# Should search results not include results from public channels that I am not a member of?

**URL:** <https://forum.mattermost.com/t/should-search-results-not-include-results-from-public-channels-that-i-am-not-a-member-of/1130>\
**Category:** Troubleshooting\
**Created:** [March 22, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://forum.mattermost.com/t/should-search-results-not-include-results-from-public-channels-that-i-am-not-a-member-of/1130 "2016-03-22T18:21:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mjmst74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@mjmst74](https://forum.mattermost.com/u/mjmst74)\
**Post date:** [March 22, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://forum.mattermost.com/t/should-search-results-not-include-results-from-public-channels-that-i-am-not-a-member-of/1130/1 "2016-03-22T18:21:32Z")

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Hello,

I have a question about the search behavior. Is there a way to include results from public channels that I am not a member of? I left a channel, and then I was surprised when a keyword search didn’t bring back results from that channel.

On a very related note, I was surprised when someone mentioned me in a new channel, but I did not receive a notification, because I hadn’t joined the channel yet.

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**Author:** ![matterbot](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mattermost.com/matterbot/32/467_2.png) [@matterbot](https://forum.mattermost.com/u/matterbot)\
**Post date:** [March 22, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://forum.mattermost.com/t/should-search-results-not-include-results-from-public-channels-that-i-am-not-a-member-of/1130/2 "2016-03-22T18:32:18Z")

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Search returns only results from channels for which you are a member. [Please see documentation for more details.](http://docs.mattermost.com/help/getting-started/searching.html)

If you [mention someone who is not in the channel the person who mentions should see an error message,](http://docs.mattermost.com/help/messaging/mentioning-teammates.html?highlight=mentions) it’s up to them whether they want to reach you another way.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mjmst74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@mjmst74](https://forum.mattermost.com/u/mjmst74)\
**Post date:** [March 23, 2016, 12:55pm UTC](https://forum.mattermost.com/t/should-search-results-not-include-results-from-public-channels-that-i-am-not-a-member-of/1130/3 "2016-03-23T12:55:31Z")

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Thanks. On the search results, it seems counter-intuitive not to include hits in any public channel in my team. Slack does include public channel results regardless of channel membership.

Is there any plan to change that behavior in mattermost, or give the user the option to include unsubscribed channels in the results?