> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sourcemedium.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Google Groups for Access Control

> Use Google Groups as a single identity to manage access across Looker Studio dashboards, BigQuery, and Google Sheets

## Why Google Groups?

Google Groups acts as an **identity primitive** across Google's ecosystem. One group email grants access to:

* **Looker Studio dashboards** (viewer or editor)
* **BigQuery datasets** (query access)
* **Google Sheets** (config sheets, exports)

<Info>
  **One group email = unified access control.** Add a teammate to the group once, and they automatically get access to all shared resources.
</Info>

***

## Quick Start: Create a Group

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to Google Groups">
    Navigate to [groups.google.com](https://groups.google.com) and sign in with your organization account.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Create Group">
    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/sourcemedium/ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz/images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/photo1.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz&q=85&s=1145151c35b3e2fdce7d4c7632ef9830" alt="Create Group button" width="1060" height="452" data-path="images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/photo1.png" />
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure group details">
    * **Group name**: Descriptive name (e.g., "Acme Analytics Team")
    * **Group email**: `acme-analytics@googlegroups.com`
    * **Description**: Who should be in this group and what they access

          <img src="https://mintcdn.com/sourcemedium/ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz/images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/2.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz&q=85&s=03aeb823d9f90101a377c0bce0f878b5" alt="Group details form" width="1002" height="480" data-path="images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/2.png" />
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set privacy settings">
    Choose who can find and join the group. For internal teams, "Only invited users" is recommended.

    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/sourcemedium/ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz/images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/3.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz&q=85&s=606dfad4b4722e61c5dce455d3cdacf8" alt="Privacy settings" width="938" height="492" data-path="images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/3.png" />
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add members and create">
    Enter email addresses for initial members, then click **Create group**.

    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/sourcemedium/ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz/images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/4.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz&q=85&s=bce8f1e0d6c9f86b2892778f00c0673c" alt="Add members" width="1057" height="473" data-path="images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/4.png" />
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Managing Group Members

### Add members

Click **Add Members** at the top of your group page.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/sourcemedium/ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz/images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/5.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz&q=85&s=fbadd844b08c78a0aff05719976f1042" alt="Add members button" width="1065" height="467" data-path="images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/5.png" />

### Adjust permissions

Go to **Group Settings** to modify who can post, view members, or join.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/sourcemedium/ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz/images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/6.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz&q=85&s=2451807006219d4c33ff9ab42f75579e" alt="Group settings" width="346" height="832" data-path="images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/6.png" />

### Allow external members

If you need to add people outside your organization, enable this in Group Settings:

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/sourcemedium/ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz/images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/group_settings.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz&q=85&s=54dc5e42bbdcf88372cf7c1191ca5c39" alt="External members setting" width="1685" height="927" data-path="images/article-imgs/how-do-i-set-up-a-google-group/group_settings.png" />

***

## Sharing Resources with Your Group

Once your group exists, use the group email to grant access across Google products.

### Looker Studio Dashboards

1. Open your dashboard and click **Share** (top right)
2. Enter the group email address
3. Choose permission level:
   * **Viewer**: Can view and interact with filters
   * **Editor**: Can modify the dashboard

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/sourcemedium/ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz/images/article-imgs/how-do-i-invite-users-to-my-dashboard/Untitled.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ui0hKAc0Yk4Nw3Bz&q=85&s=780e3f32a4b1dc4fdbaf03c69a62b833" alt="Share dashboard" width="125" height="56" data-path="images/article-imgs/how-do-i-invite-users-to-my-dashboard/Untitled.png" />

<Warning>
  **Recommendation**: Grant **Viewer** access to most users. Editor access can lead to accidental changes that break dashboards.
</Warning>

### Google Sheets (Config Sheets)

1. Open the sheet and click **Share**
2. Enter the group email
3. Choose permission level:
   * **Viewer**: Read-only
   * **Commenter**: Can add comments
   * **Editor**: Can modify content

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/sourcemedium/sA5XRtN3vmgNieFP/images/article-imgs/creating-google-groups/Untitled2.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=sA5XRtN3vmgNieFP&q=85&s=63f0fae782a977e4d51e34aadebcdeaa" alt="Share sheet" width="1234" height="1176" data-path="images/article-imgs/creating-google-groups/Untitled2.png" />

### BigQuery Datasets

For BigQuery access, your SourceMedium team will configure IAM permissions using your group email. Contact support if you need to grant BigQuery access to additional team members.

***

## Recommended Group Structure

For most teams, we recommend two groups:

| Group                | Purpose                    | Typical Access                                     |
| -------------------- | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `company-sm-viewers` | Day-to-day dashboard users | Dashboard: Viewer, Sheets: Viewer                  |
| `company-sm-admins`  | Analytics leads, data team | Dashboard: Editor, Sheets: Editor, BigQuery: Query |

<Tip>
  Start with one group for simplicity. Split into viewer/admin groups when you have 5+ users with different needs.
</Tip>

***

## Troubleshooting

### "You don't have access" error

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Check group membership">
    Verify the user is actually in the group at [groups.google.com](https://groups.google.com).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Wait for propagation">
    Permission changes can take time to propagate across Google services. If you just added someone to the group or shared a resource, have the user sign out and back in, then try again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Check the correct email">
    Ensure the resource was shared with the **group email** (e.g., `team@googlegroups.com`), not an individual.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="External domain restrictions">
    If adding external users, ensure "Allow members outside your organization" is enabled in Group Settings.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Dashboard shows "No data"

This usually means the **data source** permissions are separate from dashboard permissions. Contact SourceMedium support to verify data source access.

***

## Related Resources

* [Google Groups Help Center](https://support.google.com/groups/)
* [Looker Studio sharing documentation](https://support.google.com/looker-studio/answer/10403868)
* [BigQuery IAM overview](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/access-control)