In this blog post I want to share how to use Private Mode in Midjourney. As I stated in my earlier blog post about Midjourney, you essentially work in a shared space (ie channels) which means your prompt is visible to others working in the same channel.

However as a Paid ad-on you can have Private Mode enabled which means you can create your art knowing that your prompts are safe from prying eyes. I have seen many times in the channels when I have been creating art, some people just copy your prompt and start to create the same work. It is very annoying and frustrating.

I don’t mind if somebody takes inspiration from my prompt and starts to create their own one and using my prompt as a resource. But straight out copy/paste is irritating.

Private Mode

To enable Private mode you need to use the switch in Discord channel (any channel where you can create art). Simply type in /private.

When you type this for the first time you will be redirected to the payment site to add this option (if not already subscribed) to your Subscription. You can see the below example shows: Standard Membership ($30) + Private Access ($20).

Once this is all setup, you can now work in complete privacy but not in any Public Channels. After the private mode is activated you will get an error if you try to run a prompt in Public Channel. In my case though after subscribing it took 4-5 days before I saw this error, until then I was able to use Public Channels (I think this maybe because they manually assign this role to you)

The message you will get will look like this:

Now that you have private mode enabled, make sure your settings are setup correctly to receive DM from the MidJourney bot.

Once you have this allowed, you can get DM from Midjourney bot by using the “envelope” emoji on any image in a Public Channel (your image or other members). I have used it from early days of Beta program so I was able to store my images in a separate channel and not have them get lost in Public channel amongst other members.

Doing this will send the selected image via DM to you. This will be the Midjourney Bot that DMs you. Afterwards you can go to your Direct Message section of your Discord and simply start sending prompts to Midjourney Bot.

Now you are working in complete Privacy interacting with the Midjourney Bot. Use /imagine prompt to start creating.

Public Mode

To revert back to using Public Mode, simply type /public in any of the Public Channels of Midjourney Discord and you will be in Public Mode. This means that you can no longer DM the Midjourney bot and your creations are Public.

Summary

Private mode is a great way to keep your creations private and secure from prying eyes. As the user base increases you may be more inclined to keep your style, prompt and artwork private from others. Its is significant addition to your monthly fee which increases by 60% but its definitely worth it.