Who can see and edit a work item

Every work item carries a restriction that says who can edit it, and an Others access setting that says what everyone else may do. The selector is shown when the Work teams feature is enabled; subtasks always carry their task's restriction.

The options

For the last two, Others access decides what users outside the rule get: Other users have no access. (they cannot see the item at all) or Other users can view. (read-only). So Only me + can view is a public item only you can edit, and Only me + no access is private.

Choosing Only me assigns the item to you and locks the assignee; choosing a designated team limits the assignee picker to that team.

Only me names one person: the item's owner, whoever created it until an administrator hands it over. On your own items it reads as me; on someone else's it names them.

The restriction is what grants access

Being the assignee grants nothing by itself: if the rule excludes you, you cannot open the item even if it is assigned to you, and your board only lists assigned items you can actually open. Likewise, a permission such as create work items is not enough on its own — you also need edit rights on the specific item and on every item above it. Administrators are exempt.

Setting an item that anyone could edit to Only me makes it yours — whoever chooses it becomes the owner, whether or not they created it.

Handing an item that is already private to somebody else is an administrator's job. With Only me chosen, administrators see an Owner picker — you, by default — and choosing a different user moves who may edit the item, and moves the assignee with it. The change is recorded in the item's history. Nobody else can hand an item over, not even its owner, so a private item can never be pushed onto you by a colleague.

Opening an item the rule excludes you from shows You don't have access with a Go to my board button.

A nested item can only be stricter

An item's restriction must be equal to or more restrictive than that of the project, phase or task that contains it — never looser. The dialog hides the looser options and says why. Under a team-restricted project or phase the team is inherited and locked; to narrow further, use Only me. A new item starts with the restriction of the item you create it in. Tightening a project or a phase does not rewrite the items it already contains, but they are still hidden by its rule until someone who can see it edits them.