Customer Issue

It’s common to see that the total number of active users in Firstup is greater than the number of users in your user sync file. This does not necessarily indicate a problem with user sync. Instead, it reflects the fact that some users are not managed by user sync and therefore aren’t automatically deactivated when they leave the company.

Cause

This discrepancy happens when some users were not created or fully managed by user sync. In these cases, user sync will not automatically deactivate them when they leave the company. The most common scenarios are:

1. Users created outside of user sync
   These accounts were never in the sync file to begin with, so they aren’t tied to deactivation logic. Users can be created outside of sync in the following ways:

   • Bulk import via Studio Import – Users

   • Manual creation in Studio (Add a User)

   • First login via SSO

2. Manually reactivated users
   A user who was previously blocked by user sync may have been manually unblocked by a Studio administrator. Since the account is no longer aligned with sync rules, user sync will not automatically deactivate them again.

3. Indicators of non-synced users

   • Primary Email Source: If this attribute is anything other than “spacestation,” the account was likely not created from your sync file.

   • Missing attributes: If profile fields normally populated by your file are blank, that’s another sign the user wasn’t synced.

Resolution

If you identify users who are active in Firstup but not in your sync file, they must be manually deactivated in Studio.

For larger groups of users, bulk deactivation is recommended:

1. Export All Users from the "All Users" audience.

2. Compare the list of active users with your expected active employees (e.g. compare with your user sync file).

3. Create an audience of the users who should be deactivated.

   • You can use a list of employee IDs or emails: Static List Audiences

   • Double-check the audience carefully to avoid deactivating the wrong users.

4. Take a snapshot of the audience (with Include deactivated users unchecked).

   • This snapshot acts as a backup in case you need to reactivate users later.

5. Filter the Users list by this audience and select all users.

   • Confirm that the number of selected users matches your expectations.

   • Do not proceed if the counts don’t align.

6. Click Deactivate.

   • Processing may take some time depending on the volume.

   • You’ll know the process is complete when the audience shows no remaining active users.

     

7. Rollback option: 

   • If needed, filter by the snapshot audience and click Activate to restore access.

   • Alternatively, allow your user sync to run. This will automatically unblock any users present in your file.

Key Takeaway

The reason you see more users in Firstup than in your user sync file is that not all accounts are created or managed by user sync. Any users created manually, via SSO, or reactivated outside of sync must be handled manually if they need to be deactivated.