SSH keys provide convenience and security, particularly for automated connections. Rather than hard-coding password credentials inside of SFTP scripts, you can distribute keys to the devices that need to run the scripts. For shared/bot accounts used by multiple workers, assigning unique keys to each device makes it possible to disable one connection without needing to update all of the connections using the same shared/bot account.

Unfortunately, numerous tools exist that allow novice programmers to create inefficient automations, such as a test script that logs in and lists a large directory every few minutes, or a script that repeatedly uploads the same file. This can lead to wasted storage and unnecessary platform usage.

To prevent this, your site will only allow site administrators to create SSH keys. You can control this behavior with the site-wide setting to allow users to create their own SFTP/SSH keys.

When the setting is disabled (the default behavior), users who are not site administrators will not be able to add new SSH keys to their user settings. Site administrators can create or remove SSH keys for individual users. If a key is created for a user who isn't a site administrator, they will not be able to remove it.

When the setting is enabled, any user can associate an SSH key with their own user account, and they can remove SSH keys from their user account.

Regardless of whether the setting is enabled or disabled, users who are not site administrators cannot view or manage SSH keys for other users.