How to Delete Data Source in Looker Studio

Cleaning up your Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) workspace is an integral part of the data analysis lifecycle. As projects wrap up, data sets become obsolete, or you switch analytics platforms, you'll inevitably have old data sources lingering. This article will show you exactly how to delete a data source, explain the important difference between removing and deleting, and provide a handy checklist to follow before making any permanent changes.

Why Delete a Data Source in Looker Studio?

While it's technically possible to leave old data sources in your account indefinitely, maintaining a tidy workspace is a good practice. A clean workspace makes it easier to find what you need and reduces the chances of accidentally building a new report with outdated data.

Here are a few common scenarios where you might want to delete a data source:

• Upgrading & Migration: A common reason today is the switch from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4. You'll have an old Universal Analytics data source that's no longer collecting data and can safely be removed to avoid confusion.
• Test or Duplicate Sources: You might have created a temporary data source to test a new blend or chart type. Once you're done, deleting it keeps your list clean. It's also easy to accidentally create a duplicate source when building a fast report, so you'll want to remove redundant ones later.
• The Original Data is Gone: If your Looker Studio report was connected to a specific Google Sheet or CSV file that has been deleted, the data source connection is broken and useless. Deleting it from Looker Studio is just good housekeeping.
• Consolidating Reports: You may have inherited several different Looker Studio reports that all measure similar things. As you consolidate them into a single-source-of-truth dashboard, you might find some of the old, standalone data sources are no longer needed.
• Security and Privacy: If a data source contains sensitive information and is no longer in use, removing it is a good security measure to limit unnecessary data access points.

Removing vs. Deleting: What’s the Difference?

This is the most critical distinction to understand before you proceed. Looker Studio's terminology can be a little confusing, but the actions are very different. Think of it like a USB drive connected to your computer:

Removing a data source means you are detaching it from one specific report. The source still exists in your Looker Studio account and can be used in other reports or added back to the same report later. In our analogy, this is like unplugging the USB drive from your computer. The drive is fine, and you can plug it back in whenever you want.

Deleting a data source means you are permanently removing it from your entire Looker Studio account. It cannot be used in any reports, and if you want it back, you have to reconnect it from scratch. This is akin to throwing the USB drive in the trash. If you want the files back, you'll need to retrieve the original or a backup.

The confusion often arises because Looker Studio uses the word "Remove" in its menus for the final deletion step. Just remember that when managing sources from the main screen, "Remove" means delete forever.

Your Pre-Deletion Checklist

Accidentally deleting something important can be frustrating. Before you delete any data source, run through this quick two-minute checklist to avoid any "oops" moments.

1. Check Where It's Used

Looker Studio warns you if a data source is being used in reports before you delete it. However, it's good practice to know the impact yourself. On the Data Sources page, you can see how many reports are connected to a source. If it’s more than zero, you might want to investigate which reports will be affected before proceeding.

2. Notify Team Members

If you work in a team, a data source you think is obsolete might be powering someone else's report. Send a quick message to your team notifying them (e.g., "I'm planning to delete the old Universal Analytics data source at the end of the day since we've all migrated to GA4. Please let me know if anyone still needs it.").

3. Backup Your Configurations

If you've spent time creating custom calculated fields and formulas within that data source, they will be deleted along with it. A smart move is to open the data source, copy any complex formulas, and save them into a text document or notes app. This way, if you need to recreate it, you won't have to start from scratch.

How to Delete a Data Source from Looker Studio (Step-by-Step)

There are two primary places from which you can delete a data source, both achieving the same result.

Method 1: From the Looker Studio Home Page (Recommended)

This is the cleanest and most direct way to manage all your data sources in one place.

1. Navigate to the Looker Studio home page.
2. On the left-hand navigation menu, click on Data Sources to view a list of every data source you have access to.
3. Find the data source you want to delete. Use the search bar at the top if you have many.
4. Hover over the data source, and on the right, click the three vertical dots (the "kebab" menu).
5. In the dropdown menu, select Remove.
6. A confirmation pop-up will appear, warning that this action cannot be undone and that "removing" the source will delete it permanently and break any reports that use it. Click the Remove button to confirm.

That's it. The data source is now permanently deleted from your account.

Method 2: Directly From Within a Report

You can also access the delete function from inside any Looker Studio report, achieving the same outcome.

1. Open any Looker Studio report that uses the data source you want to remove.
2. In the top menu, navigate to Resource > Manage added data sources.
3. A panel on the right will show all data sources connected to that report. Locate the source you wish to delete.
4. In the Actions column for that source, click Remove.
5. You will see the same confirmation pop-up. Looker Studio will ask if you want to remove the source from the report. An important detail: If the source is used in other reports, Looker Studio allows you to either remove it from just this report or remove it from all reports (delete). If the source is used only in this report, your only option will be final deletion.
6. Confirm the action, and the source will be deleted.

What Happens if You Can’t Delete a Data Source?

Sometimes you may find the "Remove" button is grayed out or you're encountering a generic error. This is typically due to a permissions issue.

In Looker Studio, data sources have their own ownership permissions, separate from the reports they are used in. You can be the "Owner" of a report, but only an "Editor" of the data source.

Only the owner of the data source can delete it.

If you can't delete a source, it's almost certainly because your permission level is set to "Viewer" or "Editor." You'll need to find out who originally created and connected the data source and ask them to either delete it for you or change your permission level to "Owner." You can check the source's owner by finding it on the Data Sources page and looking at the "Owner" column.

Final Thoughts

Deleting a data source in Looker Studio is straightforward once you understand the difference between removing it from a report and deleting it permanently. By following a simple checklist and knowing where to click, you can keep your analytics workspace clean, organized, and free of outdated information.

Managing data sources, building reports, and ensuring everything is correctly connected is a big part of the work in tools like Looker Studio. We built Graphed because we believe your time is better spent on insights, not setup. Instead of manually adding and deleting sources and configuring reports from scratch, we let you connect all your platforms in seconds. Then, you can build entire dashboards just by describing what you want in plain English, allowing you to get answers in real-time without ever getting lost in a menu.