How to Share Your Google Analytics Account
Trying to share your Google Analytics data with a team member, agency, or consultant is a common task, but navigating the GA4 interface can feel daunting. If you’re not sure which buttons to click or what permissions to grant, you’ve come to the right place. This guide provides a clear, step-by-step walkthrough for sharing access to your Google Analytics 4 property, explaining the account structure, and breaking down what each permission level actually means.
First, Why You Might Need to Share Access
Before jumping into the "how," it's helpful to understand the common scenarios where sharing access is necessary. This isn't just about handing over keys, it's about enabling collaboration and getting expert help. You might need to share access when you're:
Working with an Outside Agency: Whether for marketing, SEO, or PPC, an agency needs direct access to your analytics data to measure campaign success and find opportunities.
Hiring a Freelancer or Consultant: A specialist hired to audit your site's SEO, improve conversion rates, or analyze user behavior will require access to do their job effectively.
Onboarding a New Team Member: A new marketing manager, content creator, or data analyst on your team will need access to dashboards and reports to get up to speed.
Providing Data to Stakeholders: Instead of manually exporting reports, you can give stakeholders a "Viewer" role so they can see performance data for themselves.
Understanding the Google Analytics 4 Hierarchy
One of the biggest points of confusion when sharing access is understanding the difference between an "Account" and a "Property." Granting access at the wrong level can either give someone too much permission or not enough. Here’s a simple breakdown:
Organization (Optional): This is the highest level, typically used for large enterprises to manage multiple company accounts. Most small to medium businesses don't need to worry about this level.
Account: This is the container for all your websites and apps. Think of it as a filing cabinet for your entire business. If your company owns three different websites, they might all live under one Account.
Property: Each website or app you want to track is a Property. Think of this as a specific folder inside your filing cabinet. If your business has a main website and a separate blog site, you'd likely have two Properties set up under your single Account.
This is important because you can grant access at either the Account level or the Property level. Granting access at the Account level gives that user the same permissions for every single Property within that account. Granting access at the Property level restricts their permissions to only that specific website or app.
General Rule: Always grant access at the most specific level required. If an agency is only working on yoursite.com, give them access to the yoursite.com Property, not your entire Account.
What Do the Different Permission Levels Mean?
Google provides several user roles, each with different capabilities. Giving someone "Administrator" access when they only need to view reports is a common (and risky) mistake. Choosing the correct permission level protects your data and prevents accidental changes.
This is known as the Principle of Least Privilege: only give a user the minimum level of access they genuinely need to perform their duties.
The Five User Roles in GA4
Administrator: This is the highest level of access. They can do everything, including adding and deleting users, changing permission levels, linking other Google products (like Google Ads and Search Console), and deleting the property or account.
Who needs this? Only company owners or senior marketing leads who are responsible for managing the entire GA4 setup. Be extremely cautious about granting this permission level.
Editor: Editors can do everything an Administrator can do except manage users. They can change settings, create and edit events, define conversions, and manage audiences. It’s a powerful role that allows for changes to how data is collected and reported.
Who needs this? Marketing managers, SEO specialists, or agency team members who are actively managing the property and need to implement changes (e.g., setting up new conversion tracking).
Marketer: This role is focused on advertising and audience configuration without giving full edit access to other settings. They can create, edit, and delete audiences, conversion events, and ad attribution models.
Who needs this? PPC specialists or ad campaign managers who need to manage audiences for remarketing campaigns without altering other administrative settings.
Analyst: An Analyst can create, edit, and share reports within the "Explore" section. They can see all the data and build custom analyses, but they cannot change any of the admin settings. They are essentially advanced viewers who can manipulate and visualize data.
Who needs this? Data analysts, content strategists, or most agency contacts who need to dig into the data and create custom reports without the risk of changing critical settings. This is often a safe and effective choice for many collaborators.
Viewer: This is the most basic, view-only permission. Viewers can see all the settings and reports but cannot make any changes. They can filter data in reports but cannot create or share their own reports in the "Explore" section.
Who needs this? Executives, clients, or team members from other departments who just need to check performance dashboards without interacting with the data in-depth. It's the safest option available.
None: This option will remove all permissions for a user at that level. For example, if you remove someone from a specific Property, they might still have access if they were also added at the broader Account level.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Sharing Access
Now that you grasp the hierarchy and roles, here are the exact steps to add a new user to your Google Analytics 4 property.
Step 1: Go 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.
Step 2: Choose the Level of Access (Account or Property)
The Admin screen is divided into two columns: Account and Property. This is where you decide at which level you want to grant permissions.
If you want to give the user access to every property in your account, click on Account Access Management under the "Account" column.
If you want to give the user access to only the specific property you have selected, click on Property Access Management under the "Property" column.
For this example, we'll assume you want to provide access to just one property, which is the most common and secure practice.
Step 3: Add the New User
In the Property Access Management screen, you'll see a blue "+" button in the top right corner. Click this, then select Add users.
Step 4: Enter the User's Email and Assign Permissions
An "Add permissions" panel will slide out from the right. Here you need to do a few things:
Enter email address(es): Type the email address of the person you want to add. Be sure it's the email associated with their Google account.
Notify new users by email: Keep this box checked. It sends an email informing them they've been granted access.
Select role(s): This is the most important part. Choose one of the predefined roles (Viewer, Analyst, Marketer, Editor, or Administrator) from the list. Remember the Principle of Least Privilege and only assign what's necessary.
Step 5: Review and Save
Double-check the email address and the role you've selected. Once you're confident, click the blue Add button in the top right corner. That's it! The user has now been added and will receive an email notification.
Best Practices for Managing Your GA4 Users
Sharing access is simple, but managing it wisely is crucial for security and data integrity.
Audit Permissions Regularly: Once a quarter, review who has access to your account and properties. Remove users who no longer work with you, such as former employees or past agencies.
Use Group Emails for Agencies: If you're working with an agency that has multiple team members needing access, ask them for a group email address (e.g., youraccount@agency.com). This is easier to manage than adding and removing individuals as their team changes.
Don't Share Your Own Login: Never, ever share your own Google account username and password. Always use the proper user management features to grant individual access. This maintains an audit trail and keeps your own account secure.
Final Thoughts
Sharing Google Analytics access is a simple process once you have a clear grasp of the Account vs. Property structure and the different permission levels. By following the steps above and sticking to the Principle of Least Privilege, you can collaborate effectively with your team and partners while keeping your data configuration safe and secure.
While sharing direct access is fundamental for collaboration, the real goal is to get clear answers and share insights without the hassle. The next step is often pulling data from multiple places - like seeing how your Facebook Ads and Shopify sales connect with your Google Analytics traffic. That’s an area where we really focused on simplifying things. With Graphed , we let you pull all your sources into one place and create insightful dashboards with simple text prompts. Instead of teaching five people how to use Google Analytics, you can just build the exact report they need in seconds and share a link.