Bypass page restrictions with admin key

As an organization admin, there may be times when you need to access content that you haven’t been given permission to view. For example, you may need to unlock a restricted page or space created by an inactive user, or you may need to diagnose content access issues. Admin key allows organization admins to access restricted content so they can address these needs. Site admins on the original user management experience can also use admin key.

Use admin key to access a restricted page

To use admin key, go to the page you need to access, and click View now in the admin key panel.

This enables admin key and gives you full access to the page. When you use admin key to access a page or other piece of content, we’ll record it in the audit log and send an email notification to the content owner. We’ll also record any changes you make in the audit log and version history.

Once admin key is enabled, you’ll be able to see and navigate to other restricted content on your instance. If a content item is restricted, there will be a red lock icon next to its name in the content tree.

When you’re done using admin key, select Stop using admin key from the banner at the top of your screen. For security reasons, you’ll lose access to restricted content after a few minutes of inactivity.

What's in the audit log and email notification?

When you use admin key to access a piece of content, we record the following information in the audit log:

• Your name

• The date and time you used admin key

• The fact that you logged in and out of admin key

• The name of the content you accessed and whether you viewed or edited the content

• Permissions changes you made, if any

We also send an email notification to the content owner. The email notification includes the following information:

• Your name

• The name of the content you accessed

• An explanation of why admins typically use admin key

And, we let the content owner know your changes are recorded in the audit log and verison history.