# \#impersonate **URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/tag/impersonate/626.md [Latest](https://meta.discourse.org/latest.md) · [Categories](https://meta.discourse.org/categories.md) · [Tags](https://meta.discourse.org/tags.md) --- ## [Unable to end impersonation for 2fa enforced user](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-end-impersonation-for-2fa-enforced-user/411486)
**Author:** [@Eviepayne](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Eviepayne)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 2, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-end-impersonation-for-2fa-enforced-user/411486 "2026-09-02T21:58:08Z")
I was helping a user on our forum with 2FA, and I impersonated their user to troubleshoot an issue. Because the enforced 2fa breaks all routing I’m unable to leave the impersonation. --- ## [Impersonation limit (time)](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonation-limit-time/403961)
**Author:** [@ice.d](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ice.d)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonation-limit-time/403961 "2026-06-14T12:34:44Z")
Hi I impersonated my alternate account on my forum today to do a quick test of a feature i did for the forum and it said Impersonating user 15 minutes left but i’ve never seen it before and nor have i seen a setting for… --- ## [Experience when impersonation is terminated automatically after some time](https://meta.discourse.org/t/experience-when-impersonation-is-terminated-automatically-after-some-time/402252)
**Author:** [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [May 11, 2026, 3:38am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/experience-when-impersonation-is-terminated-automatically-after-some-time/402252 "2026-05-11T03:38:57Z")
Fortsetzung der Diskussion von New Bug With Experimental Impersonation Interface: The change is now stable and I can still reproduce that. Are there any plans to improve the experience for admins after the impersonat… --- ## [Impersonate a user and returning to admin user](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonate-a-user-and-returning-to-admin-user/119683)
**Author:** [@Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Discourse)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [February 25, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonate-a-user-and-returning-to-admin-user/119683 "2026-02-25T22:38:39Z")
:bookmark: This guide explains how to impersonate a user in Discourse and return to your admin account. This is useful when you need to troubleshoot issues faced by a specific user or verify their permissions. … --- ## [New Bug With Experimental Impersonation Interface](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-bug-with-experimental-impersonation-interface/395621)
**Author:** [@PandaKai7](https://meta.discourse.org/u/PandaKai7)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [February 10, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/new-bug-with-experimental-impersonation-interface/395621 "2026-02-10T22:56:16Z")
Hello! I would like to report this bug I found, where if you try to exit out of the new experimental impersonation feature, it tells me that the requested URL or resource can’t be found. Proof: --- ## [Add 'stop impersonating' link to user avatar dropdown when impersonating](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-stop-impersonating-link-to-user-avatar-dropdown-when-impersonating/13806)
**Author:** [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [October 29, 2025, 5:01am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-stop-impersonating-link-to-user-avatar-dropdown-when-impersonating/13806 "2025-10-29T05:01:44Z")
As far as I’m aware, there is currently no way to ‘stop impersonating’ a user. In order to do this now, you have to log out, and then log back in as yourself. It’d be nice if there were a link to ‘stop impersonating’ t… --- ## [Suggestion: Impersonating an account should not affect "last seen" date](https://meta.discourse.org/t/suggestion-impersonating-an-account-should-not-affect-last-seen-date/189347)
**Author:** [@jrgong](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jrgong)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 3, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/suggestion-impersonating-an-account-should-not-affect-last-seen-date/189347 "2025-10-03T19:42:20Z")
Hey guys Current behaviour is: When impersonating a user’s account, the last seen date is affected by this action. This behaviour is confusing for other users and our staff since they assume, that the user was actually … --- ## [Don't change 'last seen' when impersonating a user](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dont-change-last-seen-when-impersonating-a-user/5764)
**Author:** [@Sander78](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Sander78)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 15, 2025, 3:16pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dont-change-last-seen-when-impersonating-a-user/5764 "2025-09-15T15:16:41Z")
When - as an admin - you impersonate a user, their last seen is updated. That is of course because you completely impersonate the user as if he were behind the keyboard. But… you’re not the user. You might use that opti… --- ## [Add confirmation dialog and warning for Impersonate action](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-confirmation-dialog-and-warning-for-impersonate-action/334654)
**Author:** [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 5, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-confirmation-dialog-and-warning-for-impersonate-action/334654 "2024-11-05T20:03:39Z")
Continuing the discussion from Impersonate a user and returning to admin user: A feature request has surfaced over in Documentation for a confirmation/info dialog to make the implications of Impersonate more clear. I h… --- ## [Fixing the long time no see warning for AI personas](https://meta.discourse.org/t/fixing-the-long-time-no-see-warning-for-ai-personas/332102)
**Author:** [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2024, 11:18am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/fixing-the-long-time-no-see-warning-for-ai-personas/332102 "2024-10-22T11:18:01Z")
That is the long-time-no-see warning when started a PM to an user that hasn’t visited over 30 days. But that user is an AI-persona. And that happens with only with this one. I reckon this comes from one idiotic acti… --- ## [Allow specific users to impersonate defined users](https://meta.discourse.org/t/allow-specific-users-to-impersonate-defined-users/110340)
**Author:** [@sau226](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sau226)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 5, 2024, 2:50pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/allow-specific-users-to-impersonate-defined-users/110340 "2024-05-05T14:50:38Z")
How might I go about allowing specific users to impersonate others via a plugin? For example say I have @SomeUser and @SomeUserAdmin on my instance. I want @SomeUser to be a normal user (no admin or mod) but see the imp… --- ## [Thoughts about impersonate user](https://meta.discourse.org/t/thoughts-about-impersonate-user/258795)
