> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://bigbluebutton.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Promote, demote, or remove a user
> Moderators can promote viewers to moderator, demote moderators to viewer, or remove a user from the session.
Moderators can [promote a viewer to moderator](#promote-to-moderator), [demote a moderator to viewer](#demote-to-viewer), or [remove a user](#remove-a-user) from the session.
In the user list, moderators have a **square** **\[1]** avatar icon and viewers have a **circular** **\[2]** avatar icon.
Common reasons to change a user's role:
* Promote a guest speaker to moderator so they have full session control.
* Promote a user who joined as a viewer because of an LMS misconfiguration.
* Demote a moderator who was assigned the role by mistake.
* Demote a moderator to reduce the number of users with full control.
## Promote to moderator
To promote a viewer, select their avatar in the user list, then select **Promote to moderator**.
The avatar shape changes from a circle to a square to confirm the new role.
## Demote to viewer
To demote a moderator, select their avatar in the user list, then select **Demote to viewer**.
The avatar shape changes from a square to a circle to confirm the new role.
## Remove a user
To remove a user from the session, select their avatar in the user list and select **Remove user**.
Removal applies for the duration of the current session:
* Phone users cannot dial back in from the same phone.
* Regular users cannot rejoin in the same way (LMS link, Personal Rooms link, Guest invite link).
Selecting **Prevent this user from rejoining the session** blocks them for the rest of the current session only.
Removal is per-session. A removed user can still join other BigBlueButton sessions, or the same session if it is restarted later.