What's the difference between membership and security roles for an area?

Membership determines which areas a user belongs to based on their profile data. For example, if a user’s profile shows that they work in HR and are based in London, they can automatically become a member of both the HR and London areas. Being a member of an area does not necessarily mean the user can view or publish content there. Permissions control what users can see and do within each area. Permissions are managed through security roles, which determine the level of access users have. For example, whether they can view content, publish content, or perform other actions within an area. In short: membership determines which areas a user belongs to, while permissions determine what they can see and do within those areas.