**Author:** [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)\ **Replies:** 87\ **Last updated:** [March 24, 2023, 2:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/thoughts-about-impersonate-user/258795 "2023-03-24T14:31:23Z")
Following a flagged off-topic on Discobot thread I wonder if Discourse community want to discuss if allowing impersonate users on 1-single-click is OK or could be something moved for specific scenarios. From my own pers… --- ## [Impersonate the discobot](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonate-the-discobot/224965)
**Author:** [@suteroun](https://meta.discourse.org/u/suteroun)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2022, 8:18am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonate-the-discobot/224965 "2022-05-20T08:18:42Z")
Is it possible to impersonate the Discobot? --- ## [Recursive Impersonation](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recursive-impersonation/202522)
**Author:** [@bloomingcrystals](https://meta.discourse.org/u/bloomingcrystals)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [September 3, 2021, 12:30pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recursive-impersonation/202522 "2021-09-03T12:30:20Z")
Hello everyone, I set up a discourse server for a client and let them create test accounts, which I knew will ultimately become obsolete once the SSO was in place. I set everything up, customised my theme and wrote cate… --- ## [Impersonating anon user then quit anon mode will let admin know who the anon is](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonating-anon-user-then-quit-anon-mode-will-let-admin-know-who-the-anon-is/196529)
**Author:** [@th21](https://meta.discourse.org/u/th21)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2021, 7:10am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonating-anon-user-then-quit-anon-mode-will-let-admin-know-who-the-anon-is/196529 "2021-07-12T07:10:18Z")
Is this behavior expected? Even after enough days the user will be given a new anon account when they enter anon mode, the old ones still point back to this specific user. --- ## [Help Tracking Down an Impersonator](https://meta.discourse.org/t/help-tracking-down-an-impersonator/153628)
**Author:** [@Ryan\_McPartlan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Ryan_McPartlan)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/help-tracking-down-an-impersonator/153628 "2020-06-02T22:31:39Z")
Hello, I manage the discourse forum for a game. Recently, a player uncovered some exploits and revealed that they were possible to the general community, but did not say how to reproduce them. Someone then created an ac… --- ## [Un-impersonating a user on mobile?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/un-impersonating-a-user-on-mobile/126789)
**Author:** [@Heather\_Dudley](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Heather_Dudley)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 26, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/un-impersonating-a-user-on-mobile/126789 "2019-08-26T04:52:45Z")
While troubleshooting a user’s tutorial issues, I impersonated them to see if they had bookmarked the new user tutorial message. They had (didn’t trigger the next step, but they also had three tutorial messages in progre… --- ## [The Impersonated user should be notified that they are being Impersonated](https://meta.discourse.org/t/the-impersonated-user-should-be-notified-that-they-are-being-impersonated/116933)
**Author:** [@Mikitos](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Mikitos)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [May 7, 2019, 5:14am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/the-impersonated-user-should-be-notified-that-they-are-being-impersonated/116933 "2019-05-07T05:14:04Z")
Privacy is a very important part of a person’s life and the moment it gets compromised could ruin their whole life. I recently told my friend (who’s on another forum running Discourse) about the impersonate feature and s… --- ## [Impersonating a user](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonating-a-user/80862)
**Author:** [@Biscuit](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Biscuit)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 18, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonating-a-user/80862 "2018-02-18T06:15:24Z")
I clicked impersonate a user, as they requested assistance and I wanted to see what access they had. I also wanted to understand how impersonate a user worked and what it’s used for. I expected to simply see the same … --- ## [Impersonating a user should allow me to go back to my user](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonating-a-user-should-allow-me-to-go-back-to-my-user/46762)
**Author:** [@robbyoconnor](https://meta.discourse.org/u/robbyoconnor)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 3, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonating-a-user-should-allow-me-to-go-back-to-my-user/46762 "2016-07-03T23:08:15Z")
So I recently impersonated a user and then when going back, I got Push notifications for both his account and mine…not sure if that’s a bug or not… --- ## [Impersonate button sends you to "page you requested doesn't exist..."](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonate-button-sends-you-to-page-you-requested-doesnt-exist/35867)
**Author:** [@Yuun](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Yuun)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 23, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonate-button-sends-you-to-page-you-requested-doesnt-exist/35867 "2015-11-23T14:45:03Z")
If you impersonate a regular user, that is someone without access to admin/users, you’re dropped on the “the page you requested doesn’t exist or…” page. Which makes sense, as you no longer have access to that page (impe… --- ## [Subfolders - after impersonating redirected to the wrong URL](https://meta.discourse.org/t/subfolders-after-impersonating-redirected-to-the-wrong-url/34422)
**Author:** [@wglass](https://meta.discourse.org/u/wglass)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/subfolders-after-impersonating-redirected-to-the-wrong-url/34422 "2015-10-12T19:15:02Z")
I have my site set up with subfolders. When (as an admin) I impersonate a user, it redirects to the root level of the domain. It should redirect to the subfolder instead. --- ## [Log when a user impersonates another user](https://meta.discourse.org/t/log-when-a-user-impersonates-another-user/21840)
**Author:** [@funvill](https://meta.discourse.org/u/funvill)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 6, 2014, 9:59am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/log-when-a-user-impersonates-another-user/21840 "2014-11-06T09:59:51Z")
Discourse has this great log of all the actions that the admins do (Staff actions). /{discorse URL}/admin/logs/staff\_action\_logs One thing it does not record is when an admin “impersonates” another user. This could be … --- ## [Impersonate shouldn't clear notifications](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonate-shouldnt-clear-notifications/14808)
**Author:** [@brett\_zink](https://meta.discourse.org/u/brett_zink)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/impersonate-shouldnt-clear-notifications/14808 "2014-04-16T19:09:50Z")
I don’t think any activity should be tracked when impersonating. If I click the notifications button it should not clear the notification count. If I read a new topic it should still be unread for the actual user. Curre…