Disable public user registration in Joomla

User registration is often unnecessary on Joomla sites, as many of them are purely informational. In these cases it is best to disable registration so that bots cannot create unwanted users for illicit purposes (such as sending spam).

In a maintained version of Joomla, go to the administration panel and open Users > Manage > Options. Disable Allow User Registration and check from a private browsing session that public sign-up no longer appears.

Joomla 2.5 and 3 are out of support. Disabling registration does not fix their vulnerabilities: migrate the installation to a maintained branch. Also review the users already created, but do not delete accounts in bulk without checking their activity and associated content.

Also check the direct registration URL: hiding a menu link does not necessarily prevent the form from being submitted. The core setting may not control registration handled by a shop, community or membership extension; check its options separately.

Disabling sign-ups does not remove existing users or take away their access. If you need to remove accounts, first check their activity, content and dependencies. Keep a backup and avoid deleting in bulk by date or by the domain of their email address.