Revoke access, deactivate, or remove a user from your account

You can limit a user’s access to your account. Each option depends on the access you want the user to have. 

You can:

• Revoke access to all items. When you revoke access to all items, the user will still be able to log in, and they’ll have access to assets if they are assigned new ones. Use revoke when you want to withdraw an external collaborator’s access to items in your account.
   
• Deactivate the user. When you deactivate a user, they won’t be able to log in to your Smartsheet account. If they were a licensed user, they retain ownership of assets and groups unless you transfer those assets to a different licensed user in your account.
  
  If you deactivate, you won’t have to transfer the assets, but the user will no longer have access. You will still see the deactivated user’s account and any assets they owned, and you can reactivate a user if needed.
   
• Delete the user from your account. 
  
  Before you delete a user, consider if you might deactivate them instead. A deactivated user no longer has access to the account or any assets, but you can still manage their assets.
  
  When you delete a user, the user is no longer associated with your account. A SysAdmin must transfer ownership of all assets of that user before deletion to ensure that they retain control over those assets. Additionally, remove the user from any shared assets.
  
  Delete the user when you have transferred a user’s assets and want to remove them from your organization completely. You cannot undelete a user, but you can add them back to the account. 

Things to know

In most cases, deactivating the user is a better choice.  The only reason to delete a user is when they need the email address for a different account. 

• You cannot remove yourself from an account, even if you are a System Admin. Another SysAdmin must remove you from the account. 
• If you don’t transfer the items before you delete the user, the items will be locked as read-only for 30 days, then deleted. Any links, reports, or dashboards which reference these items will not work.  
• If the user owns sheets, reports, or dashboards, transfer these items to another licensed user before deleting the account. 
• Any workflows and configurations for Smartsheet apps or connectors owned by the user will not be transferred and may break when you delete the user. Please reach out to Smartsheet Support for assistance before deleting these users.
• If the user is a Group Admin, you'll see the option to Transfer group ownership to <select new owner>. You can transfer ownership of their groups to another group admin on the account. You won't be able to delete the user until you transfer their groups. 
• To update assets without an admin or editor, use bulk ownership transfer 
• To add a deactivated user to a different plan, first transfer ownership of their assets as needed, then reactivate them so that you can deprovision them from the plan. 

Deactivate or delete a user: 

Go to the Admin Center and then select User Management. 

1. Hover on the row with the user you want to work with, and then, on the right side of the row, select More.
2. Select one of the following:
   
   Deactivate user to revoke access to Smartsheet. The user's email address is still associated with your account. All assets owned by that user remain accessible, and you can transfer ownership of those assets at any time. If you do not delete the user, You can reactivate them at any time.
   
   Reactivate user to enable access to Smartsheet and to any assets that haven't been transferred to a new owner.
   Delete user to remove their email address from the account. They will still be able to log in to Smartsheet as a free collaborator, but they will no longer be associated with your account.