open your team's policies



1. Open your account menu and select **Teams**.
2. Select the team you want to manage.
3. Select **Policies**.



The page lists each policy and marks the team's **Default** policy. If the team has no policies yet, the first one you create becomes the default for new members.

## Create a policy



1. Select **Add policy**.
2. Enter a **Policy name** between 4 and 18 characters.
3. Optionally enter a **Monthly spend limit**. Leave it blank for no policy-level limit.
4. Configure the chat defaults, model access, and feature controls your members need.
5. Review the footer for the **Unsaved changes** indicator, then select **Save**.



The monthly limit applies to managed-domain members assigned to the policy. A limit set directly on an individual member overrides the policy limit for that person.

### Set chat defaults

Turn on **Enable chat defaults** to choose the **Model**, **Instructions**, **Language**, and **Temperature** that new chats outside projects start with. Project chats use their project settings instead of these policy chat defaults.

Each default can be **Unlocked** or **Locked**:

- **Unlocked** gives members the default while allowing them to change it.
- **Locked** prevents members from changing that setting.

Temperature runs from more focused to more creative. The **Factual**, **Default**, and **Creative** presets provide useful starting points.

### Control model access

Under **Models**, choose one of three **Model access** modes:

- **Off** leaves chat models unrestricted by this policy.
- **Allow-list** permits only the models you add to **Allowed models**.
- **Deny-list** permits models except those you add to **Denied models**.

Use **Filter available models** to find a model, then select **Add** or **Remove**. An allow-list must contain at least one model before the policy can be saved.

Model access controls chat models. Use the feature sections below it to permit or restrict Bearly's other tools.

### Choose which features members can use

The remaining controls are arranged by the kind of work they affect:

| Section | What you can manage |
| --- | --- |
| **Web & Research** | Web tools and Deep Research |
| **Media & Creativity** | Images, video, Pages, voice, transcription, and text to speech |
| **Code & Automation** | **Run Python**, **Document Editor**, local work, Computer Use, Browser, Connectors, email notifications, and text messages |
| **Collaboration** | Screen Share and Council |
| **Privacy & Security** | Memory Recall, the PII Blocker, local encryption, existing-chat locking, and file uploads |
| **Skills** | Whether members can use, add, and run Skills, including Skills supplied by a policy |
| **Projects** | Project creation, password requirements, collaboration, and project documents and data |
| **Developer** | Advanced developer access when it is available to your team |

The exact controls shown can depend on the features available to your team.

> **Note**
> Most controls begin with **Disable**. Turning on **Disable Computer Use**, for example, prevents members on the policy from using Computer Use. Disabling the **Web Module** also prevents Deep Research.


> **Danger — Locking existing chats cannot be undone**
> **Lock Existing Chats** restricts affected members' existing chats to local access. The keys are unrecoverable, and the confirmation cannot be reversed. Make sure your team understands the effect before enabling it.


## Make a policy the default

The default policy is assigned automatically to new managed-domain members. To change it:

1. Open the policy you want to use.
2. Select **Make Default**.
3. Confirm **Make Default**.

Changing the default does not reassign existing members. To change an existing member, open **Members**, select the member, choose a **Policy**, and select **Save**.

## Review or share a policy summary

Open an existing policy and select **Summarize the Policy** to generate a plain-language summary. If you have unsaved edits, the summary identifies that it reflects those edits.

Select **Email me a copy** to send the current summary to your account email. If Bearly cannot generate the summary, select **Try again**. A team's model restrictions can prevent summary generation when no suitable model is available.

## Edit or delete a policy

Select a policy from the list to edit it. Bearly marks pending edits as **Unsaved changes**; select **Save** to apply them or **Cancel** to leave the editor.

Only a non-default policy offers **Delete**. Deleting a policy does not automatically move its current members to another policy: they continue using the deleted policy's settings until an administrator changes their assignment, and the policy can appear as **Inactive** beside those members. Reassign them before deleting the policy if you want a clean transition.

## If a policy will not save

- Check that **Policy name** contains 4–18 characters.
- If **Model access** is set to **Allow-list**, add at least one model or switch the mode to **Off**.
- If Bearly shows **Failed to save policy. Please try again.**, keep the editor open and select **Save** again after checking your connection.

## Continue through the documentation

- [Documentation index](https://bearly.ai/docs.md): Browse every Bearly guide.
- [Previous: Review team usage](https://bearly.ai/docs/teams/usage.md)
- [Next: Change your chat settings](https://bearly.ai/docs/settings/chat-settings.md)