What is the difference between an owner and a user in Search Console?

An owner controls the property, including who else can see it. A user has been granted access by an owner and cannot pass that access on. The distinction matters most when people join or leave a team.

The four levels

Verified owner

Proved ownership directly with a verification token: a DNS record, an HTML file, a meta tag, a Google Analytics or Tag Manager connection. Full control, including adding and removing everyone else.

Delegated owner

Granted owner access by a verified owner rather than by verifying anything. Day-to-day powers are the same, but the access depends on the granting owner's verification staying valid.

Full user

Sees all data and takes most actions: submit sitemaps, inspect URLs, request indexing, request removals. Cannot manage users or property-level settings.

Restricted user

Sees most reports and takes almost no actions. The usual level for clients and stakeholders who only need performance data.

What only an owner can do

• Add, change and remove users and other owners.
• Run a change of address.
• Configure the bulk data export to BigQuery.
• Manage verification and property settings, and delete the property.

Access level carries into the APIs as well. A restricted user can read Search Analytics data, but URL inspection needs more than restricted access, whether it is run in the interface or through the URL Inspection API.

Tip: verification tokens are the real ownership. If a verified owner's DNS record or HTML file is removed, that verification lapses and the delegated owners they added lose access with it. Keep at least two independent verification methods in place, owned by the company rather than by one person.

Practical setup

Verify the property with a company-controlled account, add a second verified owner as a backup, give agencies and contractors full access rather than owner access unless they genuinely need to manage users, and use restricted for anyone who only reads reports. Adding people is covered in adding a user, and the full permission matrix in permission levels.

How AutoPSEO helps

You can share a property with a teammate or client without touching Search Console at all. AutoPSEO invites them by email at read or full level, per property, using your existing connection, so they never need their own Google access. See Sharing and team access.