A portable deactivator having a corresponding identifier is provided. Identification data associated with a user is captured by the portable deactivator. A determination is made whether to activate a deactivation element in the portable deactivator based at least in part on the captured user identification data. The deactivation element is configured to disable at least one electronic article surveillance, EAS, tag when the deactivation element is activated. The deactivation element remains disabled when the determination is made the user associated with the captured identification data is unauthorized to use the deactivator.