An intranet is a private network of pages and services for one organisation, and only approved users can reach it. The internet is the public, worldwide network that anyone connected can use. They share technology but not the audience.
This lesson belongs to the networks and communication module and extends the ideas of private and public networks from choosing a network arrangement.
What separates them?
| Feature | Intranet | Internet |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Approved members of one organisation | Anyone with a connection |
| Content owner | The organisation | Many different owners |
| Access control | Login and permissions | Mostly open, some pages need accounts |
| Typical content | Internal notices, timetables, shared documents | Public websites, email, shopping, video |
| Reach | Inside the organisation, sometimes by secure login from outside | Worldwide |
A private page behind a login on the public internet is not an intranet by itself. An intranet is a private network for one organisation, managed by that organisation.
How do I decide, step by step?
- Ask who is meant to see it. One organisation only, or the public?
- Ask who controls the content. The organisation, or many outside owners?
- Ask whether a login limits entry. Intranet pages normally need one.
- Match the answer to the term, then write one sentence of reasoning.
Worked example
Sekolah Mutiara Digital is a fictional school. It has a staff handbook, a class timetable, a page for booking the computer room and a page of open-day details for visitors.
Staff handbook: only staff may read it, so it sits on the intranet.
Class timetable: for students and teachers of the school only, so intranet.
Computer room booking: needs a school login and is for members only, so intranet.
Open-day details: meant for anyone, including families who are not members, so it is on the school’s public website, reached through the internet.
The school therefore uses both, split by audience.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to say an intranet is just a smaller internet that does not use web pages.
Mistaken answer: “An intranet does not use browsers or web pages.”
Intranets often use the same browser and web technology. What differs is who can reach them.
The correction is to describe access: “An intranet is private to the organisation and needs authorised access, while the internet is public.” Another slip is to claim an intranet always stops working without the internet. It can run inside the organisation’s own network.
Check yourself
1. Classify each as intranet or internet: (a) a staff leave request form, (b) a public news site, (c) a shared folder only students of the fictional school can open.
Show answer
(a) Intranet, staff only. (b) Internet, open to the public. (c) Intranet, restricted to members.
2. Give one reason a company might use an intranet rather than put internal documents on a public website.
Show answer
Access control. Only approved users can see the documents, so private information is not shown to the public.
3. A student says “my school intranet is on the internet, so it is public.” Respond in one or two sentences.
Show answer
Being reachable by a secure login does not make it public. An intranet stays private to the school and needs authorised access, while the public internet is open to anyone.
Where this leads next
Finish the module with describing a safe communication practice, then try the full networks practice set. The ICT practical task and evidence checker can help you turn scenario answers into clear checkpoints.
If your answers drift between the two terms under time pressure, a teacher in online one-to-one ICT tuition can drill the contrast with fresh scenarios until it settles.