Who can use this feature?
Workspace Owners, Super Admins, Admins, and Users
Supported using the Cerby web app
IMPORTANT: If you use local vaults, you must have already set up at least one trusted session on your devices.
As a user with any workspace role in Cerby, except Guest User and Login-Only, you can create an automation account for your business hub.
The Cerby bot uses this account as a service account to centrally manage the users and assets of your seat-based and paid social apps by executing automated tasks or API calls server-side.
IMPORTANT: Automation accounts must have enough privileges, such as an admin role, to perform user and asset management tasks on your apps.
Cerby recommends creating a user account dedicated to this purpose, not intended for human use; however, depending on the app’s characteristics, user management strategy, and login method, you may have to configure it in any of the following ways:
NOTE: For any configuration, Cerby recommends turning on two-factor authentication (2FA) with Cerby as an authenticator app.
The following sections describe each configuration.
Placeholder account
A placeholder account (also known as a “ghost account”) is an account added to Cerby for associating it with a Cerby-managed email address and phone number.
As a user with an admin role in your seat-based or paid social app, you can use these login credentials, including a secure password generated by Cerby, to create the app’s user account.
To create and configure a placeholder account, you must complete the following steps:
Log in to your Cerby workspace.
Click the Add item button located at the top right. A drop-down list is displayed.
Select the Account option from the drop-down list. The Add account details dialog box is displayed.
Enter your account information in the corresponding fields:
Account label in Cerby: It is the name to assign to your account in Cerby, and it will be displayed on the account card.
App name or URL: It is the name of the app or service provider to which the account belongs or the login URL.
Select the corresponding option from the drop-down list after clicking the input field.
Username: It is the username you use to log in to your account.
Enter a dummy value because you’ll replace it later with the Cerby-managed email address.
Current password: It is the password you use to log in to your account.
Use the Password Generator in the Cerby browser extension to generate a secure password. For instructions, read the article How to generate secure passwords using the Cerby browser extension.
Select the corresponding vault from the Vault drop-down list to add the account to it.
NOTE: This drop-down list is not displayed if you only have access to one vault.
Click the Add account button. The dialog box closes, and a success message box and the account details page are displayed.
Associate a Cerby-managed email address and phone number with the account. For instructions, see the video How to add a Cerby-managed email or phone number to your account.
IMPORTANT: After adding the Cerby-managed email address, make sure you update the account details in Cerby. Enter this email address as the value in the Username field.
Create the user account in your app with the login credentials from the Cerby account.
Turn on 2FA for your app’s user account with Cerby as an authenticator app. For instructions, read the article How to turn on 2FA managed by Cerby.
Now you are done. You can connect a business hub for your app.
IdP-provisioned account
An IdP-provisioned account (also known as a federated account) is a user account created and managed by your identity provider (IdP).
These accounts are commonly configured by IT admins. One of the main benefits of this approach is that you can implement stronger authentication and advanced security measures like 2FA, comply with standards, and centralize user data in your IdP.
IMPORTANT: Create an IdP-provisioned account only for seat-based and paid social apps that support the SAML standard for single sign-on (SSO) authentication. If the app doesn't support it, the automation account will not work.
To create and configure an IdP-provisioned account, you must complete the following steps:
Log in to your IdP instance.
Create a user account.
Assign the following apps to the user account in your IdP:
The Cerby app
The seat-based or paid social app to be managed by this user account
Add this user account to Cerby. For instructions, read the article Add an account.
Turn on 2FA for the user account managed by your IdP with Cerby as an authenticator app. For instructions, read the article How to turn on 2FA managed by Cerby.
Now you are done. You can connect a business hub for your app.
Individual account
An individual account (also known as a profile account) is an account directly created by a user on an app or service provider using their corporate login credentials, such as email address and phone number.
Sometimes, especially in paid social apps, users keep their existing personal accounts to access the apps managed by their organization. In such a case, Cerby recommends creating a new account with corporate login credentials.
To create and configure an individual account, you must complete the following steps:
Add your personal account to Cerby. For instructions, read the article Add an account.
Associate a Cerby-managed email address and phone number with the account. For instructions, see the video How to add a Cerby-managed email or phone number to your account.
NOTE: Cerby recommends you use the Cerby-managed email address as the value in the Username field.
Turn on 2FA for your app’s user account with Cerby as an authenticator app. For instructions, read the article How to turn on 2FA managed by Cerby.
Now you are done. You can connect a business hub for your app.