User Switching
Instant switching between user accounts in WordPress and WooCommerce.
Safe pick
Yes — User Switching is a safe, well-maintained plugin to use in 2026. It runs on 200K+ sites, is rated 4.9/5 and was last updated 4 weeks ago, and scores 91/100 on our health check.
- Proven at scale on 200K+ active sites
- Loved by users — 4.9/5 from 238 reviews
- Actively developed — last update 4 weeks ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Momentum — downloads up 163.7% vs the previous 30 days
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & supportDaily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where User Switching stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| fast user switching | #1 |
| multisite | #35 |
| user switching | #1 |
| users | #8 |
| woocommerce | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 from 238 reviews
About User Switching
From the official readme · v1.12.2Description
This plugin allows you to quickly switch between user accounts in WordPress at the click of a button. You’ll be instantly logged out and logged in as your desired user. This is handy for helping customers on WooCommerce sites, membership sites, testing environments, or for any site where administrators need to switch between multiple accounts.
Features
- Switch user: Instantly switch to any user account from the Users screen.
- Switch back: Instantly switch back to your originating account.
- Switch off: Log out of your account but retain the ability to instantly switch back in again.
- Compatible with Multisite, WooCommerce, BuddyPress, and bbPress.
- Compatible with most membership and user management plugins.
- Compatible with most two-factor authentication solutions (see the FAQ for more info).
- Approved for use on enterprise-grade WordPress platforms such as Altis and WordPress VIP.
Note: User Switching supports versions of WordPress up to three years old, and PHP version 7.4 or higher.
Security
- Only users with the ability to edit other users can switch user accounts. By default this is only Administrators on single site installations, and Super Admins on Multisite installations.
- Passwords are not (and cannot be) revealed.
- Uses the cookie authentication system in WordPress when remembering the account(s) you’ve switched from and when switching back.
- Implements the nonce security system in WordPress, meaning only those who intend to switch users can switch.
- Full support for user session validation where appropriate.
- Full support for HTTPS.
Usage
- Visit the Users menu in WordPress and you’ll see a Switch To link in the list of action links for each user.
- Click this and you will immediately switch into that user account.
- You can switch back to your originating account via the Switch back link on each dashboard screen or in your profile menu in the WordPress toolbar.
Alternatively, in the WordPress Command Palette you can search for a user and immediately switch into their account. You can switch off and switch back from there too.
See the FAQ for information about the Switch Off feature.
Other Plugins
I maintain several other plugins for developers. Check them out:
- Query Monitor is the developer tools panel for WordPress
- WP Crontrol lets you view and control what’s happening in the WP-Cron system
Thanks
The time that I spend maintaining this plugin and others is in part sponsored by:
Privacy Statement
User Switching does not send data to any third party, nor does it include any third party resources, nor will it ever do so.
User Switching makes use of browser cookies in order to allow users to switch to another account. Its cookies operate using the same mechanism as the authentication cookies in WordPress core, which means their values contain the user’s user_login field in plain text which should be treated as potentially personally identifiable information (PII) for privacy and regulatory reasons (GDPR, CCPA, etc). The names of the cookies are:
wordpress_user_sw_{COOKIEHASH}wordpress_user_sw_secure_{COOKIEHASH}wordpress_user_sw_olduser_{COOKIEHASH}
See also the FAQ for some questions relating to privacy and safety when switching between users.
Accessibility Statement
User Switching aims to be fully accessible to all of its users. It implements best practices for web accessibility, outputs semantic and structured markup, adheres to the default styles and accessibility guidelines of WordPress, uses the accessibility APIs provided by WordPress and web browsers where appropriate, and is fully accessible via keyboard.
User Switching should adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 at level AA when used with a recent version of WordPress where its admin area itself adheres to these guidelines. If you’ve experienced or identified an accessibility issue in User Switching, please open a thread in the User Switching plugin support forum and I’ll address it swiftly.
Frequently asked questions
Does this plugin work with PHP 8?
Yes, it’s actively tested and working up to PHP 8.5.
What does “Switch off” mean?
Switching off logs you out of your account but retains your user ID in an authentication cookie so you can switch straight back without having to log in again manually. It’s akin to switching to no user, and being able to switch back. The Switch Off link can be found in your profile menu in the WordPress toolbar. Once you’ve switched off you’ll see a Switch back link in a few places: In the footer of your site On the Log In screen In the “Meta” widget
Does this plugin work with WordPress Multisite?
