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Remove Users

Removing a user requires choosing between deactivation and deletion. Deactivation preserves history and allows recovery. Deletion is permanent and should be used with caution.

Who this is for

Admin Executive

Prerequisites

  • Tenant Admin or Super Admin role
  • Review of Invite Users
  • Understanding of record ownership in your tenant

Deactivation vs deletion

Action Effect Recoverable Use when
Deactivate User cannot log in; history preserved Yes Temporary leave, role change, offboarding
Delete User removed; history anonymized No Legal request, data subject request, irreversible offboarding

Deactivate a user

  1. Go to Admin > User Management > Users.
  2. Search for the user and click the row.
  3. Click Deactivate in the detail panel.
  4. Choose a Reason from the dropdown.
  5. Decide whether to Transfer ownership of their records.
  6. Click Confirm.

Deactivated users:

  • Lose access immediately
  • Do not count toward active user limits
  • Retain their name on historical audit entries

Delete a user

  1. Go to Admin > User Management > Users.
  2. Search for the user and click the row.
  3. Click Delete.
  4. Confirm that you understand deletion is irreversible.
  5. Transfer or reassign record ownership.
  6. Click Permanently Delete.

Deletion impact

Deleted user names are replaced with anonymized identifiers in audit logs. Their comments and evidence remain but show as "Former User."

Data ownership transfer

Before removing a user, transfer ownership of initiatives, business cases, and evidence.

Step-by-step: transfer ownership

  1. In the user detail panel, click Transfer Ownership.
  2. Select the Target User who will receive the records.
  3. Choose All Records or filter by type.
  4. Click Preview to review the transfer list.
  5. Click Execute Transfer.

Records transfer with full history intact. The original creator is preserved in metadata.

Ownership types that transfer

Type Transferred? Notes
Initiative owner Yes New owner receives notifications
Business case owner Yes Approval history preserved
Evidence uploader No Uploader metadata remains
Comment author No Comments show "Former User" if deleted

Permissions required

Role Permission Scope
Super Admin Deactivate and delete users Organization
Tenant Admin Deactivate and delete users Organization
Content Admin View user status Organization
Analyst Cannot remove users —
Viewer Cannot remove users —

Limits and guardrails

Limit Bulk deactivation supports up to 100 users at once.

Limit Ownership transfer is limited to 1,000 records per operation.

Limit Deleted users cannot be restored. Their tenant-scoped data is anonymized, not removed, to preserve referential integrity.

Troubleshooting

Issue: cannot delete a user

Cause: The user is the sole owner of records and no transfer target is selected, or the user is the last Tenant Admin. Resolution: Assign a new owner to all records. Promote another user to Tenant Admin before deleting the last one.

Issue: transferred records still show the old owner

Cause: The browser cache is stale, or the transfer is still processing. Resolution: Refresh the page. Large transfers may take up to 5 minutes to complete.

Issue: deactivated user still receiving notifications

Cause: The user is subscribed to a shared report or group notification. Resolution: Remove the user from all groups and scheduled reports before deactivation.

Escalation path

For accidental deletion or failed ownership transfer:

  1. If deactivation was used, reactivate the user immediately from User Management > Deactivated Users.
  2. If deletion occurred, file a support ticket with severity High within 24 hours.
  3. Escalate to #valuepact-ops if record ownership is inconsistent after transfer.