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Impersonating a Contact

Supporting your Contact - What Gets Saved and What Doesn't

J
Written by Jon Low
Updated today

Overview

As an admin, you can impersonate a learner in your Academy to see their experience first-hand - for example, to troubleshoot an issue or check how content appears to them. This is a read-only-style feature, meaning any actions taken during an impersonation session are not saved to the learner's record.

There is one important exception: SCORM content.


What Happens During Impersonation

When you impersonate a learner, the platform wraps your session in a temporary state. Once you end the session, any changes are rolled back — the learner's progress, completions, and activity remain exactly as they were before you started.

This applies to most content types, including Guides and other non-SCORM learning materials.


The SCORM Exception

SCORM courses work differently. Because SCORM content manages its own internal state — outside of our platform — we are not able to prevent changes from being recorded when a SCORM course is opened during an impersonation session.

This means that if you open a SCORM course while impersonating a learner, any of the following may be logged against that learner's record:

  • Last accessed date — the date and time the course was opened

  • Progress — how far through the course the session reached

  • Completion status — whether the course registers as complete

  • Pass or fail — if the course includes a scored assessment

  • Score — the result recorded by the SCORM content itself

This can happen even if you only open the course briefly. Some SCORM courses are programmed to record activity — including completion — the moment they are launched.


What This Means for You

To avoid unintentionally affecting a learner's SCORM record, we recommend not opening SCORM content during an impersonation session.

If you need to investigate a learner's progress within a SCORM course, here are some better alternatives:

  • Ask the learner for a screenshot of where they are in the course

  • Use Instant Auth — if set up on your account, this allows you to log in as the learner in a way that reflects their actual session state


Summary

Action during impersonation

Saved to learner record?

Viewing Guides or non-SCORM content

❌ No

Completing a Guide

❌ No

Opening a SCORM course

✅ Yes

Progress recorded by SCORM

✅ Yes

SCORM completion / pass / fail

✅ Yes


If you have questions about impersonation or need help with a specific learner record, please reach out to our support team.

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