diff --git a/pkg/api/index.go b/pkg/api/index.go
index ae153feccdd..b68169179ef 100644
--- a/pkg/api/index.go
+++ b/pkg/api/index.go
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ func (hs *HTTPServer) getNavTree(c *models.ReqContext, hasEditPerm bool, prefs *
 	uaVisibleForOrg := hs.Cfg.UnifiedAlerting.IsEnabled() && !uaIsDisabledForOrg
 
 	if setting.AlertingEnabled != nil && *setting.AlertingEnabled {
-		navTree = append(navTree, hs.buildLegacyAlertNavLinks()...)
+		navTree = append(navTree, hs.buildLegacyAlertNavLinks(c)...)
 	} else if uaVisibleForOrg {
 		navTree = append(navTree, hs.buildAlertNavLinks(c)...)
 	}
@@ -512,15 +512,18 @@ func (hs *HTTPServer) buildDashboardNavLinks(c *models.ReqContext, hasEditPerm b
 	return dashboardChildNavs
 }
 
-func (hs *HTTPServer) buildLegacyAlertNavLinks() []*dtos.NavLink {
+func (hs *HTTPServer) buildLegacyAlertNavLinks(c *models.ReqContext) []*dtos.NavLink {
 	var alertChildNavs []*dtos.NavLink
 	alertChildNavs = append(alertChildNavs, &dtos.NavLink{
 		Text: "Alert rules", Id: "alert-list", Url: hs.Cfg.AppSubURL + "/alerting/list", Icon: "list-ul",
 	})
-	alertChildNavs = append(alertChildNavs, &dtos.NavLink{
-		Text: "Notification channels", Id: "channels", Url: hs.Cfg.AppSubURL + "/alerting/notifications",
-		Icon: "comment-alt-share",
-	})
+
+	if c.HasRole(models.ROLE_EDITOR) {
+		alertChildNavs = append(alertChildNavs, &dtos.NavLink{
+			Text: "Notification channels", Id: "channels", Url: hs.Cfg.AppSubURL + "/alerting/notifications",
+			Icon: "comment-alt-share",
+		})
+	}
 
 	return []*dtos.NavLink{
 		{