[Looker Studio] Access Permissions | Clearly Explaining the Differences Between Viewer, Editor, and Owner

April 29, 2024

[Looker Studio] Access Permissions | Clearly Explaining the Differences Between Viewer, Editor, and Owner

Looker Studio is a free reporting tool provided by Google that connects to various data sources and allows for the creation of clear, fully automated reports. In this article, we will clearly explain the access permissions for Looker Studio. Please note that this article does not cover Looker Studio Pro.

What is Looker Studio (formerly Data Portal)?

Looker Studio is a free reporting tool provided by Google that allows users to connect with various data sources and create easy-to-understand, fully automated reports.

Types of Access Permissions

Looker Studio offers three types of permissions. Generally, it is advisable to grant Viewer permissions to stakeholders unless editing rights are necessary.

Viewer

This is the minimal permission level, which allows only the viewing of reports and data sources.

Viewing reports
Operating controls
Viewing data sources

Editor

In addition to the permissions of a Viewer, an Editor has the following rights:

Editing reports
Editing data sources
Sharing reports
Sharing data sources

Owner

An Owner has all the permissions of an Editor, plus the following:

Deleting reports
Deleting data sources
Changing the owner of a report (limited to the same domain)
Changing the owner of a data source (limited to the same domain)

Details of Permissions for Viewers, Editors, and Owners

In the following table, we have organized the detailed permissions for viewers, editors, and owners

Role	Viewer	Editor	Owner
Create or delete a report.	-	-	○
View the report	○	○	○
Copy the report	○	○	○
Download data from the report	○	○	○
Edit the report	-	○	○
Use and edit the data from added data sources	-	○	○
Add or remove data sources	-	○	○
Prevent viewers from copying the report	-	-	○
Prevent viewers from downloading data	-	-	○
Prevent editors from sharing the report	-	-	○
Transfer ownership rights	-	-	○

Access Permissions Settings and Modifications

Click 'Share' in the upper right corner, then enter the email address associated with the Google account. Choose either 'Viewer' or 'Editor' and click 'Send'.

In the case of sharing a link, click "Share" in the top right corner, then select "Restricted" in "Link settings", choose either "Viewer" or "Editor", and click "Save

Changing the Access Settings for the Report

Click "Share" in the upper right corner, then click the gear icon in the upper right corner, and check the boxes for the relevant permissions in the following screen. With owner permissions, you can control the following three permissions:

Prevent editors from changing access rights and adding new users.
Disable downloading, printing, and copying by viewers.
Disable alerts being shown and created by viewers.

Considerations and Frequently Asked Questions

What are data credentials?

The access permissions in Looker Studio strictly manage access rights only and do not control whether a user can actually view the data. Whether a user can actually view the data is determined by the credentials set on that data.

Relevant Looker Studio Official Documentation

Looker Studio Official Help: Roles and Permissions

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