Account Access and Ownership

Your Shorebird account is identified by the email address you signed in with, and each organization has exactly one owner, whose plan the organization runs on. This page covers what to do when either of those needs to change.

Several of these changes are made by the Shorebird team. Email contact@shorebird.dev from the address on your Shorebird account, and include what each section below asks for so Shorebird can act on the first message.

Change your sign-in email

You can’t change the email address on a Shorebird account yourself. Shorebird finds your account by that address every time you sign in.

First sign in once with the new address, so an account at it exists. Then email contact@shorebird.dev with your current and new addresses. Shorebird moves your organizations, apps, and subscription to the account at the new address.

Change how you sign in

Your account signs in with the method you first used: Google, Microsoft, or your company’s SSO. Signing in with a different method for the same email shows Wrong sign-in method, with a message such as:

This email address signs in with Google. Please sign in with Google.

If your company manages your email’s domain with Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID, or a SAML connection, signing in with that work account moves your existing account onto it, and your previous sign-in method stops working. Try it first.

Otherwise, or if you see Account configuration changed after your company reconfigured its identity provider, email contact@shorebird.dev with your account’s email address and how you want to sign in. Shorebird can’t promise a particular sign-in method for an existing account.

The organization’s owner has left

Each organization has one owner. While the owner is still around, they make someone else the owner: in the organization’s settings, open Members and change that member’s role to Owner. Only the owner can do this. The previous owner becomes an Admin.

On the Enterprise plan

Your enterprise’s Owners and Admins can reassign ownership without the previous owner:

1. In the Shorebird console, open Manage enterprise from the organization switcher, then Organizations.
2. Select the organization, open the ⋮ menu next to the new owner, and choose Make owner.

The new owner must already be a member of the organization and one of your enterprise’s members, not a guest. If the current owner holds an enterprise Owner, Admin, or Billing manager role, only an enterprise Owner can do this. The previous owner becomes an Admin of the organization, or leaves it if your enterprise has deactivated them. See Enterprise roles.

Everyone else

Email contact@shorebird.dev. Send this with your first message:

• If you’re an Admin of the organization: send the request from the email address on your Shorebird account, and name the organization and who should become its owner.
• If you’re a member with another role: include an email from the current owner saying they’re fine with ownership moving to you.
• If you’re not in the organization: Shorebird needs proof that you control both the app and the company. For the app, Shorebird gives you a code to add to its App Store or Google Play listing. For the company, send a public company record that shows you act for it.

Shorebird notifies the current owner before transferring the organization.

What happens to the plan

An organization’s plan comes from its owner’s subscription. After a transfer:

• The organization uses the new owner’s plan straight away, and its patch installs count against that plan.
• The previous owner’s subscription keeps billing until they cancel it, because it belongs to their account, not to the organization. See Cancel your plan.
• If your enterprise pays for the organization under an Enterprise agreement, the plan comes from the enterprise and doesn’t change.

If the subscription itself needs to move to the new owner’s account, email contact@shorebird.dev. Afterwards, the new owner updates the billing email from the billing settings, so invoices go to them.

Move an app between your own accounts

To transfer an app, you must be an Admin or Owner of both its current organization and the one you move it to.

If either organization is on a paid plan, its owner invites your other account to it as an Admin. Then transfer the app from the account that now holds a role in both organizations.

If both organizations are on the Free plan, which can’t add members, email contact@shorebird.dev with both email addresses and the app ID (app_id in the app’s shorebird.yaml), and say which account should receive it.

Keep your team from depending on one person

• Keep at least two Admins in each organization, so someone can manage members if the owner is unavailable.
• Use service accounts for CI instead of a person’s API key, so releases and patches keep working when someone leaves.

When someone who owns an organization leaves, in this order:

1. They transfer ownership to someone staying.
2. They cancel their plan, or ask Shorebird to move it to the new owner if the organization should keep it.
3. They delete their account. Deletion is blocked while they own an organization with other members or have a subscription that will still bill.