Updating Search Console users and permissions management
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Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Starting today, we're updating Search
Console's user and permissions to incorporate functionality related to ownership and user management.
Historically, these functionalities were only available in the previous Webmaster Tools experience.
The Webmaster verification tool has served our community well over the years. This launch takes us a
step closer towards our goal of migrating
functionality to Search Console, ensuring our users have a better, faster, and modernized experience.
New user management features in Search Console
The functionalities added to Search Console's user and permissions management include:
Distinguishing between verified and delegated owners
Easier, immediate removal of verified owners (no need to remove their ownership token)
Ability to change delegated owners' permissions levels (owner, full, restricted)
Ability to see your property's verification tokens for all current and previous users and specifically
see tokens leftover by previous owners
Ownership events history
Best practices
As a reminder, here are some best practices for managing user permissions in Search Console.
First, grant users only the permission
level that they need to do their work. You can change permission levels for non-verified owners
with the More actions menu. Make sure to revoke or change permission levels from users
who no longer work on a property, and regularly audit and update permissions through the
users and permissions page in Search Console.
When removing a previously verified owner, be sure to remove
all verification tokens for that user. This is one of the updates we're rolling out today, you
can now review the leftover ownership tokens so that removed owners cannot regain access to the property.
Remember that if you just want to share a specific Search Console report on a one-off basis, you can always
click Share link on that page instead of adding users to Search Console.
We will be sunsetting the standalone Webmaster Central verification tool in the coming months. As always,
we love to hear feedback from our users. You can use the feedback form within Search Console or the
help forums
to ask questions or submit feedback.
Posted by Nir Kalush, Product Manager and Itai Raz, Software Engineer, Search Console team
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eSearch Console's user and permissions management is updated to incorporate ownership and user management functionalities previously only available in Webmaster Tools.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eNew functionalities include distinguishing between owners, easier owner removal, changing permission levels, viewing verification tokens, and ownership history.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBest practices include granting appropriate permission levels, revoking permissions for inactive users, and auditing/updating permissions regularly.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe standalone Webmaster Central verification tool will be retired soon, with all functionalities now available within Search Console.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers are encouraged to provide feedback through the in-built form or help forums.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Search Console's user and permissions management is updated to include features previously in Webmaster Tools. These updates allow distinction between verified and delegated owners, immediate removal of verified owners, and the ability to modify delegated owners' permission levels. Users can now view verification tokens for all users, including leftover tokens from previous owners, and access ownership event history. It is recommended to grant minimal permissions, remove users no longer involved, and audit permissions regularly. Webmaster Central verification tool will be removed in coming months.\n"],null,["Wednesday, February 22, 2023\n\n\nStarting today, we're updating [Search\nConsole's user and permissions](https://search.google.com/search-console/users) to incorporate functionality related to ownership and user management.\nHistorically, these functionalities were only available in the previous Webmaster Tools experience.\n\n\nThe Webmaster verification tool has served our community well over the years. This launch takes us a\nstep closer towards our goal of [migrating\nfunctionality to Search Console](/search/blog/2018/01/introducing-new-search-console), ensuring our users have a better, faster, and modernized experience.\n\nNew user management features in Search Console\n\n\nThe functionalities added to Search Console's user and permissions management include:\n\n- Distinguishing between verified and delegated owners\n- Easier, immediate removal of verified owners (no need to remove their ownership token)\n- Ability to change delegated owners' permissions levels (owner, full, restricted)\n- Ability to see your property's verification tokens for all current and previous users and specifically see tokens leftover by previous owners\n- Ownership events history\n\nBest practices\n\n\nAs a reminder, here are some best practices for managing user permissions in Search Console.\n\n\nFirst, grant users only the [permission\nlevel](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7687615#permissions) that they need to do their work. You can change permission levels for non-verified owners\nwith the **More actions** menu. Make sure to revoke or change permission levels from users\nwho no longer work on a property, and regularly audit and update permissions through the\n[users and permissions](https://search.google.com/search-console/users) page in Search Console.\n\n\nWhen removing a previously verified owner, be sure to [remove\nall verification tokens for that user](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7687615#manage-users). This is one of the updates we're rolling out today, you\ncan now review the leftover ownership tokens so that removed owners cannot regain access to the property.\n\n\nRemember that if you just want to share a specific Search Console report on a one-off basis, you can always\nclick **Share link** on that page instead of adding users to Search Console.\n\n\nWe will be sunsetting the standalone Webmaster Central verification tool in the coming months. As always,\nwe love to hear feedback from our users. You can use the feedback form within Search Console or the\n[help forums](https://support.google.com/webmasters/go/community)\nto ask questions or submit feedback.\n\n\nPosted by [Nir Kalush](/search/blog/authors/nir-kalush), Product Manager and Itai Raz, Software Engineer, Search Console team"]]
