diff --git a/roles/ara_api/templates/ara-api.service.j2 b/roles/ara_api/templates/ara-api.service.j2
index e4346983..5b2e1c47 100644
--- a/roles/ara_api/templates/ara-api.service.j2
+++ b/roles/ara_api/templates/ara-api.service.j2
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ After=network.target
 
 [Service]
 PIDFile=/run/ara-api/pid
-User={{ ansible_user }}
+User={{ ansible_user_id }}
 RuntimeDirectory=ara-api
 WorkingDirectory={{ ara_api_root_dir }}
 Environment=ARA_SETTINGS={{ ara_api_settings }}