Remove User Access from Pendo

Removing Users from Pendo

Removing user access from Pendo is essential for maintaining security, compliance, and efficient seat management. Whether handling employee departures, contractor completions, or access cleanups, properly revoking Pendo access protects sensitive product data and user information.

When to Remove Access

Employee Offboarding

Remove Pendo access when:

• Employees resign, retire, or are terminated
• Team members transfer to roles without product responsibilities
• Employees go on extended leave without needing product access
• During organizational restructuring or department changes
• Role changes eliminate the need for product analytics access

Contractor and Consultant Management

Revoke access when:

• Project-based contracts are completed
• Freelancer engagements end
• Consulting arrangements terminate
• Temporary product support assignments finish
• Agency partnerships conclude

Security and Compliance

Remove access immediately if:

• Unauthorized access is suspected or detected
• User email accounts are compromised
• Security audits identify unnecessary access
• Compliance reviews require access reduction
• Data breach protocols are activated

Seat Optimization

Remove inactive users to:

• Free up seats for new team members
• Reduce subscription costs by eliminating unused seats
• Optimize seat allocation across teams
• Prepare for new product launches requiring additional access
• During annual subscription renewals to right-size seat count

Access Hygiene

Regularly remove:

• Users who haven't logged in for 90+ days
• Duplicate accounts for the same individual
• Test accounts created during implementation
• Former employees missed during offboarding
• Contractors from completed projects

Prerequisites

Before removing users from Pendo:

• Verify you have Admin role privileges
• Identify the correct user to remove (confirm email address)
• Document the reason for removal for audit purposes
• Retrieve any necessary work or reports from the departing user
• Ensure guides authored by them are transferred or documented
• Check if they've created segments or dashboards others depend on

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Navigate to User Management

1. Log in to your Pendo subscription at app.pendo.io
2. Click Settings in the left navigation menu (gear icon)
3. Select "Users" or "User Management" from the settings options
4. The User Management page displays all current and pending users

The interface shows:

• List of active users with names and email addresses
• User roles and app access permissions
• Last login dates and activity indicators
• Action buttons for managing each user
• Seat usage counter

Step 2: Locate the User to Remove

1. Scroll through the user list or use the search function
2. Identify the correct user by email address and name
3. Verify you're removing the intended person (especially with common names)
4. Check their role and app access to understand what they can currently do
5. Note their last login date to confirm activity status

Step 3: Review User's Contributions

Before removing, consider:

1. Guides Created: Check if they authored in-app guides that are currently published
2. Segments Owned: Identify segments they created that others may use
3. Dashboards: Note any custom dashboards they built
4. Feedback Responses: Review if they're assigned to feedback items
5. Roadmap Items: Check for roadmap contributions

Step 4: Transfer Ownership (If Needed)

For users with important content:

1. Reassign guide ownership to another team member before removal
2. Transfer or duplicate critical segments to other users
3. Save or export custom dashboards they created
4. Reassign feedback items they were managing
5. Update roadmap item owners

Step 5: Initiate Removal

1. Find the remove, delete, or trash icon next to the user's name
2. Click the removal option
3. A confirmation dialog will appear

Step 6: Confirm Removal

The confirmation dialog typically displays:

• User's email address and name
• Current role assignment
• Warning that access will be immediately revoked
• Information about content preservation
• Seat availability after removal

Actions to take:

1. Read the confirmation message carefully
2. Verify you're removing the correct person
3. Understand that historical data will be preserved
4. Click "Remove," "Delete," or "Confirm" to proceed
5. Click "Cancel" if you selected the wrong user

Step 7: Verify Removal

After confirming:

1. Success message confirms the removal
2. User disappears from the active users list
3. Seat counter updates to show increased availability
4. User immediately loses access to Pendo
5. Active sessions are terminated across all devices

What Happens After Removal

Immediate Effects

When you remove a user:

• Access is revoked instantly across all devices and browsers
• They cannot log in to Pendo anymore
• Any active browser sessions are invalidated
• They stop receiving Pendo email notifications
• Their seat becomes available for reassignment

Content and Data Preservation

Important notes about data:

• Historical analytics data remains intact
• Guides they created remain in Pendo (ownership may show as "Deleted User")
• Segments they created are preserved
• Dashboards they built remain accessible to others
• Feedback responses they provided stay in the system
• Audit logs retain their activity history

Guide Ownership

For guides created by removed users:

• Published guides continue running normally
• Guides may show "Deleted User" or former email as author
• Other Admins can edit and update these guides
• Consider reassigning guide ownership before removal when possible

Team Notifications

Regarding notifications:

• The removed user typically doesn't receive a removal notification
• Other team members are not notified of the removal
• Consider communicating major removals to relevant stakeholders
• Admins may see removal activity in audit logs

Common Use Cases

Standard Employee Offboarding

When employees leave the organization:

1. Include Pendo access removal in standard offboarding checklist
2. Coordinate with IT for simultaneous removal across all systems
3. Remove access on or before the employee's last day
4. Document removal date and time for HR records
5. Transfer ownership of critical guides and segments

Offboarding timeline:

• Week before departure: Identify guides and segments to transfer
• Last day: Remove Pendo access
• After departure: Verify removal was successful
• Monthly audit: Confirm no lingering access remains

Contractor Project Completion

When contractor work concludes:

1. Schedule removal for the contract end date
2. Notify contractor in advance that access will be removed
3. Allow time for them to export final reports if needed
4. Set calendar reminder for removal date
5. Remove access promptly on schedule
6. Document removal for contract records

