How to Add User to Google Analytics 4
Granting someone access to your Google Analytics 4 property is one of those simple tasks that can feel surprisingly confusing if it's your first time. Whether you're bringing on a new team member, hiring a marketing agency, or collaborating with a freelancer, you need to share your data securely. This guide will walk you through exactly how to add users to GA4, explain what each permission level means, and share a few best practices for managing access effectively.
First, Why Add Users to GA4?
In most businesses, data isn't a solo sport. You need to grant access to your analytics for a few common reasons:
Team Collaboration: Your marketing manager needs to see campaign performance, your content writer needs to check blog traffic, and your web developer might need to set up event tracking.
Working with Agencies or Freelancers: SEO specialists, PPC managers, and BI consultants all need direct access to your GA4 data to do their jobs, from running audits to building reports.
Stakeholder Reporting: A company executive or department head might not live in GA4 every day, but they may want viewer access to check on key performance indicators (KPIs) or review a specific report.
The goal is to give people the specific level of access they need to perform their role without handing over the keys to the entire kingdom. Effective user management is the first step toward secure and efficient data collaboration.
Understanding GA4 Roles and Permissions
Before you click "Add user," it's important to understand what you're actually giving them permission to do. GA4 has a tiered system of roles that grant different levels of access. Giving someone "Administrator" access when all they need is to "View" reports is a common but avoidable security risk.
Here’s a breakdown of the standard roles available in Google Analytics 4:
Administrator: This is the highest level of access. Administrators can do everything, including adding and removing other users, changing settings, linking other Google products (like Google Ads), and setting up data streams. They also have all the permissions of every other role. Give this role out sparingly. It should be reserved for property owners or top-level managers who are responsible for the GA4 setup.
Editor: Editors can perform most administrative functions at the property level. They can create, edit, and delete audiences, conversions, custom dimensions, and reports. However, they cannot manage user access. This is a great role for marketing managers or analysts who actively manage and configure the property but don't need to control user permissions.
Analyst: An analyst’s power lies in exploration and reporting. They can create, edit, and share their own personal reports and explorations dashboards (in the 'Explore' section). However, they cannot edit shared assets like standard reports in the main reporting navigation. This role is perfect for data analysts or team members who need to dig into the data and create custom analyses without changing the property's core configuration.
Viewer: This is the most restrictive, read-only role. Viewers can see all the reports and data within the property, but they cannot make any changes. They can change how they view the data in a report (like applying a filter or changing the date range), but they can’t save those changes. This is the ideal role for executives, stakeholders, or junior team members who only need to consume information.
No Access: This isn't technically a role you assign, but it's an option to be aware of. You can explicitly set "No access" for specific data-gathering tools within a role if you need to provide more granular restrictions.
Data Restrictions
In addition to these roles, GA4 offers an extra layer of control with two data restrictions:
No Cost Metrics: This prevents users from seeing cost-related data from linked advertising accounts (e.g., Google Ads spend). This can be useful if you want to share performance metrics with a partner without revealing your budget details.
No Revenue Metrics: Similarly, this hides all revenue-related metrics, like purchase revenue, ecommerce conversions, and ROAS. This is helpful for team members who focus on top-of-funnel KPIs and don't need access to sensitive financial data.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Add a User to GA4
Ready to grant access? The process is straightforward and only takes a minute. You can grant access at two different levels: the Account level or the Property level. Adding a user at the Account level gives them access to ALL properties within that account. Adding them at the Property level limits their access to only that specific property.
For most cases, like giving access to a marketer for a single website, Property-level access is the correct and most secure choice.
Adding a User at the Property Level
Navigate to Admin: Log in to your Google Analytics account. In the bottom-left corner of the screen, click on the gear icon labeled Admin.
Select the Correct Property: Ensure you have the correct Account and Property selected in the columns at the top of the Admin page. If you only have one website in GA4, this will be selected by default.
Open Property Access Management: In the 'Property' column (the middle one), click on Property Access Management.
Add a New User: In the top-right corner, click the blue + button and then select Add users.
Enter Email and Set Permissions: In the side panel that appears:
Enter the Google account email address of the person you want to add.
Select the appropriate role (Viewer, Analyst, Editor, or Administrator) from the "Standard Roles" dropdown menu.
Below the roles, you can optionally set the data restrictions for Cost or Revenue metrics.
Review and Add: Double-check the email address and the assigned role. Once you're certain, click the blue Add button in the top-right corner. The user will receive an email notification that they have been granted access.
How to Modify or Remove User Access in GA4
Teams change. A freelancer's contract ends, or an employee moves to a new role. Keeping your user list clean is just as important as adding people correctly. Modifying or removing access is just as easy.
Go back to Admin > Property Access Management.
Here you will see a list of all users who have access to the property.
Find the user you want to modify or remove and click the three vertical dots on the far right of their row.
From the menu, you can select View user's account details to change their permissions, or select Remove access to revoke their permissions entirely.
Best Practices for GA4 User Management
Giving out access might seem simple, but following a few best practices will improve your data security and keep your account administration clean and manageable, especially as your team grows.
1. Follow the Principle of Least Privilege
This is the golden rule of user access. Only grant the minimum level of permission necessary for a user to perform their job. If someone just needs to look at reports, give them Viewer access, not Editor. This simple practice dramatically reduces the risk of accidental changes to your GA4 setup and protects sensitive data.
2. Limit Administrator Access
Administrator is a powerful role. Too many admins can lead to mismatched settings and confusion ("Who changed that conversion setting?"). Reserve Administrator access for one or two trusted individuals who are directly responsible for the GA4 account's health and integrity. All others who need to make changes can likely accomplish their tasks with the Editor role.
3. Use Google Groups for Team Management
If you need to give the same level of access to an entire team (e.g., your content marketing team or a contractor agency), consider adding a Google Group instead of individual emails. Create a group like "marketing-team@yourcompany.com," add all the relevant team members to that group in Google Workspace, and then add the group email to GA4 with the desired permissions. When a person joins or leaves the team, you only need to update the Google Group, and their GA4 access will update automatically. This is much more scalable than managing dozens of individual users.
4. Conduct Regular User Audits
Set a calendar reminder to review your GA4 user list every three or six months. Go through the list and ask a simple question for each user: "Does this person still need this level of access to do their job?" You'll often find people who have left the company or freelancers whose projects have ended are still on the list. Removing them is good data hygiene and an easy security win.
Final Thoughts
Adding and managing users in GA4 is a fundamental skill for anyone responsible for a website's analytics. Once you understand the different roles and the difference between account and property-level access, the process becomes quick and painless, enabling your team and partners to use data effectively while keeping your account secure.
Of course, true data collaboration goes beyond just providing access to a platform. It's about getting clear, actionable answers to your team quickly. Instead of having every team member learn the complexities of GA4's reporting interface, we believe there's an easier way. With Graphed, you can connect GA4 and all your other data sources, then build and share live dashboards using simple, natural language. It removes the bottleneck of the "analytics expert" and puts the power of real-time insights - from ad spend to website traffic to sales revenue - directly into the hands of the people who need it most.