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Deleted External Users

  • May 7, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 160 views
M

I have removed/deleted a number of external users from the Admin screen.  But they are still listed on the folders as users.  How does this work?  Can they technically still access those folders if they were to log in again?  To i really have to manually go to every folder that they had access to and remove them there too. (That seems like a management nightmare!)

    1 reply

    Jey Bueno Box
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    • Jey Bueno Box
    • Community Manager
    • May 7, 2026

    👋 Hi ​@MB-ProgramManger, welcome to the Box Community! I’d be glad to help.


    Deleting external users from the Admin Console removes their collaborations, so they will no longer appear as collaborators on those folders and cannot access that content unless you re-invite them.

    • What happens when you delete an external (or unmanaged) user:
      Deleting an external user removes all collaborations to which the user has been invited.
       
    • Can they still access the folders if they log in again?
      No, once their collaboration is removed, they no longer have access. They would need to be re-invited (or converted to a managed user and re-granted access) to regain access.
       
    • Do you have to edit every folder manually?
      Not necessarily. Use the External Users tab in Admin Console to view an external user’s Folder Collaborations and edit/remove access from that single user-details view (you can remove multiple folder collaborations there).

      See: Managing Folders That Have Been Shared With an External User

      Also consider:
      • Use the External Users list / User Details report to find which folders a user had.
      • If you need to remove many external users at scale, Box supports bulk tools (e.g., Admin Console enhancements and API options). Admins can remove up to 100 external users in one API call and that the External Users experience includes bulk-delete and folder-collaboration editing to reduce manual work.


    If you’re experiencing an issue with the deleted external users, please submit a ticket to our Product Support so we can investigate it further. Thank you!

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