Logging in as a customer to help them (impersonation)

Logging in as a customer to help them (impersonation)

What you'll learn: how to "log in as" a customer so you can see exactly what they see and help them faster — without ever needing their password.

Why use impersonation?

When a customer says "the file manager isn't working for me", the fastest way to help is to see what they see. Impersonation lets you do that without asking for their password (which they shouldn't share, ever).

Every impersonation session is recorded in the audit log, so it's transparent and accountable.

How to impersonate

  1. Sidebar → Accounts.
  2. Find the customer and click their username.
  3. Click Sign in as this user (or Impersonate).
  4. You're now signed in as them. A banner across the top reminds you you're impersonating.

[screenshot here: impersonation banner]

Ending the session

Click Stop impersonating in the banner at the top. You'll return to your admin session, exactly where you left off.

What you can see while impersonating

Everything the customer sees: their domains, files, databases, mailboxes, settings. You can also make changes on their behalf — which is exactly what you'll often need to do to fix something.

What gets logged

Every impersonation session creates two audit log entries:

  • Started impersonating — who, whom, when
  • Stopped impersonating — who, whom, when, duration

Any actions you take while impersonating are logged with both your identity (the impersonator) and the customer's identity, so it's always clear who did what.

Best practices

  • Tell the customer first. A quick "I'll log into your account to take a look" feels much better than a surprise.
  • Get out promptly. Don't browse around in someone's account longer than you need to.
  • Don't read mailboxes unless the customer specifically asked you to. It's their private mail.

If something goes wrong

  • "You don't have permission to impersonate this user" — resellers can only impersonate accounts they created. Admins can impersonate anyone.
  • Banner doesn't appear — refresh the page. If the banner is missing, end your session and start again to be safe.

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