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User Switching

By John Blackbourn

User Management & Authentication / User Registration & Login

User Switching Review - In-Depth Analysis

Instantly switch between user accounts in WordPress with ease. Ideal for administrators needing quick access to multiple accounts.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

7.21/10

User Rating

4.9/5 (based on 238+ reviews)

Active Installations

200,000+

Update Frequency

Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin allows you to quickly swap between user accounts in WordPress at the click of a button. You will 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 include the ability to switch to any user account from the Users screen, switch back to your originating account, and log out while retaining the ability to switch back in. It is compatible with Multisite, WooCommerce, BuddyPress, and bbPress.

Only users with the ability to edit other users can switch user accounts, ensuring security. Passwords are not revealed, and the plugin uses the cookie authentication system in WordPress. It also implements nonce security for user switching.

User Switching does not send data to any third party and aims to be fully accessible to all users, adhering to web accessibility best practices.

Comparing to Alternatives

User Switching stands out as a straightforward and reliable plugin for quickly switching between user accounts in WordPress. While there are few direct competitors with the same focus, it remains a top choice for developers and site admins.

Top alternatives

User Switching

Strengths

Simple and intuitive interface for switching users.
Seamless integration with popular plugins like BuddyBoss and WooCommerce.
Reliable performance with minimal glitches reported.
Saves significant development time by providing ready-made functionality.

Weaknesses

Limited to user switching functionality without additional features.
No official pro version or premium support options.
Occasional reports of front-end issues from some users.

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback highlights the plugin's ease of use and reliability, though some users have encountered minor issues.

Positive highlights

"What a great plug in! Made my life so much easier – thank you!" – CJW
"Easy to set up, runs smoothly, and delivers exactly what it promises." – amingor
"Very happy with this plugin! It’s simple to use and works flawlessly." – Alex Gor
"Saved me a lot of time by providing features I would otherwise have to develop." – Ivijan-Stefan Stipic
"A real timesaver that I install every time I need to test different user roles." – Zrenjaninac

Common complaints

Does not work properly on the front end for some users.
Lacks advanced features beyond basic user switching.

Weaknesses

No premium support or advanced customization options.
Some users report limited compatibility with certain themes or setups.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Developers, site administrators, and testers who need a quick and reliable way to switch between user accounts for testing or management purposes.

Not ideal for

Users seeking a plugin with extensive user management features or dedicated premium support may find this plugin too basic.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers full user switching functionality with easy setup and reliable performance, sufficient for most use cases.

Final Verdict

User Switching is a simple yet powerful plugin that effectively addresses the need for quick user account switching in WordPress. Its ease of use and reliability make it a valuable tool for developers and site admins.

While it lacks advanced features and a premium version, its free offering is robust and well-supported by positive user feedback, making it a recommended choice for those needing straightforward user switching capabilities.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free User Switching plugin.

User switching

Fast user switching

WooCommerce

Screenshots

FAQ

Yes, it’s actively tested and working up to PHP 8.4.

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 );

Note that this needs to happen before User Switching’s own capability filtering, hence the priority of 9.

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 ID of the target user can be found in $args[2].

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 ( $url ) {         printf(             '<a href="%1$s">Switch to %2$s</a>',             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', 'maybe_switch_url' ) ) {     $url = user_switching::maybe_switch_url( $target_user );     if ( $url ) {         // Redirect to the home page after switching:         $redirect_to = home_url();         printf(             '<a href="%1$s">Switch to %2$s</a>',             esc_url( add_query_arg(                 'redirect_to',                 rawurlencode( $redirect_to ),                 $url             ) ),             esc_html( $target_user->display_name )         );     } }

The above code also works for displaying a link to switch back to the original user, but if you want an explicit link for this you can use the following code:

if ( method_exists( 'user_switching', 'get_old_user' ) ) {     $old_user = user_switching::get_old_user();     if ( $old_user ) {         printf(             '<a href="%1$s">Switch back to %2$s</a>',             esc_url( user_switching::switch_back_url( $old_user ) ),             esc_html( $old_user->display_name )         );     } }

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.     } }

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 switched from.  */ do_action( 'switch_to_user', $user_id, $old_user_id, $new_token, $old_token );

When a user switches back to their originating account, the switch_back_user hook is called:

/**  * Fires when a user switches back to their originating 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 back to.  * @param int|false $old_user_id The ID of the user being switched from, or false if the user is switching back  *                               after having been switched off.  * @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 switched from.  */ do_action( 'switch_back_user', $user_id, $old_user_id, $new_token, $old_token );

When a user switches off, the switch_off_user hook is called:

/**  * Fires when a user switches off.  *  * @since 0.6.0  * @since 1.4.0 The `$old_token` parameter was added.  *  * @param int    $old_user_id The ID of the user switching off.  * @param string $old_token   The token of the session of the user switching off.  */ do_action( 'switch_off_user', $old_user_id, $old_token );

When a user switches to another account, switches off, or switches back, the user_switching_redirect_to filter is applied to the location that they get redirected to:

/**  * Filters the redirect location after a user switches to another account or switches off.  *  * @since 1.7.0  *  * @param string       $redirect_to   The target redirect location, or an empty string if none is specified.  * @param string|null  $redirect_type The redirect type, see the `user_switching::REDIRECT_*` constants.  * @param WP_User|null $new_user      The user being switched to, or null if there is none.  * @param WP_User|null $old_user      The user being switched from, or null if there is none.  */ return apply_filters( 'user_switching_redirect_to', $redirect_to, $redirect_type, $new_user, $old_user );

In addition, User Switching respects the following filters from WordPress core when appropriate: