The Basics of Google Analytics User Roles And Permissions

Google Analytics provides a window into your site’s visitors, activity, and conversion metrics. What level of metrics you (or others) can access, edit, and create is tied to user permissions. Google Analytics user permissions are critical to understanding as an admin when granting access to colleagues, employees, and digital marketing agencies. 

What are Google Analytics User Permissions? 

Within a Google Analytics account, admin users can add new users from within and outside their organization. When an account owner adds new users, different account access levels can be granted; these are known as “user permissions” in Google Analytics.

User permissions fall into 4 categories of access levels

1. Read & Analyze 
2. Collaborate
3. Edit
4. Manage Users  

Users also can be granted permission levels in 3 different areas 

1. Account Level
2. Property Level
3. View Level

Each of these access levels has repercussions that can be far-reaching if Google Analytics user management isn’t properly considered.  When adding new users to a Google Analytics account, each user should be assessed for their specific needs.

Google Analytics User Permission Levels  

Google Analytics allows for 4 levels of user permissions, each coming with their own set of privileges.  Starting from the most restrictive to the most freedom, we’ll explore each level of permissions. 

Read & Analyze 

Read & Analyze is the most basic of user permission levels.  Users with this level of access can;

• Access and view reports 
• Manipulate data inside of reports by adding a segment or secondary dimension, applying a filter to a table, or creating and applying a segment. 
• Access and view shared assets (cannot collaborate).  

Collaborate 

Collaborate is the next level up from Read & Analyze.  It includes all of the permissions from the previous level in addition to new privileges. Users with Collaborate level access can;  

• Create, edit, share, or delete personal assets like custom reports, dashboards, and segments.
• Collaborate on shared assets and make edits to custom reports, dashboards, and segments. 

Edit 

Edit is the 3rd level of Google Analytics user permissions and provides access to almost all areas of a Google Analytics account.  In addition to all privileges from previous levels, users with Edit access can;

• Edit, delete or add goals.
• Edit or create custom dimensions and metrics (if given access at the property level).
• Edit, delete, or add filters (if given access at the property level).
• Edit, add, or delete accounts, views, and properties.
• Connect other Google products like Google Ads (AdWords) and Search Console. 

Manage Users 

Manage Users is the highest level of Google Analytics user permissions.  If an admin adds users at this level, the new user will have access to all privileges from previous levels along with the ability to;

• Remove and add users to the Google Analytics account 
• Manage user permission levels, edit permissions, and grant full permission levels to any account user, including themselves.  

Google Analytics Permission Levels  

While there are 4 levels of user permissions, a user can be granted access at 3 different Google Analytics accounts levels.

Account Level

Access at the account level is the highest level of access within a Google Analytics account.  Within an account, a user can access all properties or views.  

Property Level

Access at the property level grants a user access to a single property (website).  Having access at the property level will also grant access to all views underneath the property. 

View Level

Access at the view level of a Google Analytics account grants a user access to a single view underneath a property.  

Google Analytics Education   

Want to further your Google Analytics education and skills? Google Analytics training courses from ONLC offer convenient training at over 300 locations nationwide or online courses from the comfort of your own home.