Governance
How to Share YouTube Analytics Without Giving Full Access
Sharing performance data does not require handing over upload, edit, or permission control.
Is this your situation?
You want a partner, sponsor, or investor to see how the channel is performing. You do not want to give them the ability to edit or manage the channel, as with auditing channel access.
Where teams go wrong
- Granting Manager for visibility You give Manager access expecting it to only cover analytics visibility.Why it happens: The Manager role can edit channel details.
- Expecting revenue to stay hidden You add a Viewer hoping revenue figures stay hidden from them.Why it happens: The Viewer role can view revenue data, including chat revenue.
- Assuming Viewer can tweak settings You expect a Viewer to be able to edit channel details.Why it happens: The Viewer role can view but not edit all channel details.
- Assuming Viewer can go live You expect a Viewer to start or control a stream on request.Why it happens: The Viewer role cannot manage live streams.
What good practice looks like
| Role | What they see | What they cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Viewer | Can view but not edit all channel details | Cannot manage live streams |
| Viewer | Can view revenue data, including chat revenue and viewer activity tab | Can view but not edit all channel details |
| Viewer | Can view all stream settings except the stream key | Cannot access the stream key |
| Manager | Can view all channel data | Cannot delete the channel |
How YouTube handles this
- The Viewer role can view but not edit all channel details.
- The Viewer role can view revenue data, including chat revenue and the viewer activity tab.
- The Viewer role can view all stream settings except the stream key.
- The Viewer role cannot manage live streams.
- The Viewer role can create and edit YouTube Analytics groups for a channel.
Before you start
- Confirm what the recipient needs to see Decide whether revenue detail belongs in the shared view.Verify: The Viewer role can view revenue data, including chat revenue and viewer activity tab.
- Check whether editing rights are wanted at all You want to confirm a Viewer cannot change channel details.Verify: The Viewer role can view but not edit all channel details.
- Check live stream expectations You want to confirm what a Viewer can do with streams.Verify: The Viewer role cannot manage live streams.
- Compare against Manager before granting it You weigh whether a Manager role gives more than you intend.Verify: The Manager role can view all channel data.
Which scenario is yours?
- Does the recipient need to see revenue figures for the channel? The Viewer role can view revenue data, including chat revenue and viewer activity tab.
- Does the recipient need to see all the stream settings? The Viewer role can view all stream settings except the stream key.
- Does the recipient need to manage or control live streams? The Viewer role cannot manage live streams.
- Does the recipient need to view all channel data, not only analytics? The Manager role can view all channel data.
- Does the recipient need to build custom analytics groupings for the channel? The Viewer role can create and edit YouTube Analytics groups.
Keeping this working over time
- Review who holds Viewer access and whether revenue visibility still matches current agreements with each person.
- Reassess shared access whenever a sponsor or partner relationship ends, since the arrangement no longer applies.
- Audit broader access levels to confirm no one holds more than analytics visibility; see auditing channel access.
- The Manager role can view all channel data.
If control is already lost — Someone removed me from my YouTube channel
Keeping track of who has access
Sharing performance data with a partner should not mean widening what they can change on the channel. Keeping roles distinct across people prevents a simple reporting request from turning into full control. Delvia is for organizing who holds which level of access and why. That makes it easier to confirm, at any point, that analytics sharing has not quietly become something more.
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