This article is in conjunction with the article ‘Google Analytics Account Structure and Governance’ where I explained the Google Analytics account structure and how to set up properties and views in the event, when you own/manage multiple websites and/or mobile apps.
Make sure to read this article, in order to get the best out of the present article.
When you navigate to Google Analytics Admin, you see the option to change ‘user management’ settings under the ‘Account’ column:
Click on the ‘User Management’ link to set/change user management settings for the ‘Account Users’.
When you click on the ‘User Management’ link, you will see the list of all the current account users along with their name, email address, and the type of permissions they have got:
In the context of user management in Google Analytics, there are three types of users:
Account Users
Property Users
View Users
You as a GA user probably fall into one, more or all of the aforesaid categories.
Introduction to Account Users
Account users are the GA users who are assigned one or more of the following permissions at the Google Analytics account level:
‘Edit’ permission
‘Collaborate’ permission
‘Read & Analyze’ permission
‘Manage Users’ permission
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At the ‘account’ level, the ‘edit’ permission allows you to add/edit/delete a GA account and any/all of the properties, views, filters, goals, etc in that account.
If you are assigned ‘Edit’ permission at the account level then you:
#1 Automatically inherit ‘Edit’ permission for all the GA properties and views in your account and this ‘Edit’ permission cannot be revoked for any individual property and/or view (unless you first revoke the ‘edit’ permission at the account level).
#2 Automatically inherit: ‘Collaborate’ and ‘Read & Analyze’ permissions for all the GA properties and views in your account and these permissions cannot be revoked for any individual property and/or view (unless you first revoke the ‘edit’ permission at the account level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘manage users’ permission regardless of the level (account, property or view) at which you were assigned the ‘edit’ permission.
Personal Assets in Google Analytics
In the context of Google Analytics, the following are examples of personal assets:
At the ‘account’ level, the ‘Collaborate’ permission allows you to create, share, and collaborate on personal assets for any/all of the properties & views in that account.
If you are assigned ‘Collaborate’ permission at the account level then you:
#1 Automatically inherit ‘Collaborate’ permission for all the GA properties and views in your account and this ‘Collaborate’ permission cannot be revoked for any individual property and/or view (unless you first revoke the ‘collaborate’ permission at the account level).
#2 Automatically inherit ‘Read & Analyze’ permissions for all the GA properties and views in your account and these permissions cannot be revoked for any individual property and/or view (unless you first revoke the ‘collaborate’ permission at the account level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘Edit’ or ‘manage users’ permissions regardless of the level (account, property or view) at which you were assigned the ‘collaborate’ permission.
The ‘Read & Analyze’ Permission at the Account Level
At the ‘account’ level, the ‘Read & Analyze’ permission allow you to do following for any/all of the properties & views in that account:
See report and configuration data.
Manipulate data within reports via reporting filters, advanced segments, secondary dimension, etc.
Create and share personal assets.
If you are assigned ‘Read & Analyze’ permission at the account level then you automatically inherit ‘Read & Analyze’ permission for all the GA properties and views in your account and this ‘Read & Analyze’ permission cannot be revoked for any individual property and/or view (unless you first revoke the ‘Read & Analyze’ permission at the account level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘edit’, ‘collaborate’, and ‘manage users’ permissions regardless of the level (account, property, or view) at which you were assigned the ‘read and analyze’ permission.
The ‘Manage Users’ Permission at the Account Level
At the ‘account’ level, the ‘manage users’ permission allow you to add/delete GA users and assign them other permissions for any/all of the properties & views in that account.
If you are assigned ‘manage users’ permission at the account level then you automatically inherit ‘manage users’ permission for all the GA properties and views in your account and this ‘manage users’ permission cannot be revoked for any individual property and/or view (unless you first revoke the ‘manage users’ permission at the account level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘edit’, ‘collaborate’, ‘read & analyze’ permissions regardless of the level (account, property, or view) at which you were assigned the ‘manage users’ permission.
Moving Down the Hierarchy of Account > Property > View
As you move down the hierarchy (Account > Property > View) you can give more permissions to a user, but not fewer.
For example, if a user has Read & Analyze permission at an account level, he automatically inherits ‘Read and Analyze’ permission at all properties and views level.
But you can also assign him ‘edit’ permission at an individual property or view level.
On the other hand, if a user has ‘Edit permission’ at the account level, you can’t limit his permission to just ‘Read & Analyze’ at any of the property or ‘view’ level.
