diff --git a/fence/sync/sync_users.py b/fence/sync/sync_users.py
index 46703dfbdb..abc573a55d 100644
--- a/fence/sync/sync_users.py
+++ b/fence/sync/sync_users.py
@@ -1215,7 +1215,8 @@ def _update_arborist(self, session, user_yaml):
         )
         useryaml_group_names = set(g["name"] for g in groups)
         for deleted_group in current_group_names.difference(useryaml_group_names):
-            self.arborist_client.delete_group(deleted_group)
+            if deleted_group not in ["anonymous", "logged-in"]:
+                self.arborist_client.delete_group(deleted_group)
 
         # create/update the groups defined in the user.yaml
         for group in groups: