How to Delete User in Google Analytics
Removing a user from your Google Analytics is a quick but essential task for maintaining the security and integrity of your website's data. Whether an employee has left the company, a freelancer's contract has ended, or you're simply cleaning up your user list, the process is straightforward. This article will walk you through the step-by-step process for Google Analytics 4, explain the different user roles, and cover best practices for managing access.
Before You Delete: Why Managing User Access is Important
Controlling who has access to your Google Analytics account isn't just a housekeeping task, it’s a critical part of a solid data strategy. Before jumping into the "how," it's helpful to understand the "why."
Data Security: The most obvious reason is security. You don’t want former employees or third-party contractors to retain access to your business performance data. Regularly auditing and removing users who no longer need access helps prevent unauthorized data viewing or, worse, unintended changes.
Data Integrity: More users mean more chances for accidental changes. Someone with editor-level access could unintentionally apply a wrong filter, change a conversion event setting, or alter a custom report, skewing your data and leading to flawed decision-making. Limiting access to only those who absolutely need it protects your data's accuracy.
Clarity and Organization: A long list of users, many of whom are inactive, creates clutter and makes it difficult to manage who's who. A clean user list ensures you know exactly who has what level of permission at a glance.
Understanding User Roles in Google Analytics 4
In GA4, permissions can be granted at two main levels: the Account and the Property. Think of the structure like this: an Account is the top-level container that can hold multiple Properties (i.e., different websites or apps).
Before you remove a user, you need to know what role they have. A user's role determines what they can see and do within your Analytics account. Here are the standard roles available in GA4:
Administrator: Has full control over the account or property. Administrators can add/delete users, change settings, and perform all other actions. You must be an Administrator to delete other users.
Editor: Can edit settings within the property, create/edit audiences, conversion events, and reports. However, Editors cannot manage users.
Marketer: A common role for those running campaigns. They can manage audiences and conversion events, and have some creative and reporting capabilities, but can’t alter major property settings.
Analyst: Can create, edit, and share reports and assets. They can analyze data but cannot make administrative changes to the property.
Viewer: Has read-only access. They can view reports and settings but cannot make any changes whatsoever. This is the safest role for sharing data with stakeholders who don't need to interact with it.
None: No access to the account or property. This is effectively what you achieve when you delete a user.
How to Delete a User in Google Analytics 4 (Step-by-Step)
Ready to remove a user? Just make sure you have Administrator-level permissions. If you don't, you won't see the options to remove others. Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Navigate to the Admin Section
Log in to your Google Analytics account. In the bottom-left corner of the screen, you'll see a gear icon labeled Admin. Click it to open the administration panel.
Step 2: Choose Your Access Point (Account or Property)
The Admin screen is split into two columns: Account and Property. User access is managed separately for each. You need to decide where the user's permissions are located.
To manage users for the entire account (granting them access to all properties within it), click on Account Access Management under the "Account" column.
To manage users for only a specific website or app, click on Property Access Management under the "Property" column.
If you're unsure, it's a good idea to check both. Start with Account Access Management, as permissions granted there cascade down to all properties.
Step 3: Find the User in the List
After clicking on access management, you'll see a list of all users who have access at that level. Each user's email address and assigned role(s) are displayed. Scroll through the list to find the person you want to remove.
Step 4: Open the User's Permission Details
To the far right of the user's email address, you'll see a three-dot menu icon (⋮). Click this icon to open a small dropdown menu of available actions.
Step 5: Select 'Remove Access'
From the dropdown menu, click on the option that says Remove Access. This will trigger a confirmation pop-up to ensure you didn't click it by accident.
Step 6: Confirm the Removal
A confirmation box will appear, asking if you are sure you want to remove this user's access. Click the blue Remove button to permanently revoke their permissions for that Account or Property. The user will be immediately removed from the list and will no longer be able to log in.
That's it! You've successfully removed a user. If they had access at another level (e.g., you removed them from the Property but they still have Account access), be sure to repeat the process there as well.
How to Delete Multiple Users at Once
If you're doing a large cleanup and need to remove several users, you don't have to do it one by one. GA4 provides a simple bulk removal function.
Navigate to Account Access Management or Property Access Management as described above.
To the left of each user's email address, you'll find a checkbox. Tick the boxes for every user you wish to remove.
Once you've selected at least one user, a blue bar will appear at the top-right of the user list. It will show how many users you've selected and provide a Remove option.
Click Remove. You will be asked to confirm your action. Click to confirm, and all selected users will be removed at once.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
"I Can't Find the Option to Remove a User!"
This is the most common problem and almost always means you don't have the necessary permissions. Only users with the Administrator role can add or remove other users. If you don't see the three-dot menu or the 'Remove' option, you'll need to ask an existing Administrator on the account to either remove the user for you or upgrade your permissions.
"What if I Accidentally Delete the Wrong User?"
Don't panic. Deleting a user simply revokes their access, it doesn't delete their Google account or any historical data. If you remove someone by mistake, you can easily re-add them. Just click the blue "+" button in the top right of the user list screen, select "Add users," enter their email address, and assign them the correct role.
"Will Removing a User Affect My Reports?"
No. Historical data in Google Analytics is not attached to the user who was logged in. Deleting a user only impacts their ability to access the account in the future. All reports, data, and configurations will remain exactly as they were.
Final Thoughts
Regularly managing your Google Analytics user list is a simple yet vital practice for maintaining data security and accuracy. By following these quick steps, you can ensure that only authorized team members have access, keeping your account clean, organized, and secure.
Of course, keeping your Google Analytics tidy is just one piece of the puzzle. The real challenge is often consolidating that data with information from all your other platforms - like Shopify, Hubbard, and Facebook Ads - to get a full picture of your performance. That's why we built Graphed to help. Instead of granting dozens of permissions across separate tools, we allow you to connect all your data sources in one place. Your entire team can get real-time answers and dashboards just by asking questions in plain English, without ever needing deep access to the raw data sources themselves.