About Light Users
A light user is a Help Scout user role with limited access and permissions. Light users can view information and collaborate with your team, but they can’t reply to customers or manage conversations directly.
This article explains how the Light User role works, what this role can and can’t do, and how to add them to your account.
Light users are available on the Plus and Pro plans.
In this article
Permissions and Restrictions
A light user has a default set of permissions as well as some additional ones that the Account Owner or Administrator can enable.
Here's an overview of the permissions and restrictions for this role:
| Light Users can ✅ | Light Users cannot ❌ | |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox | ||
| View conversations (including attachments) | Reply or schedule replies to conversations | |
| View customer and company profiles | Edit customer and company profiles | |
| Add, edit and delete their own notes only | Edit or delete notes by other users | |
| Docs | ||
| View articles | Edit Docs sites, articles, categories, or collections | |
| Messages & Beacon | ||
| Create, edit and delete Messages & Beacons * | ||
| Reports | ||
| View reports | ||
| Export reports * | ||
| Manage report views * | ||
| Others | ||
| Access the API or apps | ||
| Be on a team | ||
| Manage any account settings | ||
| Access the mobile app | ||
* When permission is enabled.
Change an Existing User to a Light User
The above restrictions will apply when you change an existing user to a Light User. The user will be unassigned from conversations and removed from any teams they were a part of.
Light Users on Your Plan
Light users are available on the Plus and Pro plans only. If your account is on the Standard plan, you can upgrade to the Plus or Pro plans, then change your existing users to light users.
How many Light Users are included in my plan?
The number of light users that are included depends on whether your account is user-based or contact-based.
If you're not sure which plan you're on check out the Plan Overview page in your account or reach out to our support team to learn more.
User-based plans
For user-based plans, your Plan overview page will look like this:
- The Plus plan includes up to 25 lights users.
- The Pro plan includes up to 50 light users.
You can purchase additional light users as an add-on to both plans.
Contact-based plans
For contact-based plans, your Plan overview page will look like this:
The contact-based Plus and Pro plans include unlimited light users at no additional cost.
Use Cases
There are several situations where adding light users can be helpful. Here are a few common examples.
- A Product Management or Engineering team can be light users so they can read past conversations to view customer feedback or learn about bugs.
- A Finance team can help the Support team with their billing-related conversations by leaving helpful notes.
- New team members on a Support team can be light users while they go through their training. They can leave notes and view conversations, without the risk of accidentally sending a customer reply.