Fix duplicate accounts

Duplicate accounts typically occur by mistake on workspaces that require members to use single sign-on (SSO). For example, if a member enters an email alias to sign in to Slack or enters a typo, this will create a new account. If one of your members has more than one account, you can fix it by deactivating the duplicate account and changing the email associated with it.  

Note: On the free subscription, duplicate accounts will need to be resolved by the affected member. Members can fix the duplicate account by following the steps to change your email address on both accounts.

Fix duplicate accounts

To fix duplicate accounts, deactivate the duplicate account, then change the email address so that it can be used for the original account. Here’s how:

Pro and Business+ subscriptions 

Enterprise subscriptions

Workspace owners can fix duplicate accounts for members. If your workspace doesn’t use SSO authentication, skip to Step 2: Update a member’s email address.

Step 1: Allow email addresses to be changed

1. From your desktop, click your workspace name in the sidebar.
   
2. Select Tools & settings from the menu, then click Workspace settings.
3. Below Administration in the left sidebar, click   SSO & authentication. (If you don’t see the left sidebar, click   Menu in the top-left corner to find it.)
4. Beside SAML or Google authentication settings, click on Change settings.
5. To the right of Settings, click on Expand.
6. Turn on Allow users to change their email address.
7. Click on Save configuration.

Step 2: Update a member’s email address

1. From your desktop, click your workspace name in the sidebar.
   
2. Select Tools & settings from the menu, then click Manage members.
3. Click the  three dots icon next to the duplicate account, then click Deactivate account and follow the prompts.
4. Once deactivated, click the  three dots icon next to the duplicate account, then click Edit profile and enter a new email address. (Any email address will do – you’ll simply need to release the desired email address from the duplicate account.)
5. Next, find the original account. Click on the email address and replace it with the one that you released.
6. Click on the  three dots icon to the right of the member’s name and select Send SSO binding email. The member will receive an email instructing them how to bind and authenticate their account.

Step 3: Change workspace settings back

1. From your desktop, click your workspace name in the sidebar.
   
2. Select Tools & settings from the menu, then click Workspace settings.
3. Click on Authentication. 
4. Beside SAML or Google authentication settings, click on Change settings.
5. To the right of Settings, click on Expand.
6. Turn off Allow users to change their email address.
7. Click on Save configuration.

Org owners can fix duplicate accounts for members:

1. From your desktop, click your organisation name in the sidebar.
   
2. Select Tools & settings, then click Organisation settings.
3. Click on People in the left sidebar, then select Members. 
4. Find the member’s duplicate account and click on the account name.
5. Click Manage in the top right-hand corner, then select Edit profile.
6. Change the email address on the account to a different one. (Any email address will do – you’ll simply need to release the desired email address from the duplicate account.)
7. Once that's done, you can deactivate the duplicate account.
8. Next, find the original account and replace the email address with the one that you released.
9. Click Manage in the top right-hand corner, then select Send SSO rebind email. The member will receive an email instructing them how to bind and authenticate their account.

Prevent duplicate accounts

To prevent duplicate accounts from being created, ensure that everyone uses the correct email address that is tied to their account. Here are some tips to bear in mind:

• Make sure that members use the correct email address to sign in to Slack. If a member's email address is [e-mail], but they use the alias [e-mail] instead, they'll end up with a duplicate account.
• If you're using an identity provider (IDP), make sure that your identifier is set to a unique and unchanging value, like an employee number, for example. Setting your identifier to a value like an email address may result in members creating duplicate accounts.

Who can use this feature?

• Workspace owners (Pro and Business+ subscriptions)
  Org owners (Enterprise subscriptions)
• Available on paid subscriptions