Roles and permissions explained
What owners, admins, agents and viewers can and cannot do in Hushdesk, and how to change someone's role from the Users page.
Last updated 2 min read
Every person in a workspace has one role. The role decides what they can change. Everyone can see the same pages, so nobody is lost, but only some roles can make changes.
Before you start
- Who can do this: owners and admins change roles.
- Plan: all plans. Seats are unlimited, so you can give everyone the role that fits.
- Time: a few seconds per person.
The four roles
| Role | In short | Can change |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Everything, including billing | All of the below. There is one owner per workspace. |
| Admin | Settings, users, rules | Users and invites, teams, store and business hours, email and chat widget settings, apps, rules, macros, SLAs, fields, tags, shared views, the AI agent, the plan and billing |
| Agent | Works tickets | Replies and notes, tags, assignee and team, status, snooze, merge, priority, fields, order actions, customers, their own availability |
| Viewer | Read only | Nothing. Viewers can read and use Ask AI to ask questions |
Step by step
- Open Settings and choose Users.
- Find the person in the list.
- Open the menu next to their name and pick Admin, Agent or Viewer.
- A message confirms the new role, for example "Aiza is now agent".
To stop someone signing in to the workspace, press Deactivate next to their name. See Deactivate or reactivate a user.
What happens next
The new role applies on the person's next action. If an agent becomes a viewer, any button they press to change a ticket returns a message explaining that viewers can only look. Every role change is written to the audit log with who made it. See View the audit log.
Tips
- Start new staff as Agent. Promote to Admin only people who should change rules and settings for everyone.
- Use Viewer for reporting-only access. Viewers can read Analytics without any risk of sending a reply.
- Each person can still change their own availability, profile and security settings whatever their role.
- In Ask AI, viewers can ask but not act on proposals.
Troubleshooting
"Viewers can look but not change tickets. Ask an admin for agent access."
You are a viewer and tried to change a ticket. Ask an owner or admin to make you an agent.
"Viewers can look but not change anything. Ask an admin for agent access."
The same rule outside the inbox, for example on customers, AI drafts or apps.
"Only owners and admins can change this for the whole team"
Shared views, hidden views and macros apply to everyone, so only admins can change them.
"Only admins can change workspace settings"
Users, teams, the store and business hours need an owner or admin.
"The owner can’t be changed or deactivated here"
The owner's role is fixed on this page.
"Ownership transfer isn’t available yet"
You picked owner for another person. Make them an admin instead.
"You can’t deactivate yourself"
Ask another admin to deactivate your account if needed.
"Only owners and admins can change the plan"
Agents and viewers cannot change billing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an admin and an agent in Hushdesk?
Agents work tickets. They reply, add notes, tag, assign, snooze, merge and close. Admins can do all of that and also change workspace settings, users, teams, rules, macros, shared views, apps, the chat widget, email settings, the AI agent and the plan.
What can a viewer do in Hushdesk?
A viewer can open every page and read tickets, customers, reports and settings, and can ask Ask AI questions. A viewer cannot reply, change tickets, edit customers, change orders, approve AI suggestions or send integration requests. It suits managers and accountants.
Can I change someone's role after they join?
Yes. Owners and admins open Settings, Users and pick a new role from the menu next to the person. The change applies straight away and is recorded in the audit log. The owner's own role cannot be changed there.
How do I transfer ownership of a Hushdesk workspace?
Ownership transfer is not available from the Users page yet. You can make the future owner an admin so they can manage nearly everything, and contact support if the owner has to change for legal or billing reasons.
Who can change the plan and billing in Hushdesk?
Owners and admins. Both can open Settings, Plan and billing to change the plan, open the billing portal and see invoices, even though the role hint on the Users page lists billing under the owner. Agents and viewers can see the usage meters but cannot make changes.
Can one person have different roles in different workspaces?
Yes. Roles belong to the workspace, not the account. You might be the owner of your own store's workspace and an agent in a client's workspace, all with the same sign-in. Switch between them from the Workspaces list in the account menu, and each one applies its own role.
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Related articles
- Invite your teamAdd teammates to your Hushdesk workspace as admins, agents or viewers. Seats are unlimited on every plan and invites can be revoked at any time.
- Deactivate or reactivate a userStop someone opening your workspace when they leave the team, keep their history in place, and bring them back later with one click from the Users page.
- Create teams to group your agentsGroup agents into teams so tickets can be routed and reported per team. Create, edit and delete teams from Settings, Teams in a minute.
- View the audit logSee who changed what in your workspace, from users and business hours to sign-in security, exports and support access, with the time of each change.
Still stuck?
Chat with the Hushdesk team. A person answers on every plan.