Why the Reviewer Needs Administrator Access (and How to Revoke It)

"Why do you need Administrator access?" is the most common question publishers ask before inviting a reviewer into their Google Ad Manager network. It is a fair question. Here is the reasoning, and how you keep control.

What the Administrator role is

Ad Manager comes with built-in user roles that cover common permission sets. According to Google's page on user roles, the Administrator role has full access to Ad Manager functionality, with one exception: the "Manage legal" permission category. Built-in roles cannot be edited.

Lower roles hide parts of the account. That is useful for day-to-day staff, but it gets in the way of an eligibility check.

What a reviewer must be able to see

An MCM review checks things that sit in different corners of the account:

• Payment history, to confirm at least one payment in the last 90 days.
• Traffic and earnings data, to look for signs of invalid traffic.
• Sites and apps, to check content and policy fit.
• Network settings, including whether API access is turned on.

As the Holuron review site puts it, eligibility depends on data and settings that only an Administrator can see. Without that role, the review would be incomplete, and an incomplete review usually means a slower answer or a "no".

Why not just send screenshots?

Screenshots are easy to crop, out of date the moment they are taken, and impossible to verify. Read access through a real user gives a consistent, current view. It also mirrors how an MCM partner will work with your account later.

There is a second, practical reason: in Ad Manager, only users with the Administrator role can turn on API access, which Holuron requires.

What the reviewer does not do

The reviewer is ADX Approval, working for Holuron. During the review we only enable API access in your network, which the review needs; we don't change your ad settings.

How to remove access

You stay in charge of your network at all times. To remove the reviewer:

1. Sign in to Ad Manager.
2. Go to Admin, then Access and authorization.
3. Find the reviewer user and deactivate or remove it.

Keep in mind that, once you join Holuron's MCM program, its own users must stay active, so do not remove those after onboarding.

Good practice

• Invite the reviewer from an account you control.
• Note the date you added the user.
• Review your user list every few months.

Still unsure about access? It's easier to judge in practice: apply for an account review, copy the reviewer email we give you, and remove that user whenever you like.