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘Account’ section:
Step-3: Click on the ‘+’ button and then click on ‘Add users’:
Step-4: Enter the email address of the new user and then grant the permission(s) you want to assign to the account user by clicking on the checkbox next to each permission:
How to Change the Permission of an Account User
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘Account’ section:
Step-3: Click on the listing of the user whose permission you want to change:
Step-4: Click on the appropriate button(s) to change the permission(s):
How to Remove an Account User
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘Account’ section:
Step-3: Click on the ‘Remove Access’ button next to the Account user you want to remove:
How to Find the List of GA Accounts a User Has Got Access To
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘Account’ section:
Step-3: Click on the ‘View user’s account details’ button next to the view user:
You can now see the list of all GA accounts the user has got access to.
User Management at Property Level
When you navigate to Google Analytics Admin, you get the option to change ‘user management’ settings at the property level:
Click on the ‘User Management’ link to set/change user management settings for the ‘Property Users’.
When you click on the ‘User Management’ link, you will see the list of all the current property users along with their name, email address, and the type of permissions they have got:
Remember, in the context of user management in Google Analytics, there are three types of users:
Account Users
Property Users
View Users
Introduction to Property Users
Property users are the GA users who are assigned one or more of the following permissions at the Google Analytics property level:
At the ‘property’ level the ‘edit’ permission allows you to add/edit/delete a GA property and any/all of the views, filters, goals, etc in that property.
If you are assigned ‘Edit’ permission at the property level then you:
#1 Automatically inherit ‘Edit’ permission for all the GA views in your property and this ‘Edit’ permission cannot be revoked for any individual view (unless you first revoke the ‘edit’ permission at the account or property level).
#2 Automatically inherit: ‘Collaborate’ and ‘Read & Analyze’ permissions for all the views in your property and these permissions cannot be revoked for any individual view (unless you first revoke the ‘edit’ permission at the account or property level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘manage users’ permission regardless of the level (account, property or view) at which you were assigned the ‘edit’ permission.
The ‘Collaborate’ Permission at the Property Level
At the ‘property’ level the ‘Collaborate’ permission allows you to create, share, and collaborate on personal assets for any/all of the views in that property.
If you are assigned ‘Collaborate’ permission at the property level then you:
#1 Automatically inherit ‘Collaborate’ permission for all the GA views in your property and this ‘Collaborate’ permission cannot be revoked for any individual view (unless you first revoke the ‘collaborate’ permission at the account or property level).
#2 Automatically inherit ‘Read & Analyze’ permissions for all the views in your property and these permissions cannot be revoked for any individual view (unless you first revoke the ‘collaborate’ permission at the account or property level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘Edit’ or ‘manage users’ permissions regardless of the level (account, property or view) at which you were assigned the ‘collaborate’ permission.
The ‘Read & Analyze’ Permission at the Property Level
At the ‘property’ level, the ‘Read & Analyze’ permission allow you to do following for any/all of the views in the property:
See report and configuration data.
Manipulate data within reports via reporting filters, custom segments, secondary dimension, etc.
Create and share personal assets.
If you are assigned ‘Read & Analyze’ permission at the property level then you automatically inherit ‘Read & Analyze’ permission for all the GA views in your property and this ‘Read & Analyze’ permission cannot be revoked for any individual view (unless you first revoke the ‘Read & Analyze’ permission at the account or property level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘edit’, ‘collaborate’, and ‘manage users’ permissions regardless of the level (account, property, or view) at which you were assigned the ‘read and analyze’ permission.
The ‘Manage Users’ Permission at the Property Level
At the ‘property’ level the ‘manage users’ permission allow you to add/delete GA users and assign them other permissions for any/all of the views in that property.
If you are assigned ‘manage users’ permission at the property level then you automatically inherit ‘manage users’ permission for all the GA views in your property and this ‘manage users’ permission cannot be revoked for any individual view (unless you first revoke the ‘manage users’ permission at the account or property level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘edit’, ‘collaborate’, ‘read & analyze’ permissions regardless of the level (account, property, or view) at which you were assigned the ‘manage users’ permission.
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account or property level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘Property’ column:
Step-3: Click on the ‘+’ button and then click on ‘Add users’:
Step-4: Enter the email address of the new user and then grant the permission(s) you want to assign to the property user by clicking on the checkbox next to each permission:
How to Change the Permission of a Property User
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account or property level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘Property’ column:
Step-3: Click on the listing of the user whose permission you want to change:
Step-4: Click on the appropriate button(s) to change the permission(s):
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account or property level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘Property’ column:
Step-3: Click on the ‘Remove Access’ button next to the Property user you want to remove:
How to Find the List of GA Properties a User has Access To
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account or property level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘Property’ column:
Step-3: Click on the ‘View user’s account details’ button next to the view user:
You can then see the list of all the GA properties, the user has got access to.
