Import users without email
We're looking at migrating our SaaS application to Kinde from our in-house custom auth system and most of our current users do not have an email address associated with their accounts. And the ones that do have one we don't really know if its valid because it was never verified.
I can import them just fine to my Kinde evaluation server but when I try to login using one of these users, Kinde prompts for email. I understand why, but we'd rather have a less intrusive way of getting their email without blocking them from using the software.
(For new users registering after we have moved to Kinde, we are fine with requiring them to provide an email.)
Is there a way to configure Kinde to not force this prompt?
4 Replies
Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out, this is a common situation when moving from a custom auth system.
Right now, Kinde does need each user to have a verified contact (usually an email) at least once. If a user signs in and Kinde doesn’t have a verified email for them, it will show that email screen so it can send codes and handle things like password resets and account recovery. This behaviour can’t be turned off today.
I know you’d prefer a softer way to collect email without blocking access. A few options that can help:
- Before the migration: show a small banner or profile prompt in your current app asking users to add or confirm their email, then import that into Kinde.
- During sign in: if you already store an email (even if unverified), you can pre-fill the Kinde email field using
login_hint so users just confirm or correct it, instead of typing it from scratch.
I’m also checking with our internal team to see if there are any other supported patterns for migrated users without verified emails. I’ll update you if there’s anything more we can suggest.Thanks for the suggestions, will look into them.
Hi Isak,
Quick follow-up on this.
When users sign in with a username, Kinde still needs a verified email at least once so we can send security codes, handle password resets, and confirm it’s a real person, so the email screen can’t be turned off in this flow.
For your migrated users, the options are still:
- Pre-collect an email in your app before migration, and import it into Kinde.
- Or keep the current flow, where Kinde asks for email once at first sign-in, then gets out of the way.
I hope this helps, Thanks
ok, good to know. We'll look into trying to pre-collect emails but it most likely will mean we have to keep our legacy login system live in parallel with kinde for a certain period to allow a smooth transition.