To maintain the integrity and security of our services, Horizon strictly prohibits the creation, access, or usage of multiple user accounts by the same individual. Violating this policy is a breach of our Terms of Service. To address situations where multiple user accounts have been created, account merging becomes mandatory. This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to merge user accounts within the Horizon software system.
Why am I seeing this?
Account merge errors occur for the following reasons:
Duplicate Mobile Phone Number: You're trying to use a mobile cell phone number already used by another account.
Duplicate Email Address: You're trying to use an email address already used by another account.
Duplicate Account Information: You're trying to create a new account with the same information as an existing account.
What do I do?
The initiation of the account merging process is automatically handled by the software when updating and saving your personal profile. If you have not received an account merge notification from the software, then no action is required from you, and you are not eligible to merge accounts.
If you do encounter a conflicting account message or an account merge notification when attempting to save your personal profile, then you must follow the steps below after receiving this notification to submit an account merge request:
Identify if the conflicting account displayed belongs to you.
If the account displayed in the system's account merge notification is your account, click the green "Request Account Merge" button to submit a merge request.
If the conflicting account belongs to someone else, such as a parent, sibling, child, or any other differently named individual, then account merging is not applicable, and you cannot merge these accounts together. You must remove the conflicting information (phone number or email address) from your personal profile. Account merge requests are only processed for accounts belonging to the same individual.
What is an account merge?
Account merging involves consolidating the data from two individual user accounts into a single account. During this process, one of the user accounts will be permanently deleted. The individual will then have only one username/password to access the system and all associated data or organizations that they belong to.
How long does an account merge take?
Our support team carefully reviews and approves (or rejects) each account merge request. The process typically takes up to 2 business days to complete. However, most requests are resolved within a few hours.
Can I use this to share accounts with my kids?
No. Account merging is not intended for sharing accounts, especially with children. Each individual must have their own login credentials. Account merging is solely applicable to combining multiple accounts owned by the same person.
Can I keep my two accounts?
If the two accounts belong to different individuals, it is permissible to maintain separate user accounts for each person. However, if the two accounts represent the same person, keeping multiple accounts is not allowed.
Can I choose which account to keep?
No. The system automatically determines which account will be retained and which account will be terminated. This decision is based on various factors, but the older account is generally preserved while the newer account is deleted. If you have trouble recalling your login credentials after completing the merge, you can retrieve them from https://horizonwebref.com/forgot.
Am I eligible to merge accounts?
You are eligible to merge accounts if both accounts in question belong to the same individual. Accounts registered under different individuals cannot be merged.
I'm not eligible for an account merge. What do I do?
If you are not eligible for an account merge due to sharing an email address or mobile cell phone number with another user, please follow these steps:
Use a different email address and/or landline or mobile cell phone number that is not already associated with another user.
Sharing the same email address and/or mobile cell phone number with another user is not permitted. If you wish to use the same email or mobile cell phone number, the other user must log in and remove/replace the conflicting information from their account. If they are unable or unwilling to do so, you must choose an alternative email or different landline and/or mobile cell phone number. Note that landline numbers may be shared across multiple user accounts, whereas mobile cell phone numbers cannot be shared.
The other account is deleted. Why is this a problem?
When an account is deactivated, it is not permanently deleted but rather rendered inactive. However, this deactivation process can create certain complications and considerations for users. Here's why it can be problematic:
For legal and security compliance reasons, email and mobile cell phone number associations are stored for at least 7 years after an account is deactivated. This means that deactivating (or "deleting") a user account does not remove the associated email and mobile cell phone number from our records. The originally registered user retains ownership of the email and/or mobile cell phone number for at least 7 years, even after the account has been deactivated and removed from an officiating organization.
If the original user wants to remove or replace their email and/or mobile cell phone number, they must reinstate their account. By logging in, they can then perform the necessary actions to update their user account.
Please note that while we may use the terms "deactivate" and "delete" interchangeably, it is important to understand that the correct term for what occurs when an account is "deleted" is deactivation. The account remains in our system but is made inactive, and some data necessary for security and compliance reasons may be retained. Such data is retained only for as long as necessary to meet those requirements.
What options are available for parents?
If you are a parent seeking to manage your child's account, please refer to our dedicated support article for our recommendations on managing and staying in touch with a child's account.
Can I unmerge or reverse a merge?
Unfortunately, once user accounts have been merged, the operation is permanent and cannot be reversed. If you have mistakenly merged user accounts that should represent two different individuals, the best course of action is for one of the users to create a new account and start fresh.
For instance, let's consider the scenario of a father and son sharing the same name. In this case, it is crucial not to merge these accounts together, as they need to remain separate. To ensure uniqueness, each user account should have a distinct name. For example, if both users are named John Smith, you can make one account unique by adding "Jr." or "Sr." to the last name. This will result in two user accounts: "John Smith Sr." and/or "John Smith Jr." resolving the conflict of having identical "John Smith" accounts. If the accounts have already been merged, creating a new account is the recommended solution to address the issue.