Deactivating an Okta user account changes the status to Deactivated and removes application access, while deleting an account permanently removes the user from the directory. Administrators can perform both actions from the Okta Admin Console to manage the user lifecycle.
- Okta Identity Engine (OIE)
- Okta Classic Engine
- Lifecycle Management
- User Deactivation
- User Deletion
What happens when an administrator deactivates or deletes a user account?
When an administrator deactivates a user account, the account status changes from Active to Deactivated. Deactivated users lose access to assigned applications. When an administrator deletes a user account, administrators cannot undo the deletion. Administrators cannot delete users identified as technical or billing contacts. Okta automatically initiates the permanent deletion of data in 30 days. Okta keeps any data referencing the user for a period defined by the Okta Data Retention Policy. After deletion, the user no longer appears on the People page, and Okta does not return the user in API calls. However, administrators can reuse the user name and other identifiers.
How do administrators deactivate and delete user accounts?
Watch the video below or access the official Okta documentation links to review the specific procedures for deactivating and permanently deleting user accounts.
