> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.anchorage.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Removing a user

> Remove team members from your organization or specific vaults.

You can remove users from your Porto organization or from specific vaults. Removing a user revokes their access to the account while preserving the audit trail of their previous activities.

## Before removing a user

Before you remove someone, consider:

* **Pending approvals** — Are they waiting to approve an operation? Get approvals completed first
* **Operations in progress** — Are they in the middle of any operations? Let them finish
* **Off-boarding workflow** — Use your organization's standard off-boarding procedure
* **Reason documentation** — Record why the user is being removed for compliance

## Remove from organization

Removing a user from the organization revokes all their access immediately.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open settings">
    From the home screen, tap **Settings**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select team or users">
    Go to **Team**, **Users**, or **Participants**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the user">
    Tap the user you want to remove. You can search by name or email.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tap remove">
    Select **Remove user**, **Remove from organization**, or **Delete**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm removal">
    You'll be asked to confirm that you want to remove this user. Review their name and email to ensure it's correct.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Provide reason (optional)">
    Some organizations allow or require you to note why the user is being removed (e.g., "Left company," "Transferred to different team").
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit for approval (if required)">
    If your policies require it, submit the removal for administrator approval.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Biometric authentication">
    Complete Face ID or Touch ID to authorize the removal. This is a sensitive action.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  User removal cannot be undone. Once removed, they lose all access and must be re-invited to regain access. Their historical activity remains in the audit trail permanently.
</Warning>

## Remove from specific vault

If you want to keep a user in your organization but remove their access to a specific vault:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open vault settings">
    Go to the vault and tap **Settings**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select users or team">
    Tap **Users**, **Team**, or **Participants**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Find the user">
    Select the user you want to remove from this vault only.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tap remove">
    Select **Remove from vault**, **Revoke access**, or **Delete**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm removal">
    Verify that you're removing them from this specific vault (not the organization).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit for approval">
    Depending on your policies, this may require vault policy approval.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Biometric authentication">
    Complete Face ID or Touch ID to authorize.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The user retains access to all other vaults and the organization; they're only removed from this specific vault.

## After removal

When a user is removed:

**Immediate effects:**

* Their session is ended — they're logged out of all devices
* Their API keys or access tokens become invalid
* They can no longer see vaults or assets
* Pending approvals they hadn't completed are cancelled

**What persists:**

* All their historical activity remains in the audit trail
* Past approvals they provided are recorded with their name
* Transaction history shows their involvement
* Compliance records remain intact

**What they keep:**

* They can request a copy of their activity history if needed
* Their historical transactions and approvals are unchangeable record

## Removing admins

If you need to remove an admin user:

* **Ensure there's another admin** — You must always have at least one active admin
* **Transfer ownership** — The admin may need to transfer vault ownership before removal
* **Get another admin's approval** — Removing an admin often requires approval from another admin
* **Off-boarding procedure** — Your organization may have specific admin off-boarding steps

Contact your account manager if you need to remove your last remaining admin.

## Removing yourself

If you accidentally remove yourself from an organization or vault:

1. **Contact another admin** — An admin must re-invite you
2. **Provide your email** — Give them the email associated with your Porto account
3. **Accept re-invitation** — You'll receive an invitation to rejoin; accept it
4. **Set up security** — Re-enable biometric authentication and other security settings

If you're the last admin and remove yourself, you've locked yourself out. Contact Porto support for recovery.

## Reactivating a removed user

If you need to give someone access again after removal:

1. **Invite them again** — Use the standard [add participant](/knowledge-base/porto/getting-started/setup-participants) or [add user to vault](/knowledge-base/porto/vaults-wallets/vaults) process
2. **Assign role** — Choose their role (Viewer, Operator, Initiator, Approver, Admin)
3. **Add to vaults** — Select which vaults they should access
4. **Send invitation** — They'll receive a new invitation and must accept it

Their old activity remains in the audit trail even after re-invitation.

## Compliance and audit trail

User removals are tracked for compliance:

**Recorded in audit trail:**

* When the user was removed
* Who requested the removal
* Who approved (if approval was required)
* Any reason provided
* Their final status before removal

**For regulatory purposes:**

* All user access changes are logged
* Removal dates are recorded per user
* Historical approvals from removed users are timestamped
* Activity remains auditable even after removal

## Role change as alternative

Before removing a user, consider whether **changing their role** might be better:

| Scenario                          | Better option                                       |
| :-------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------- |
| Someone shouldn't approve anymore | Change to Operator instead of removing              |
| Someone should only view          | Change to Viewer instead of removing                |
| Someone left temporarily          | Change to Viewer instead of removing                |
| Someone left permanently          | Remove them                                         |
| Someone changed departments       | Change vault access instead of organization removal |

Role changes are reversible; removal is permanent.

## Best practices for removing users

* **Follow off-boarding** — Use your organization's standard procedure
* **Coordinate timing** — Remove access right at the end of their work day
* **Revoke credentials** — If they had generated API keys, revoke those first
* **Notify security** — Let your security team know when accounts are deactivated
* **Document reason** — Keep records of why users were removed
* **Verify permissions** — Confirm you have admin permissions before attempting removal
* **Check for pending work** — Don't remove someone mid-approval or mid-transaction