Roles and Permissions

Mapalyze uses a role-based permission system to control what each team member can see and do within your organization. Assigning the right roles keeps your data secure and ensures everyone has the access they need without unnecessary complexity.

Available roles

Mapalyze provides four built-in roles, each with increasing levels of access:

Viewer

Viewers have read-only access. They can browse records, view maps, and look at dashboards, but they cannot create or modify anything.

Typical use: Stakeholders, clients, or managers who need to review data but should not change it.

Permissions:

• View forms, records, and maps
• View dashboards and reports
• View team member list
• Export data (if enabled by Admin)

Collector

Collectors are your frontline field workers. They can use forms to collect new data and manage their own submissions.

Typical use: Field inspectors, surveyors, data collectors, technicians.

Permissions:

• Everything a Viewer can do
• Create new records on published forms
• Edit and delete their own records
• Capture photos, GPS, and media
• Sync data between device and cloud

Editor

Editors can create and modify forms, manage all records, and configure project settings. They are typically team leads or data managers.

Typical use: Team leads, project managers, GIS specialists, data quality reviewers.

Permissions:

• Everything a Collector can do
• Create, edit, and publish forms
• Edit and delete any record (not just their own)
• Manage project settings and assignments
• Create and manage dashboards
• Run exports and schedule automated exports

Admin

Admins have full control over the organization, including team management, billing, and all settings.

Typical use: Department heads, IT administrators, account owners.

Permissions:

• Everything an Editor can do
• Invite and remove team members
• Change member roles
• Manage billing, subscription, and invoices
• Configure organization-wide settings
• View the audit trail
• Transfer organization ownership

The Owner role

Every organization has exactly one Owner. The Owner has all Admin permissions plus the ability to:

• Delete the organization
• Transfer ownership to another Admin

The Owner cannot be removed from the organization. To change the Owner, use the Transfer Ownership feature in organization settings.

Assigning roles

Roles are assigned when you invite a new team member and can be changed at any time:

When inviting

1. Go to Settings then Team.
2. Click Invite Member.
3. Enter the email address and select a role from the dropdown.
4. Click Send Invite.

Changing an existing member's role

1. Go to Settings then Team.
2. Find the member in the list.
3. Click the three-dot menu next to their name.
4. Select Change Role.
5. Choose the new role and click Save.

Role changes take effect immediately. The team member may need to refresh their app or browser to see the updated permissions.

Project-level roles

On the Professional and Team plans, you can assign a different role to a member at the project level. For example, a user might be a Collector at the organization level but an Editor on a specific project they lead.

To set a project-level role:

1. Open the project.
2. Click the Members tab.
3. Click the role next to the member's name.
4. Select the project-specific role.

Project roles override organization roles for the context of that project only. If no project role is set, the organization role applies.

Permission reference table

Action	Viewer	Collector	Editor	Admin
View forms and records	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Create new records	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Edit own records	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Edit any record	No	No	Yes	Yes
Create and edit forms	No	No	Yes	Yes
Publish forms	No	No	Yes	Yes
Export data	View-only	Yes	Yes	Yes
Manage projects	No	No	Yes	Yes
Invite/remove members	No	No	No	Yes
Manage billing	No	No	No	Yes
Organization settings	No	No	No	Yes
View audit trail	No	No	No	Yes

Best practices

• Start restrictive and expand as needed. Assign the Collector role by default and upgrade to Editor only when someone needs form-building capabilities.
• Limit Admin access. Ideally, only one or two people should have Admin access to reduce the risk of accidental changes to billing or organization settings.
• Use project roles for flexibility. Rather than giving someone organization-wide Editor access, grant it only on the projects where they need it.
• Review roles periodically. As team members change responsibilities, update their roles to match. Remove access for people who have left the team.