Best practices:

• Give 1-week notice before removal
• Provide self-service access to export data they need
• Remove access within 24 hours of contract end
• Verify removal through User Management page

Security Incident Response

In case of security concerns:

1. Remove access immediately without delay
2. Document the security incident and removal action
3. Review audit logs to see what data was accessed
4. Notify IT security team of the removal
5. Check for unusual guide or segment activity
6. Consider password resets if account was compromised
7. Report to compliance team if required

Seasonal Access Management

For organizations with seasonal team members:

1. Remove access when seasonal period ends
2. Keep records for potential re-invitation next season
3. Document seasonal access patterns for planning
4. Consider Read Only for minimal off-season access
5. Plan seat allocation around seasonal needs

Bulk Cleanup During Audits

When conducting access reviews:

1. Generate list of inactive users (90+ days no login)
2. Verify each user's employment status
3. Remove all confirmed departed employees
4. Document cleanup for compliance records
5. Update seat forecasting based on actual usage

Best Practices

Security and Compliance

1. Immediate Action: Remove access within 24 hours of employee departure
2. Verify Identity: Always confirm you're removing the correct person
3. Audit Trail: Document all removals with reason and date
4. Regular Reviews: Conduct quarterly access reviews
5. Automated Alerts: Set up alerts for inactive users (if available)

Communication

1. Stakeholder Notification: Inform team leads of significant removals
2. Contractor Communication: Give advance notice to contractors
3. Documentation: Update internal access records promptly
4. Exit Knowledge Transfer: Collect information about their Pendo work before removal
5. Team Coordination: Notify teams if removing someone who managed shared resources

Content Management

1. Guide Inventory: Maintain list of who created which guides
2. Ownership Transfer: Reassign critical content before removal
3. Segment Documentation: Document important segments and their creators
4. Dashboard Sharing: Ensure valuable dashboards are accessible to others
5. Backup Important Work: Export or save critical analyses before removal

Seat Management

1. Track Removals: Monitor seat availability after removals
2. Reallocation Plan: Have a plan for freed seats
3. Cost Optimization: Remove inactive users to optimize subscription costs
4. Forecast Needs: Use removal patterns to predict seat requirements
5. Coordinate with Finance: Align removals with billing cycles when possible

Troubleshooting

Cannot Remove a User

If you're unable to remove someone:

1. Permission Check: Only Admins can remove users
2. Self-Removal: You cannot remove your own account
3. Last Admin: Some systems prevent removing the last Admin (varies by plan)
4. Pending Status: Cancel pending invitations separately
5. Contact Support: Reach out to Pendo support for technical issues

User Can Still Access After Removal

If a removed user reports continued access:

1. Browser Cache: Ask them to clear cookies and cache
2. Multiple Devices: They may have other devices still logged in
3. Different Subscription: They might be accessing a different Pendo subscription
4. Verify Removal: Double-check they're fully removed in User Management
5. Force Logout: Contact Pendo support to force logout all sessions
6. Password Reset: Consider resetting their password if security is a concern

Accidentally Removed Wrong Person

If you remove someone by mistake:

1. Act Immediately: Re-invite them right away using their original email
2. Assign Same Role: Give them their previous role and app access
3. Apologize: Inform them of the error and that access is restored
4. Verify Access: Confirm they can log in and see their previous apps
5. Check Content: Ensure their guides and segments are still accessible
6. Improve Process: Implement verification checks to prevent future mistakes

Need Historical Data About Removed User

To access information about departed users:

1. Audit Logs: Check Pendo audit logs for their activity (Enterprise feature)
2. Guide Authorship: Search for guides by their email or name
3. Segment Creation: Review segment metadata for creator information
4. Export Data: Export analytics before removing if you need attribution
5. Contact Support: Pendo support may provide additional historical information

Removed User's Content Missing

If guides or segments seem to disappear:

1. Content Preserved: Removal doesn't delete content, verify you're looking in the right place
2. Search by Author: Use search filters to find content by deleted user
3. Published Status: Check if guides were unpublished separately from removal
4. App Access: Verify you have access to the apps where content was created
5. Contact Support: Reach out to Pendo support if content is truly missing

After Removing Access

Verification Steps

After removing a user:

1. Refresh Page: Reload User Management to confirm removal
2. Seat Count: Verify seat counter shows increased availability
3. Documentation: Log the removal in your access management records
4. Stakeholder Update: Notify relevant managers or team leads
5. Content Check: Verify critical guides and segments are still accessible

Follow-Up Actions

Complete these tasks after removal:

1. Update Records: Modify internal documentation of Pendo users
2. Reassign Work: Transfer any pending tasks or responsibilities
3. Guide Ownership: Update guide ownership documentation
4. Team Communication: Inform teams if the person managed shared resources
5. Seat Planning: Note availability for future hiring or contractors

Security Verification

For sensitive removals:

1. Review Activity: Check audit logs for their recent Pendo activity
2. Data Access: Verify what sensitive data they may have viewed
3. Incident Report: Document for security or compliance teams if needed
4. Related Systems: Ensure they're removed from related tools and integrations
5. Monitor: Watch for unusual activity patterns that could indicate compromise

Related Resources

• Add User Access - Invite new team members to Pendo
• Update User Access - Modify roles instead of removing
• User Management Overview - Comprehensive guide to Pendo user management

Additional Support

For enterprise-level user management or complex removal scenarios, configure SCIM deprovisioning in Settings > Integrations > SCIM (Enterprise plan required).