To give someone access to Google Analytics, you need to open the Admin panel, navigate to Access Management, and add their Google account email with the appropriate permission level. The entire process takes under a minute, but choosing the right role matters because each one controls what the person can see and change.
Steps to Add a User in Google Analytics
You need the Administrator role yourself before you can grant access to anyone else. If you have it, follow these steps:
- Click the gear icon in the bottom left corner to open Admin.
- Under either “Account” or “Property,” click Access Management.
- In the permissions list, click the + button, then select Add users.
- Enter the person’s Google Account or Google Workspace email address.
- Check Notify new users by email if you want Google to send them a message letting them know they have access.
- Select the permission level (role) you want to assign.
- Click Add.
The person you added can now sign in to Google Analytics with that email and see the account or property you granted them access to.
Account Level vs. Property Level Access
Google Analytics is organized in a hierarchy: an account sits at the top, and one or more properties live inside it. When you add a user, you choose whether to grant access at the account level or the property level, and the difference matters.
Account-level access gives the person permissions across every property under that account. If you manage multiple websites or apps within a single Analytics account, an account-level user can reach all of them. Property-level access limits the person to one specific property. Use property-level access when you want a freelancer, agency, or teammate to see data for only one site without touching the rest.
The steps are identical either way. The only difference is whether you click “Access Management” under the Account column or the Property column in Admin.
Which Role to Assign
Google Analytics offers five roles, each building on the one below it. Pick the narrowest role that lets the person do their job.
- Viewer: Can see all reports and data, apply filters or comparisons inside reports, and create their own explorations (custom reports). Cannot change any settings. This is the right choice for stakeholders, clients, or executives who just need to look at the numbers.
- Analyst: Everything a Viewer can do, plus the ability to share explorations with other users on the property. Good for data team members who build reports others rely on.
- Marketer: Everything an Analyst can do, plus the ability to create and edit audiences, events, and key events (conversions). Can also import key events into Google Ads and change attribution model settings. This fits someone running ad campaigns who needs to adjust conversion tracking.
- Editor: Full control over property settings, including creating or modifying data streams, events, and integrations. Cannot add or remove users. Best for a developer or analytics manager who configures the property but doesn’t need to manage team access.
- Administrator: Everything an Editor can do, plus full user management. Can add users, remove users, and assign any role, including promoting someone else to Administrator. Reserve this for people who truly need to control access.
You can always change a person’s role later by going back to Access Management, clicking their email, and selecting a different permission level.
What If You Don’t See the Option to Add Users
If the Access Management section is missing or the + button is grayed out, you don’t have the Administrator role on that account or property. Only Administrators can manage other users. Ask whoever originally set up the Analytics account to either add the person for you or upgrade your role to Administrator.
In situations where no one in your organization has Administrator access anymore (the original admin left the company, for example), Google has a recovery process. You’ll need to prove you own the website or app sending data to Analytics. This involves either uploading a special text file called analytics.txt to your site’s root directory or adding a specific meta tag to your homepage. Both must include your email address, the property’s measurement ID, and the current date. Once Google verifies ownership, they can restore administrative access. If you can’t prove ownership of the sites connected to the account, Google won’t grant access.
Giving Access Without a Google Account
Every person you add needs a Google Account or Google Workspace account. There’s no way to grant access using a non-Google email address. If the person you’re adding uses a company email that isn’t on Google Workspace, they’ll need to create a free Google Account linked to that email address at accounts.google.com before you can add them.
Sharing Data Without Full Access
If you just need to share a specific report rather than give ongoing access to the platform, you have lighter options. Inside any report, you can export data as a PDF or CSV and send it directly. You can also create an exploration and share a link with another user who already has at least Viewer access. For recurring reports, setting up a scheduled email export sends a snapshot of a report to any email address on a regular basis, no Analytics login required on the recipient’s end.
These alternatives keep your Analytics account tidy and avoid giving access to people who only need an occasional data point.