Understanding User Management in Atlassian: Deleting Users

[#1]

Managing users across Atlassian products like Jira and Confluence can be more complex than it appears. That’s because there are two separate layers of user management: site-level and organization-level. Understanding the difference—and how to manage both effectively—can save you time, prevent access issues, and reduce administrative errors.

🔐 Two Levels of User Management: What You Need to Know

1. Site-Level (e.g., https://yourusersite.atlassian.net)

• Each site has its own user list.

• As a Site Admin, you can view and manage only the users specific to that site.

• You can delete users, but only for that site.

2. Organization-Level (e.g., https://admin.atlassian.com)

• This is the central hub for managing all users across all sites under your organization.

• As an Org Admin, you can manage users across multiple sites.

• Deleting a user here removes them from all sites they have access to—with a 14-day grace period in case you change your mind.

⚠️ Why This Matters

It’s easy to assume deleting a user from one place removes them everywhere—but that’s not the case. For example:

• A user deleted from a site still exists in the organization if they belong to other sites.

• Some users may appear "active" on a site due to past activity (e.g., assigning or commenting on work items), even if they no longer use the system.

To delete these users properly using the API:

• Jira requires that the associated work items be marked with a resolution. This signals that collaboration is complete, and the user can be safely removed. 

✅ How Our Apps Make This Easy

Managing users manually—especially across large teams or multiple sites—is tedious and error-prone. That’s where our tools come in:

🔹 BulkOps Pro

Designed for site-level user management
✔ Easily manage and delete users specific to one site
✔ Perfect for teams with access to individual sites

🔹 BulkOps Org

Built for organization-level user management
✔ Manage users across multiple sites from a central place
✔ Delete users across all sites with a single action using our applink feature

Role	Scope	Can delete	Tool
Site Admin	Site A/B	Only from that specific site	BulkOps Pro
Org Admin	Org(All Sites)	From all associated sites	BulkOps Org

By using BulkOps Pro and BulkOps Org together, you get full control over user access—whether you’re cleaning up individual sites or managing users across your entire organization. You can install a single BulkOps Org app and link multiple BulkOps Pro apps on your various sites and manage every automation from the BulkOps Org app.

Let these tools do the heavy lifting so you can focus on what matters most: enabling your team to work efficiently and securely.

👉 Get started today by downloading our apps, and if you need help, our Atlassian-certified support team is ready to guide you through any questions or unique use cases.