Networks help you organize users into groups based on shared characteristics, such as departments, locations, or commuting behavior. They can be used to control which programs and challenges users can access, organize reporting, and segment users for different purposes.

There are two types of Networks: Standard Networks and Smart Networks.

The easiest way to think about it:

Standard Network: You control membership. You can use rules to make a one-time selection, but the Network does not keep checking those rules.

Smart Network: The system controls membership based on rules and continuously updates it as users' circumstances change.

Standard Networks vs. Smart Networks

The main difference is how users become members and how membership is maintained.

*One exception is when they are added based on their email domain.

For example, you could create a Standard Network for your Marketing department and add its users manually or based on their email domain. Alternatively, you could create a Smart Network for users who have carpooled at least twice in the past month. As users' activity changes, the Smart Network automatically updates its membership.

Standard Network Hierarchy

Standard Networks can be organized into a hierarchy using parent Networks and subnetworks.

For example:

Commute Company
→ Marketing
→ Sales
→ Engineering

A user can belong to multiple Networks. When a user joins a subnetwork, they automatically become a member of its parent Network. However, they can leave a subnetwork while remaining a member of the parent Network. If a user is removed from the parent Network, they are also removed from its subnetworks.

Smart Networks cannot have subnetworks.

For more information, see Standard Networks Intro.

What Can Networks Be Used For?

Networks can be used to organize users and control how different groups interact with your programs. Depending on your setup, Networks can determine:

• Which programs and challenges users can access
• Which content and messages users see
• Which Network branding is displayed
• How users are grouped in statistics and reporting
• Which groups you want to target for specific initiatives

You can also use Networks simply as a way to segment users or gather information. For example, you could create a Smart Network to identify users who regularly cycle to work, use the Network to analyze the size of that group, and then delete it when you no longer need it.

Membership, Management, and Visibility

Network membership and Network management are separate. Being a member of a Network affects what a user sees and which programs or challenges they can participate in. Users can be assigned roles such as Manager or Program Coordinator, giving them permission to manage certain aspects of a Network through the Management Dashboard.

If you want to learn more about Roles & Permissions you should read our Roles & Permissions article.

Networks also have separate visibility settings:

Public or Private: Public Networks can be searched for and joined by anyone, while Private Networks are invite-only (via a join link, email domain association, or manual add). Note that this setting only applies to Standard Networks, Smart Networks automatically add users based on specific requirements rather than direct joins.

Visible or Hidden: Visible Networks can be seen by users in your organization, whether they are public or private. Hidden Networks do not appear in users' Network management screens or as options for carpool sharing and searching. Users cannot leave a hidden Network themselves and must be removed by a Network Manager.

Hidden Networks can be useful for segmentation and reporting when you do not want users to interact with or see the Network.For example, you can create a hidden Smart Network to quickly check how many users biked more than four times last month, you can simply delete it when you are done and the users will not know that there ever was network.

Which Network Type Should I Use?

Use a Standard Network when you are creating a relatively fixed group of users, such as a department, location, or team. Users actively join the Network or are added by a manager and remain members until they leave or are removed.

Use a Smart Network when you want membership to be determined automatically based on user information or behavior. Eligible users are automatically added, and users who no longer meet the requirements are removed. This makes Smart Networks particularly useful for targeted programs, changing user groups, and temporary analysis.