Salesforce does not let you completely delete a user, but you can deactivate them so they can no longer log access Salesforce. The reason that a user can't be deleted is because this could result in orphaned records and the loss of business information. Deactivating users prevents them from logging in while also preserving historical activity and records. To deactivate a user, follow the steps below.
1. Navigate to "Setup": In order to reset a user's password, you must first select the gear icon in the upper right corner of your screen and then click Setup.
2. Navigate to the Table of Users: In the new window/tab that opened, type "users" into the Quick Find box and then select Users.
3. Select the user you want to deactivate.
4. Click the 'Edit' button.
5. Deselect the 'Active' checkbox.
6. Click OK on the window that pops up after deselecting the Active checkbox.
7. Click Save to complete the process of deactivating the user.
Notes
- Some situations can prevent you from deactivating a user. In these cases, you must freeze the user’s account first to prevent logins while you reassign ownership, memberships, and so on, as needed. Then you can deactivate later.
- A deactivated user doesn’t count against your organization’s available user licenses. However, deactivating a user doesn’t reduce the number of licenses for which your organization is billed. To change your billing, you must change your organization’s license count.
