---
title: What happens to a Tines API key when the user account that created it leaves the tenant?
url: https://explained.tines.com/en/articles/10522850-what-happens-to-a-tines-api-key-when-the-user-account-that-created-it-leaves-the-tenant
updated: 2025-06-12T10:47:36+00:00
description: Understand Tines API key behavior around user account statuses.
---

*[tines.com](https://www.tines.com/llms.txt) › [Tines Explained](https://www.tines.com/llm/explained/index.md)*

# What happens to a Tines API key when the user account that created it leaves the tenant?

*[View on Tines Explained](https://explained.tines.com/en/articles/10522850-what-happens-to-a-tines-api-key-when-the-user-account-that-created-it-leaves-the-tenant)*

When a user creates a Tines API key, there are several levels of access they can set during creation:

-   **Tenant owner:** Access to the entire tenant
    
-   **Team:** Role-based access to a specific team on the tenant
    
-   **Service:** Access to [tenant permissions](https://www.tines.com/docs/admin/user-administration/#tenant-permissions)
    
-   **Personal:** A key tied to your identity and permissions
    

> **Note:** The level of access the user can select at the time of the API key creation also depends on the user's permissions within the [tenant](https://www.tines.com/docs/admin/user-administration/#permissions)/[team](https://www.tines.com/docs/admin/teams/):

Let's look at an example. We have a user named Jane Tino, who, within their tenant, is a tenant owner and also a [team admin](https://www.tines.com/docs/admin/teams/#_1-team-admin) of "Team Automation". This would give Jane access to all four access levels mentioned above.

Within Team Automation, Jane creates Tines API keys for each level as [credentials](https://www.tines.com/docs/credentials/).

-   If Jane's account is active in the tenant, all four API keys will work as intended.
    
-   If Jane's account exists in the tenant but is deactivated, the *Personal API key* will break (returns a `401` status code), while the other three will still work as expected. If Jane's account is re-activated, the Personal API key will continue working again.
    
-   If Jane's account is completely deleted from the tenant, the *Personal API key* will break (returns a `401` status code), while the other three will still work as expected.
    
-   If Jane is reinvited back to the tenant, the *Personal API key* will not work (returns a `401` status code), while the other three will still work as expected.
    

In summary, when a user is deactivated or removed entirely from the tenant, the only API key that stops working is their Personal API key. Even if they are re-invited to the tenant, the Personal API key from before will still not work.