Yes, and you’ll also be able to switch users from the Users screen in Network Admin.
Does this plugin work with WooCommerce?
Yes, and you’ll also be able to switch users from various WooCommerce administration screens while logged in as a Shop Manager or an administrative user.
Does this plugin work with BuddyPress?
Yes, and you’ll also be able to switch users from member profile screens and the member listing screen.
Does this plugin work with bbPress?
Yes, and you’ll also be able to switch users from member profile screens.
Does this plugin work if my site is using a two-factor authentication plugin?
Yes, mostly. One exception I’m aware of is Duo. If you’re using Duo Universal or Duo Security then you should install the User Switching for Duo add-on plugin which will prevent the two-factor authentication prompt from appearing when you switch between users.
What capability does a user need in order to switch accounts?
A user needs the edit_users capability in order to switch user accounts. By default only Administrators have this capability, and with Multisite enabled only Super Admins have this capability. Specifically, a user needs the ability to edit the target user in order to switch to them. This means if you have custom user capability mapping in place which uses the edit_users or edit_user capabilities to affect ability of users to edit others, then User Switching should respect that.
Can regular admins on Multisite installations switch accounts?
No. This can be enabled though by installing the User Switching for Regular Admins plugin.
Can the ability to switch accounts be granted to other users or roles?
Yes. The switch_users meta capability can be explicitly granted to a user or a role to allow them to switch users regardless of whether or not they have the edit_users capability. For practical purposes, the user or role will also need the list_users capability so they can access the Users menu in the WordPress admin area. add_filter( 'user_has_cap', function( $allcaps, $caps, $args, $user ) { if ( 'switch_to_user' === $args[0] ) { if ( my_condition( $user ) ) { $allcaps['switch_users'] = true; } } return $allcaps; }, 9, 4 ); Notes: This needs to happen before User Switching’s own capability…
Can the ability to switch accounts be denied from users?
Yes. User capabilities in WordPress can be set to false to deny them from a user. Denying the switch_users capability prevents the user from switching users, even if they have the edit_users capability. add_filter( 'user_has_cap', function( $allcaps, $caps, $args, $user ) { if ( 'switch_to_user' === $args[0] ) { if ( my_condition( $user ) ) { $allcaps['switch_users'] = false; } } return $allcaps; }, 9, 4 ); Notes: This needs to happen before User Switching’s own capability filtering, hence the priority of 9. The $user parameter is the currently logged in user. The ID of the target user can be…
Can I add a custom “Switch To” link to my own plugin or theme?
Yes. Use the user_switching::maybe_switch_url() method for this. It takes care of authentication and returns a nonce-protected URL for the current user to switch into the provided user account. if ( method_exists( 'user_switching', 'maybe_switch_url' ) ) { $url = user_switching::maybe_switch_url( $target_user ); if ( $url ) { printf( 'Switch to %2$s', esc_url( $url ), esc_html( $target_user->display_name ) ); } } If you want to specify the URL that the user gets redirected to after switching, add a redirect_to parameter to the URL like so: if ( method_exists( 'user_switching'…
Can I determine whether the current user switched into their account?
Yes. Use the current_user_switched() function for this. If the current user switched into their account from another then it returns a WP_User object for their originating user, otherwise it returns false. if ( function_exists( 'current_user_switched' ) ) { $switched_user = current_user_switched(); if ( $switched_user ) { // User is logged in and has switched into their account. // $switched_user is the WP_User object for their originating user. } }
Can I log each time a user switches to another account?
You can install an audit trail plugin such as Simple History, WP Activity Log, or Stream, all of which have built-in support for User Switching and all of which log an entry when a user switches into another account.
Does this plugin allow a user to frame another user for an action?
Potentially yes, but User Switching includes some safety protections for this and there are further precautions you can take as a site administrator: You can install an audit trail plugin such as Simple History, WP Activity Log, or Stream, all of which have built-in support for User Switching and all of which log an entry when a user switches into another account. User Switching stores the ID of the originating user in the new WordPress user session for the user they switch to. Although this session does not persist by default when they subsequently switch back, there will be a record of this…
Does this plugin warn me if I attempt to switch into an account which somebody else is already switched into?
