Boring Toolbox’s Identity Access Management (IAM) AKA Boring Users FAQ

Q: What is Identity and Access Management (IAM) for The Boring Toolbox?

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is our new way to manage who can access The Boring Toolbox. Instead of relying on Milestone’s user permissions, you can now invite people directly to The Boring Toolbox and assign them specific roles—no more over-permissioning just to give someone access to the dashboard.

Q: How is this different from using Milestone Users?

Milestone Users rely on your existing Milestone credentials and permissions, which makes it hard to control what someone can do inside The Boring Toolbox. Identity Access Management (IAM) gives you role-based access inside The Boring Toolbox. This allows you to assign rights like “view dashboard only” or “edit passwords” without changing your Milestone setup.

Q: What are the benefits of switching to Boring’s Identity Access Management (IAM) platform?

Our Identity Access Management (IAM) platform lets you:

• Share access without oversharing control.
• Assign roles like dashboard viewer, site manager, or password manager.
• Prepare for upcoming integrations (like ticketing and SSO).
• Stop hacking together Milestone permissions just to use Boring.

In short: more control over who can see and interact with The Boring Toolbox.

Q: What role types are available?

Here’s the short version:

• Administrator – Full access + role management + system settings.
• Dashboard Viewer – View dashboards.
• Site Manager – Configure cameras, settings, reports, and maintenance.
• Password Manager – View and update passwords.
• Site Viewer – View-only access to devices, reports, and snapshots.

You can mix and match as needed. Roles are additive. This means you can assign a user multiple roles to grant them more permissions.

Q: Can I assign more than one role to a user?

Yes. Roles stack — like power-ups. Want someone to view the dashboard and manage passwords? Just add both the "Dashboard Viewer" and "Password Manager" roles.

Q: Do I have to switch to Identity and Access Management (IAM)?

Nope! If you're an existing customer, you can keep using Milestone Users. But if you want role-based access control or access to future features (like SSO or integrations), you'll need to switch over to our IAM platform. 
 

Q: Will I need to use Boring’s IAM platform to keep using BoringBot?

Soon, yes. BoringBot, our Slack and Teams integration, is moving to a paid module, and continuing access will require both an active BAM plan and IAM to be enabled. We’ll give plenty of notice before that change goes into effect—but now’s a good time to make the switch if you’re using BoringBot today.

Q: Is your IAM secure?

Yes. Your system and footage stay on-prem. We use a trusted third-party authentication provider that’s SOC 2 compliant and built to handle secure authentication at scale — so your credentials are safe and your team can sleep at night.
 

Q: What data is stored in the cloud?

Only login credentials and access tokens—not your camera footage, not your site data, and definitely not anything you actually care about keeping private. Identity and Access Management (IAM) is about managing access, not managing your video.

Q: How do I switch from Milestone Users to Boring’s IAM?

An admin just needs to enable Identity Access Management (IAM) in the settings. From there, the admin will invite users who need access to The Boring Toolbox and assign their roles. That’s it.

You can find the step-by-step instructions here.  

Q: What happens to my users when I switch?

Your Milestone users will stop working for Boring Toolbox login, but will continue to work as expected for XProtect. IAM has no effect on Milestone XProtect authentication. Once IAM is enabled, you’ll invite them to create new Boring Toolbox accounts. They’ll get an email, set their password, and log in. If they’re part of multiple sites, they might get more than one invite—but they only need to create their account once

Here is an email template you can send to your team to give them a heads up about the incoming invite:

Hi [Name],

Just a quick note that we’re moving over to a new login system for The Boring Toolbox. It’s part of a bigger update that gives us more control over who sees what — and keeps things simpler on our end.

Here’s what you need to know:

• You’ll get an email invite soon to create your new login. It just takes a minute.
• The URL to log in is the same as always — no changes there.
• Your new credentials are only for logging into The Boring Toolbox. You’ll still use your Milestone credentials to log into XProtect.
• If you have access to multiple sites, you might get more than one invite — but you only need to set up your login once.
   

Let me know if the invite doesn’t show up or if you have any questions. 

Thanks,
[Your Name]

Q: Do I need to switch each site individually?

Yes. If you manage multiple sites, you’ll need to enable IAM for each one separately. This gives you flexibility in case different sites have different user needs—but it does mean more than one invite might go out to the same person.

Q: Can I switch back to Milestone Users later?

Yes—you can switch back if needed. Just keep in mind that you’ll lose access to any IAM–only features like role-based access control, and eventually, things like ticketing integrations and SSO.

Q: Is Identity and Access Management (IAM) free?

Yes—Identity and Access Management (IAM) is included with any active Boring Annual Maintenance (BAM) plan. If your BAM is active, there’s no additional cost to enable it or start assigning roles.

However, some upcoming premium features will only be available if you’re using Boring Users, including things like:

• Slack and Teams access via BoringBot
• Ticketing system integrations (like Jira and ServiceNow)
• SSO (Single Sign-On) support
• Plus more features that will make your workflows so smooth, you’ll never be bored at work again! 

Plus more features that will make your workflows so smooth, you’ll never be bored at work again!
Even if you don’t need role-based access yet, switching to Identity and Access Management (IAM) now will make sure you're ready for these future upgrades.