User Management at View Level
When you navigate to Google Analytics Admin, you get the option to change ‘user management’ settings at the view level:
Click on the ‘User Management’ link to set/change user management settings for the ‘View Users’.
When you click on the ‘User Management’ link, you will see the list of all the current view users along with their name, email address, and the type of permissions they have got:
Remember, in the context of user management in Google Analytics, there are three types of users:
Account Users
Property Users
View Users
You as a GA user probably fall into one, more or all of the aforesaid categories.
View users are the GA users who are assigned one or more of the following permissions at the Google Analytics view level:
‘Edit’ permission
‘Collaborate’ permission
‘Read & Analyze’ permission
‘Manage Users’ permission
The ‘Edit’ Permission at the View Level
At the ‘view’ level the ‘edit’ permission allows you to add/edit/delete a GA view and any/all of the filters, goals, etc in that view.
If you are assigned ‘Edit’ permission at a view level then you automatically inherit: ‘Collaborate’ and ‘Read & Analyze’ permissions for your view and these permissions cannot be revoked for that view (unless you first revoke the ‘edit’ permission at the view level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘manage users’ permission regardless of the level (account, property or view) at which you were assigned the ‘edit’ permission.
The ‘Collaborate’ Permission at the View Level
At the ‘view’ level the ‘Collaborate’ permission allows you to create, share, and collaborate on personal assets in that view.
Following are examples of personal assets:
Custom segments
Annotations
Attribution models
Channel groupings
Custom alerts
Dashboards
Custom reports
Saved reports etc
If you are assigned ‘Collaborate’ permission at a view level then you automatically inherit ‘Read & Analyze’ permission for that view and this permission cannot be revoked for the view (unless you first revoke the ‘collaborate’ permission at the view level).
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘Edit’ or ‘manage users’ permissions regardless of the level (account, property or view) at which you were assigned the ‘collaborate’ permission.
The ‘Read & Analyze’ Permission at the View Level
At the ‘view’ level, the ‘Read & Analyze’ permission allow you to do following for the view:
See report and configuration data.
Manipulate data within reports via reporting filters, custom segments, secondary dimensions, etc.
Create and share personal assets.
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘edit’ and ‘collaborate’ permissions when you are assigned ‘read and analyze’ permission regardless of the level (account, property, or view) at which you were assigned the permission.
The ‘Manage Users’ Permission at the View Level
At the ‘view’ level the ‘manage users’ permission allow you to add/delete GA users and assign them other permissions for that view.
Note: You do not automatically inherit ‘edit’, ‘collaborate’, ‘read & analyze’ permissions when you are assigned ‘manage users’ permission regardless of the level (account, property, or view) at which you were assigned the permission.
Moving Down the Hierarchy of Account > Property > View
As you move down the hierarchy (Account > Property > View) you can give more permissions to a user, but not fewer.
For example, if a user has Read & Analyze permission at an account level, he automatically inherits ‘Read and Analyze’ permission at all properties and views level. But you can also assign him ‘edit’ permission at an individual property or view level.
On the other hand, if a user has ‘Edit permission’ at the account level, you can’t limit his permission to just ‘Read & Analyze’ at any of the property or ‘view’ level.
How to Add a View User
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account, property, or view level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘view’ column:
Step-3: Click on the ‘+’ button and then click on ‘Add users’:
Step-4: Enter the email address of the new user and then grant the permission(s) you want to assign to the view user by clicking on the checkbox next to each permission:
How to Change the Permission of a View User
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account, property, or view level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘view’ column.
Step-3: Click on the listing of the user whose permission you want to change:
Step-4: Click on the appropriate button(s) to change the permission(s):
How to Remove a View User
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account, property or view level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘view’ column.
Step-3: Click on the ‘Remove Access’ button next to the view user you want to remove:
How to Find the List of GA Views a User has Access To
Step-1: First make sure that you have got the ‘manage users’ permission at the account, property, or view level.
Step-2: Click on the ‘user management’ link under the ‘view’ column.
Step-3: Click on the ‘View user’s account details’ button next to the view user:
FAQs
#1 A user with “edit” permissions at the account level will automatically have “edit” permissions at which other levels?
The user will automatically have ‘edit’ permission at the property and view level.
#2 If you create a new user at the property level, what does the user inherit access to?
The user inherit access to all the views of that property.
#3 Analytics: “failed to register users” when attempting to add another email address to Analytics
You are likely to see this error message when you try to add/access more than 100 Google Analytics account via your Google Account email.
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