What happens to a user's owned objects when I delete them?

Short Description Deleting a user prompts you to choose how their owned plans, tactics, line items, and other objects are handled. This article explains the two options and their consequences.

What this article answers

The two ownership choices at delete time and what each means.
The audit trail Hive9 captures on deletion.
Why deleted users' emails remain reserved.

The deletion flow

When you delete a user in Settings → Users, Hive9 opens a confirmation dialog that lists every object the user owns — plans, campaigns, programs, tactics, line items, purchase requests, and so on. You then choose between two ownership paths.

[SCREENSHOT NEEDED — Delete user confirmation dialog with ownership options]

Option 1 — Reassign ownership to another user

All owned objects automatically transfer to the user you select.
The new owner receives email and in-app notifications.
The new owner gains full edit and approval rights on the transferred objects.
The deleted user is removed from the system.

When to use: the deleted user's responsibilities are passing to a specific successor.

Option 2 — Keep ownership with the same user

Objects retain the deleted user as their owner.
The objects become non-editable for everyone except admins.
The deleted user record is preserved in the database (and their email remains reserved).
No active user can submit, approve, or edit those objects in normal flow.

When to use: you're decommissioning a user but want to preserve historical ownership for audit, and admins will handle any future edits.

What Hive9 records on deletion

Every deletion is captured in the Audit Log with:

The original owner (the deleted user).
The new owner if you reassigned (or "same user" if you kept ownership).
The timestamp of the deletion.
The list of objects affected.

You can review user deletion events in Settings → Audit Logs.

A consequence to be aware of

If you choose Keep ownership, the user's email is still reserved at the database level. If you later try to add a new user with that email — or the same person rejoins your organization — Hive9 will reject the email as already in use. See Error: "Email exists already" — but the user isn't in my Users grid for how to recover.

Common follow-up questions

Can I undo a user deletion? No — once confirmed, deletion is final. If you reassigned ownership, the transfer is also final. Plan ahead which path you want.

Can I delete a user without choosing one of these options? No. Every deletion forces an ownership decision. This is deliberate — it prevents orphaned objects.

Do I need to be a specific role to delete users? Yes — typically Client Admin or a custom role with user-management permissions.