# Bypass User From Moderation

Bypass User From Moderation allows you to exempt specific users from content moderation checks. This is useful for trusted users—such as moderators, bots, or staff accounts—whose content should be published without going through moderation pipelines.

There are two approaches:

1. **Permission-based bypass** — Grant the `SkipMessageModeration` permission to a role. This works for Chat only.
2. **User bypass flag** — Set the `bypass_moderation` flag on a user via the Dashboard. This works for Chat, Feeds, and Comments.

## Permission-Based Bypass (Chat Only)

Stream's permission system lets you grant the `SkipMessageModeration` action to specific roles. When a user with this permission sends a message, moderation is skipped entirely.

This approach is scoped to Chat message sending and requires the role-based permission system to be enabled on your app.

<admonition type="info">

This is currently only available in the **[Legacy Stream Dashboard](https://dashboard.getstream.io/)**.

</admonition>

To grant `SkipMessageModeration` to a role via the Dashboard:

1. Open the **[Stream Dashboard](https://dashboard.getstream.io/)** and select your app
2. In the left sidebar, navigate to **Chat Messaging → Roles & Permissions**
3. Select the **Role** (e.g., `admin`, or a custom `trusted_user` role) and the **Scope** (channel type, e.g., `messaging`)
4. In the search box on the right, type `skip`
5. Find **Skip Message Moderation** in the results and check its checkbox
6. Click **Save**

Once assigned, any user with that role will bypass moderation when sending messages in channels of the selected channel type.

![Roles & Permissions page showing Skip Message Moderation checked](/data/docs/moderation/default/_assets/skip_message_moderation.png)

<admonition type="info">

Permission-based bypass applies only to Chat messages. For Feeds activities and comments, use the bypass flag described below.

</admonition>

## User Bypass Flag (Chat, Feeds & Comments)

<admonition type="info">

This is only available in the new moderation dashboard.

</admonition>

The `bypass_moderation` flag can be set on individual users. When enabled, moderation is skipped for all content the user creates across Chat messages, Feeds activities, and Feed comments.

### Enable or Disable Bypass

1. Navigate to **Settings → Users**
2. Find the user you want to manage
3. Click on the value in the **bypass_moderation** column to open a toggle
4. Toggle the switch to enable or disable bypass for that user
5. Confirm the change

Changes take effect immediately for any new content the user creates.

### Filter Users by Bypass Status

On the **Settings → Users** page, use the filter sidebar and select the `bypass_moderation` filter to quickly find all users with bypass enabled or disabled.

![Settings Users page showing bypass_moderation column](/data/docs/moderation/default/_assets/bypass_moderation_users_page.png)

### Behavior When Bypass Is Enabled

When `bypass_moderation` is `true` for a user:

- **Chat messages**: Sent immediately without running any moderation rules (AI text, blocklists, semantic filters, image moderation, etc.)
- **Feeds activities**: Published immediately without moderation
- **Feed comments**: Posted immediately without moderation
- **Audit log**: An audit log entry is created with `BypassModeration: true` to maintain observability

Bypass does **not** affect:

- Manual flags raised by other users
- Actions taken by human moderators
- Ban or shadow-ban status


---

This page was last updated at 2026-04-03T15:59:41.465Z.

For the most recent version of this documentation, visit [https://getstream.io/moderation/docs/guides/bypass-user-from-moderation/](https://getstream.io/moderation/docs/guides/bypass-user-from-moderation/).