Here’s why you shouldn’t use a private Slack channel:

1. Messages are not searchable once you leave
2. Messages are not sharable
3. People can’t easily jump in and out
4. You can’t notify someone when you mention them
5. Workspace apps and bots aren’t present
6. They cultivate an “Us vs. them” culture
7. They foster unconscious biases by making it easy to exclude people
8. You can’t change your mind and make a private channel public

While there are uses for private channels, they hinder communication and transparency. Please make public channels your default.