Remove, delete, or deactivate users

Manage user accounts

Deactivate user

Smartsheet recommends deactivation as the preferred means of removing a user from Smartsheet.

Deactivated users aren't able to sign in to your company Smartsheet account, but items they created remain available. Upon deactivation, you get their license back, and you can continue to access their assets and profile to reassign ownership of content and groups as needed.

You can't deactivate users with emails from the following domains because it completely revokes their access to Smartsheet. Instead, remove them from your plan.

• outlook.com
• gmail.com
• hotmail.com
• live.com
• yahoo.com
• aol.com
• verizon.net
• rocketmail.com
• comcast.net
• icloud.com
• charter.net
• web.de
• mail.com
• email.com
• usa.com
• duck.com
• mail.ru

Reactivate user

If a deactivated user rejoins your organization, you can reactivate their account. Reactivation assigns a license and restores access to shared items or assets the user still owns. 

Delete user

Delete user permanently removes the user from your org. Deleted users can no longer access your account, and their licenses are released.

When you select this option, Admin Center prompts you to manually transfer all assets and groups the user owns (see below).

Remove sharing

When you revoke a user's access to all items, they can still sign in to Smartsheet and create items. They can access any new content shared with them. Use this option to withdraw an external collaborator's access to items in your account.

To remove, delete, or deactivate users

1. Go to the Admin Center.  
2. Select User Management.
3. Hover over the row of the user account you want to manage.
4. On the right side of the row, select More.
5. Select one of the following:
   • Remove sharing
   • Deactivate user
   • Reactivate user
   • Delete user

To find deactivated users

1. Go to the Admin Center.
2. Select User Management.
3. On the top right, change the filter setting from Show All Users to Deactivated Users.
4. Search for the deactivated user account.

To transfer ownership of assets and groups:

1. Go to the Admin Center.  
2. Select User Management.
3. Hover over the row of the user account you want to manage.
4. On the right side of the row, select More.
5. You can select the following:
   • Select Transfer Owned Items
   • Select Transfer Owned Groups
   • (Optional) Select Remove Sharing
   • (Optional) Select Remove from Groups

Other things to know

• You can't remove yourself from an account even if you're a System Admin. Another System Admin must remove you from the account. 
• You can't revoke access to Smartsheet or deactivate users through third-party integration.
• To update assets without an Admin or Editor, use bulk ownership transfer. 
• For licensed users that need to retain ownership of their assets while moving to a new plan, open a support ticket. You can also use the Smartsheet API to configure user movement without asset loss.
• Use the filter dropdown in the top right corner to find users by status or type. Can't find a user? Try changing the filter setting.