❖ Heads up! Only site managers can assume a user's role. This article is intended for site managers. If you're an advanced program manager looking for information about managing your programs, click here. If you're a program facilitator looking for information about reviewing your programs, click here.
As a site manager, you can assume a user's role and view the site through their point of view. This can be useful when you have a volunteer reporting issues with viewing their hours or responding to Opportunities. You can also assume a user's role to answer questions your advanced program managers or program facilitators have! Need to anonymize a volunteer's data before deactivating their account? You can assume their role to do it! Here we cover:
- Reasons why you might assume a role
- How to assume a user's role
- How to anonymize a user's personal data
Reasons why you might assume a role
You might need to assume a user's role for several different reasons:
- A volunteer is not able to complete their profile themselves and needs assistance navigating the technology or software.
- A group of volunteers have limited access to technology and need help setting up their accounts.
- You want to review the changes you made to the site from a volunteer's point of view.
- An advanced program manager is having issues reviewing hours or adding an Opportunity and needs help with walking through the process.
- A user wants to deactivate and have their personally identifiable data anonymized.
- Volunteers have the option to do this themselves when they click Deactivate Account from the Edit Profile area, but you can assume their role and do it for them if necessary.
ⓘ So you know: You can also view volunteer information without assuming their role by going to their user profile. Click here for more information! the2 c
How to assume a user's role
1. Go to Volunteerism > Users. 
2. Click the arrow icon under the Options column—if you hover, it says Assume the Identity of This User. 
3. You are now viewing the site from that user's perspective!
ⓘ So you know: You can also assume a user's role by selecting their name from the Manage Users page and clicking Assume User by their name on the Edit User page.
How to anonymize a user's personal data
While volunteers are encouraged to anonymize their own personal data when they deactivate their accounts, you can also do this by assuming a user's role.
1. Go to Volunteerism > Users.
2. Click Assume the Identify of This User under the Options column.
3. Select their profile image or initials from the top menu bar and click Edit Profile. 
4. Click Deactivate Account. 
5. A warning pops up to confirm your selection—check the box beside "Remove all of my personally identifiable..." to anonymize that user's personal data before you click Yes or No. 
ⓘ So you know: Reports show [Inactive/anonymized] for the user's name and email, but their volunteer data—e.g., responses and hours—is still reported in the system. So, you can still report on the data submitted to your site but you won't see any personally identifiable information for the volunteer that submitted it. 