Assign time-limited roles to freelancers, contractors, and guest authors. Roles expire automatically and revert — zero cleanup needed.

Ravinthranath A

<p>RoleGuard lets you assign <strong>time-limited roles</strong> to any WordPress user. When the clock runs out, the user is automatically reverted to their original role. No more forgotten elevated permissions, no more security risks from stale access.</p>
<h4>Who is this for?</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Agencies</strong> managing freelance contractors who need temporary editor access</li>
<li><strong>Multi-author blogs</strong> bringing in guest contributors for a limited run</li>
<li><strong>Membership sites</strong> offering trial access to premium content</li>
<li><strong>Client sites</strong> where clients need temporary admin for review and approval</li>
<li><strong>LMS platforms</strong> with time-limited instructor or teaching assistant roles</li>
<li><strong>eCommerce stores</strong> granting seasonal staff temporary shop manager access</li>
</ul>
<h4>How it works</h4>
<ol>
<li>Go to any user’s profile page</li>
<li>Select a temporary role and expiration (quick presets: 7, 14, 30, or 90 days)</li>
<li>RoleGuard stores the original role, applies the new one, and starts the countdown</li>
<li>When time expires, the user’s role is automatically reverted to what it was before</li>
</ol>
<h4>Free Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Assign temporary roles with date-based expiration</li>
<li>Quick presets: 7, 14, 30, or 90 days — or set any custom date</li>
<li>Automatic role reversion via WP-Cron (hourly checks)</li>
<li>Admin safety net: checks on admin page loads if cron hasn’t run in 2+ hours</li>
<li>Email notifications to both users and admins on role expiry</li>
<li>Advance warning emails (configurable: 1–30 days before expiry)</li>
<li>“Temp Role” and “Expires” columns in the Users list (sortable, color-coded)</li>
<li>Dedicated RoleGuard section on every Edit User profile screen</li>
<li>Bulk action: revoke temporary roles for multiple users at once</li>
<li>Privilege escalation prevention — cannot assign roles at or above your own level</li>
<li>Up to 10 active temporary role assignments</li>
<li>Settings page with active assignments dashboard</li>
<li>Fully translatable with proper text domain</li>
</ul>
<h4>What makes RoleGuard different?</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Zero configuration</strong> — activate and start assigning, no setup wizard</li>
<li><strong>Security first</strong> — privilege escalation prevention built in from day one</li>
<li><strong>Reliable expiration</strong> — hourly cron + admin safety net means roles never get stuck</li>
<li><strong>Clean reversion</strong> — stores the exact original role, not just a fallback default</li>
<li><strong>Lightweight</strong> — no JavaScript frameworks, no external API calls, no bloat</li>
</ul>
<h4>RoleGuard Pro</h4>
<p>Need more? <a href="https://roleguard.dev/pro" rel="nofollow ugc">RoleGuard Pro</a> is a separate add-on that unlocks:</p>
<ul>
<li>Unlimited temporary role assignments (removes the 10-user limit)</li>
<li>Full audit log with filtering, pagination, and export</li>
<li>Bulk assignment page with CSV import</li>
<li>Scheduled roles with future start dates</li>
<li>Slack and Zapier webhook notifications</li>
<li>Extended REST API for external integrations</li>
<li>WordPress dashboard widget showing upcoming expirations</li>
<li>License-gated — one clean upgrade, no feature nags</li>
</ul>


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