People and user configuration

Each person who uses Home Assistant can have their own display name and login credentials. This page explains how to change your own profile, and how administrators and the owner manage other people’s display names, usernames, and accounts.

About persons and users

A person and a user are two different concepts in Home Assistant:

• A person is used for presence detection. A person can be tracked, shown on the map, and used in automations that react when someone arrives or leaves.
• A user is a login account. It is what someone uses to sign in to Home Assistant, see their own dashboards, and, with the right permissions, manage the system.

The two are linked only when the same individual needs both. You attach a user to a person by turning on Allow login for that person. You can then create a new user account, or link an existing user account that is not linked to a person yet. This means you can have each one on its own:

• A person without a user cannot sign in, but can still be tracked for presence, shown on the map, and used in automations. This is useful for household members, such as children, whose phone you track but who do not need their own login.
• A user without a person can sign in, but is not tracked for presence and does not appear on the map or in presence-based automations. This is useful for logins that do not belong to a tracked person, such as:
  • A service or integration account that authenticates with the API, for example for a script or another app.
  • A local-only account for a wall-mounted tablet or kiosk.
  • An administrative or guest login where presence tracking is not needed.

To create a user that is not linked to a person, add it from the Users tab instead of from People. You can still link it to a person later.

About user accounts

When you start Home Assistant for the first time, the owner user account is created. The owner has the highest level of access and can manage every part of the system, including creating and managing other user accounts.

Only the owner can:

• Change usernames.
• Change the password of other users.

The owner account cannot be deleted, and it is always an administrator. If you lose the owner’s password, refer to Lost owner password.

User accounts come in two levels of access:

• Administrators can configure integrations, devices, and system settings, and manage other users.
• Non-administrator users have restricted access. They can use Home Assistant and see their own dashboards, but cannot reach the configuration and system settings.

You set whether a user is an administrator with the Administrator toggle when you create or edit their account.

Username format

Usernames must be lowercase and can’t start or end with a space. We recommend not using spaces at all. When someone signs in, Home Assistant ignores uppercase and lowercase letters, and spaces before or after the username.

Some older usernames still contain uppercase letters or start or end with a space. Those keep working unless two usernames differ only in uppercase and lowercase letters, or in spaces before or after them. In that case, only one of these users can sign in. For example, Bob and bob match the same login.

About your account profile

Once you’re signed in, you can manage your personal settings on the User profile page. To open it, select your name at the very bottom of the sidebar.

The profile page shows your account details, a Theme card, and a list of sections you can open:

• Appearance: Set your default dashboard and organize your sidebar.
• Localization: Set your language, time zone, and how dates, times, and numbers are shown.
• This browser (called This mobile app in the companion app): Adjust settings for the device you are currently using.
• Security: Manage how you sign in, such as your password, multi-factor authentication, and access tokens. For more information, refer to Authentication.

From the profile page, you can also change your name and picture, and sign out of Home Assistant.

Changing your name and picture

You can change your own name and picture. Your name is used for both your user and the person linked to it, so it is the same everywhere, such as in the sidebar, on your profile, and on dashboards. Your picture is stored on that person.

Prerequisites

• To change your picture, your user must be linked to a person that was created in the UI.
  • If it isn’t, ask an administrator to link your user to a person. For the steps, refer to Linking an existing user account to a person.

To change your name and picture

1. Go to User profile and select Edit profile.
2. To change your picture, drop an image file into the picture field or select it, and then crop it. Supported formats are JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
   • To remove your picture, select Clear picture.
3. Under Name, enter your name.
4. Select Save.
   • Result: Your new name and picture are shown in the sidebar and on your profile.

Changing the theme and organizing your sidebar

User preferences are tied to your account and follow you across the devices you sign in to.

1. Go to User profile and, under Theme, select the theme you want to use.
2. Go to User profile > Appearance and, under Default dashboard, choose the dashboard that opens when you start Home Assistant.
3. To change which items appear in the sidebar and in what order, select Edit next to Change the order and hide items from the sidebar.

Changing your localization settings

Localization settings control how dates, times, and numbers are shown. They are tied to your account.

1. Go to User profile > Localization.
2. Under Language, select the language of the interface.
3. Adjust any of the following:
   • Time zone
   • Number format
   • Time format
   • Date format
   • First day of the week

Changing your browser settings

These settings apply only to the device you are currently using and may reset when you sign out or clear local data. In the companion app, this section is called This mobile app.

1. Go to User profile > This browser.
2. Adjust any of the available options, such as:
   • Always hide the sidebar.
   • Prevent automatic logout.
   • Enable keyboard shortcuts.
   • Vibration and push notifications, depending on your device.

Adding a person

To add a new person and optionally create a user account for them, refer to adding a person to Home Assistant.

Changing another person’s display name

The display name is the name that is shown in Home Assistant. It can differ from the username, which is the name used to log in. Administrators can change the display name of any person. To change your own name, refer to Changing your name and picture.

Prerequisites

• You need administrator rights.

To change another person’s display name

1. Go to Settings > People.
2. Select the person whose display name you want to change.
3. Change the Name, and then select Save.

Changing a username

The username is the name that is used to log in. It can differ from the display name. Only the owner can change usernames, for any user, including their own. Other users can’t change their own username.

Prerequisites

• You need owner rights.

To change a username

1. Go to Settings > People.
2. Select the person whose username you want to change.
3. Next to the username, select Edit.
4. In the Change username dialog, enter the New username and select Change.
   • The username must be lowercase and can’t start or end with a space. For details, refer to Username format.

Changing authentication settings

To learn how to edit authentication settings such as password or multi-factor authentication, refer to the following topics:

• Authentication
• Multi-factor authentication
• Help, I’m locked out

Deleting a user or person

Administrators can delete other people and their user accounts. Because a person and a user are two different concepts, you can delete one without the other:

• If you delete the person, the linked user account is deleted as well.
• If you delete only the user, the person stays. The person can no longer sign in, but it can still be used for presence detection, shown on the map, and used in automations.

Prerequisites

• You need administrator rights.
• You cannot delete the owner account or the account you are currently signed in with.

To delete a person and its user account

1. Go to Settings > People and select the person you want to delete.
2. At the bottom of the dialog, select Delete.
3. To confirm, select OK.

To delete only the user account and keep the person

Delete only the user when you want to revoke someone’s access to Home Assistant while still tracking them for presence. For example, when a household member should no longer be able to sign in, but you still want their presence to drive automations and show on the map.

1. Go to Settings > People and select the person whose login you want to delete.
2. Turn off Allow login.
3. In the Delete user account dialog, select Delete.

The user account and its login credentials are deleted, but the person remains.

To delete a user via the Users tab

You can also delete a user account without going through the person. This is useful for user-only accounts.

1. Go to Settings > People and select the Users tab.
2. Select the user you want to delete.
3. At the bottom of the dialog, select Delete user.
4. To confirm, select OK.