What are access modifiers in Java and what are they?

Access modifiers in Java define the visibility level of classes, fields, methods, and constructors. They control from where a class member can be accessed.

There are four access modifiers in Java:

• public: The class member is visible from anywhere.
• protected: The class member is visible within its package and in all subclasses (also visible to itself).
• default (no explicit modifier): The class member is visible only within its package.
• private: The class member is visible only within its own class.

Applicability of modifiers:

Modifier	Class level	Package level	Subclass level	World level
public	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
protected	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
default	Yes	Yes	No	No
private	Yes	No	No	No