How to Transfer Ownership of a Power Apps Canvas App
Question details
The user needs to transfer full ownership of a Power Apps Canvas app to another user because the current owner is leaving the organization.
- Product
- Microsoft Power Apps
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- An employee is departing or changing roles, requiring a complete handover of their Canvas apps.
- Observed behavior
- Granting co-owner permissions is insufficient because the original owner's account will be disabled, which would break the app's connections and functionality.
Ensure the designated new owner has the appropriate Power Apps licenses, environment maker permissions, and access to all underlying data sources before initiating the transfer.
Transfer Ownership and Verify App Dependencies
Reassign the app to a new owner and reconfigure its associated data sources and flows to ensure it remains functional after the original account is closed.
Transferring a Canvas app involves more than just changing the owner label. Because apps rely heavily on the creator's account credentials for integrations, you must also ensure that all underlying connections, Power Automate flows, and data gateways are successfully migrated and re-authenticated by the new owner.
Navigate to the Power Platform Admin Center, select your environment, locate the specific Canvas app under Resources, and use the 'Share' or 'Assign' functions to grant primary ownership to the new user.
Have the new owner open the app in Edit mode to verify all data source connections. They must re-authenticate any broken connections using their own active credentials.
Identify any automated flows triggered by the Canvas app. Transfer ownership of these flows to the new user and fix any connection references within the flow designer.
Double-check the sharing settings of the Canvas app to ensure that existing end-users and security groups retain their necessary 'User' or 'Co-owner' access.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is co-owner permission not enough when an employee leaves?
When an employee's account is disabled, apps they solely own may stop functioning entirely, and any data connections authenticated under their account will break. A full ownership transfer ensures the app operates independently of the departing employee's credentials.
Do I need to re-authenticate connections after transferring a Canvas app?
Yes. Even after ownership is transferred, the new owner must verify and re-authenticate connections, data sources, and automated flows to prevent runtime errors for end-users.
Can I transfer ownership if the original owner's account is already deleted?
Yes, but you will typically need Power Platform Administrator privileges. Administrators can use the Power Platform Admin Center or specific PowerShell cmdlets to locate and reassign 'orphaned' apps to a new active user.