Yes. When this happens you’ll be shown a prompt asking you to confirm that you would like to continue switching to the affected account. This feature is useful if you have multiple users on your site who may be switching into other user accounts at the same time, for example a team of support agents.
Can I switch users directly from the admin toolbar?
Yes, in the WordPress Command Palette you can search for a user and immediately switch into their account. You can switch off and switch back from there too.
Are any plugin actions called when a user switches account?
Yes. When a user switches to another account, the switch_to_user hook is called: /** * Fires when a user switches to another user account. * * @since 0.6.0 * @since 1.4.0 The `$new_token` and `$old_token` parameters were added. * * @param int $user_id The ID of the user being switched to. * @param int $old_user_id The ID of the user being switched from. * @param string $new_token The token of the session of the user being switched to. Can be an empty string * or a token for a session that may or may not still be valid. * @param string $old_token The token of the session of the user being…
How can I report a security bug?
You can submit a private security vulnerability report to User Switching via the Security tab on the GitHub repo. The GitHub Security Advisory process facilitates private collaboration on security issues. You’ll receive credit for a valid report and a CVE if necessary. Do not report security issues on the WordPress.org support forums or via email. Thank you.
Do you accept donations?
I am accepting sponsorships via the GitHub Sponsors program and any support you can give will help me maintain this plugin and keep it free for everyone.
Changelog
1.12.2 (29 August 2026)
- Fixed a
useSelectwarning triggered by the command palette integration - Added ARIA labels to the switch back links
- Tested up to WordPress 7.1
- Bumped the minimum supported version of WordPress to 6.3
1.12.1 (9 July 2026)
- Fixes a hardcoded period after the “Switch back” link that could break punctuation in non-English languages
- Switches to
wp_print_inline_script_tag()for the inline script - Styling tweaks for the Switch Back button in the footer
- Confirms full compatibility with PHP 8.5
1.12.0 (24 May 2026)
- Introduces the ability to switch users from the WordPress Command Palette
- Confirms support for WordPress 7.0
1.11.2 (27 February 2026)
- Fixes an expired nonce on the switch back link after the user session is destroyed
- Fixes a potential undefined cookie constant warning in the wp_die handler
1.11.1 (4 December 2025)
- Confirms support for WordPress 6.9
1.11.0 (15 October 2025)
- Adds a Switch Back link to all
wp_die()screens when you’re switched into another account.
1.10.0 (27 July 2025)
- When the user is switched, display all of User Switching’s messages in the language of the original user
1.9.2 (16 April 2025)
- Confirms support for WordPress 6.8
- Minor code quality improvements
1.9.1 (5 December 2024)
- Fixes the
wp_loginandwp_logoutparameter usage which could cause a fatal error when passed an unexpected value.
1.9.0 (21 November 2024)
- Introduces a confirmation message when a user attempts to switch into an account which somebody else is already switched into. Helpful for teams of support engineers who switch into customer accounts.
- Confirms support for WordPress 6.7.
- Confirms support for PHP 8.4.
- Various code quality improvements.
Earlier versions
For the changelog of earlier versions, refer to the releases page on GitHub.
Screenshots
For developers
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Best User Switching alternatives
All fast user switching plugins →| Rank | Plugin | Active installs |
|---|---|---|
| 2 |
User Switcher
Switch between any WordPress user account in one click — no password needed. Built for…
|
10+ |
| 3 |
UM User Switching
Addon that integrates User Switching to Ultimate Member
|
10+ |
FAQ
User Switching: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is User Switching free?
Yes. User Switching is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is User Switching safe to use in 2026?
Yes — User Switching is a safe, well-maintained plugin to use in 2026. It runs on 200K+ sites, is rated 4.9/5 and was last updated 4 weeks ago, and scores 91/100 on our health check.
How many websites use User Switching?
User Switching is active on 200K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 6,275,747 times since it launched in March 2009. It was downloaded 201,028 times in the last 30 days.
Does User Switching work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested User Switching up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 6.3 or newer.
What PHP version does User Switching need?
User Switching requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was User Switching last updated?
The latest version, 1.12.2, was released on August 29, 2026 (4 weeks ago).
Who makes User Switching?
User Switching is developed and maintained by John Blackbourn.
What are the best alternatives to User Switching?
The most popular alternatives to User Switching are User Switcher (10+ installs) and UM User Switching (10+ installs).
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