- Groups are now globally configurable under Admin > Plans & Platform > Group Availability.

When disabled:

Group navigation and channel selector are hidden.
Group API operations are blocked.
Active sessions update automatically.
Existing groups and messages remain preserved.
Static and browser tests passed with no console errors.

lib/admin_platform.php

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ function handleAdminPlatformAction(string $action): ?string {
     if ($action === 'save_platform_services') {
         setConfigValues([
             'subscriptions.enabled' => !empty($_POST['subscriptions_enabled']),
+            'groups.enabled' => !empty($_POST['groups_enabled']),
             'mailgun.api_key' => trim((string)($_POST['mailgun_api_key'] ?? '')),
             'mailgun.domain' => trim((string)($_POST['mailgun_domain'] ?? '')),
             'mailgun.from' => trim((string)($_POST['mailgun_from'] ?? '')),
@@ -141,6 +142,10 @@ function renderAdminPlatformTab(): void {
         <div class="panel-body"><label class="cb-row"><input type="checkbox" name="subscriptions_enabled" <?= getConfigVal('subscriptions.enabled', true) ? 'checked' : '' ?>>
           <span>Allow and display new subscriptions. When off, existing subscribers can still manage billing.</span></label></div></div>
 
+      <div class="panel"><div class="panel-head"><span class="panel-title">// GROUP AVAILABILITY</span></div>
+        <div class="panel-body"><label class="cb-row"><input type="checkbox" name="groups_enabled" <?= groupsEnabled() ? 'checked' : '' ?>>
+          <span>Enable private groups. When off, group navigation and channels are hidden while existing group data is preserved.</span></label></div></div>
+
       <div class="panel"><div class="panel-head"><span class="panel-title">// MAILGUN</span></div><div class="panel-body">
         <div class="form-row3">
           <div class="field"><label>API Key</label><input type="password" name="mailgun_api_key" value="<?= esc(getConfigVal('mailgun.api_key', '')) ?>"></div>