Need to connect a data source but don't have direct access to the account? Auth Links allow you to send a secure authorization request to the source owner — such as a client or colleague — so they can authenticate on your behalf, without ever sharing their login credentials with you.

What Are Auth Links?

Auth Links is a feature in the Power My Analytics hub that enables you to request data source access from a source owner when you do not have direct login credentials to the account you need to connect. Instead of signing in to the source platform yourself, you generate a secure authorization link and send it to the person who owns or manages the account. They complete the authentication process on their end, and the data source is connected to your hub.

This is especially useful for marketing agencies and consultants who manage reporting on behalf of clients. With Auth Links, your clients can grant Power My Analytics access to their data without needing to share their passwords or grant you login access to their accounts.

• Auth Links require a Pro, Custom, or legacy Enterprise subscription.
• Each Auth Link is single-use and expires 7 days after it is generated. Once a source owner completes the authorization using an Auth Link, or once the link expires, it can no longer be used. If an Auth Link expires before the source owner completes the authorization, you will need to generate a new one.
• Additionally, organizations are limited to generating 10 Auth Links per hour, so plan your connection requests accordingly.

When to Use Auth Links

Auth Links are ideal in scenarios where:

• You manage reports on behalf of a client and need to connect their account as a data source, but they have not granted you direct login access to it.
• A colleague or team member owns the account that contains the data you need, and you want them to authorize the connection without logging in to your PMA hub themselves.
• Your organization's security policies prevent sharing login credentials between team members or with external partners.

If you have direct access to the account you want to connect, you do not need to use Auth Links. You can connect the data source yourself using the standard process. See Connect to a Data Source for instructions.

How Auth Links Work

The Auth Links process involves two people:

The source owner does not need a Power My Analytics account or access to your PMA hub. They only need access to the account that owns the data you want to connect.

Step-by-Step: Generating an Auth Link (Hub User)

Follow these steps to generate an Auth Link and request access from a source owner:

1. Visit hub.powermyanalytics.com and log in to your Power My Analytics hub.
2. Click on Sources in the left navigation panel, then click the orange "+ Add new source" button located above the main sources table.
3. In the Connect a data source gallery, enable the "Request access from source owner" toggle in the upper-right area of the gallery, next to the search bar.
   
   
   
   
4. Select the connector you need from the gallery.
5. PMA will generate a unique Auth Link for the selected connector. Copy this link.
6. Send the Auth Link to the source owner via email, messaging, or any other communication method.

When sending the Auth Link to a source owner, be sure to include clear instructions about what you are asking them to do. Let them know they will be asked to sign in to their account and grant Power My Analytics permission to access their data for reporting purposes. You may also want to share the article Why Does PMA Request Permission to Access My Account? with them if they have questions about the permissions being requested.

Step-by-Step: Completing an Auth Link (Source Owner)

If you are a source owner who has received an Auth Link from a Power My Analytics hub user, follow these steps to authorize access to your account:

1. If applicable, log out of any other accounts in your browser for the relevant platform other than the account you want to connect. This prevents authentication conflicts with multiple signed-in accounts.
2. Open the Auth Link you received from the PMA hub user. The link will open a sign-in and permissions page in your browser.
3. Sign in to your account when prompted, using the account that has access to the data the hub user needs.
4. Review the permissions that Power My Analytics is requesting. These permissions are required for PMA's connector to read data from your account. Power My Analytics will never edit, create, or delete anything in your account.
5. Grant the requested permissions by clicking Allow or Continue when prompted.
6. Once you have granted permissions, the authorization is complete. The PMA hub user's data source will be connected and will begin syncing your data automatically.

You do not need to create a Power My Analytics account or log in to the PMA hub. The Auth Link process only requires you to sign in to your account on the relevant platform and authorize the requested permissions.

After the Source Owner Completes Authorization

Once the source owner has completed the Auth Link authorization, the connected data source will appear in the Sources table in your PMA hub. From there, you can manage the data source just like any other connection.

The data source will begin collecting historical data automatically once connected. Most connectors start collecting 2 years of historical data as soon as the source is connected, and daily data refreshes will occur at midnight in the configured time zone.

Troubleshooting: The Source Owner Authorized, but the Source or Account Isn't Showing

Because a completed Auth Link does not send an error back to your hub, the only sign that something went wrong is that the source (or a specific account) never appears in your Sources table. If your client tells you they finished authorizing but you still see nothing, work through these three causes in order.

The most common cause is a link that was already used or had expired, so start there.

1. The link was already used or had expired. Auth Links are single-use and expire 7 days after they are generated. If your client opened a link that had already been used, or one that was more than 7 days old, the authorization can look successful on their end while nothing reaches your hub. Generate a fresh Auth Link and ask your client to open it promptly.
2. Your client signed in with an account that does not have access to the one you need. If the identity they authorized with cannot reach the specific ad account (or property, page, or profile) you are expecting, the source connects but that account will not appear in your list. Send a new link and have your client sign in with the account that has access, logging out of any other accounts on that platform first to avoid conflicts.
3. An earlier authorization is still on file. If Power My Analytics already had an authorization for that source from before the account was granted, the newly granted account may not be picked up. Reconnect the source (Sources > Action menu > Reconnect source) so PMA receives fresh permissions that include the account.

If the source still does not appear after these steps, submit a ticket with the connector, the email address your client used to sign in, the name or ID of the account you expect to see, and roughly when the link was generated and opened. That is everything we need to check what actually landed and tell you whether to regenerate the link or re-add the account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the source owner revoke access after authorizing?

Yes. The source owner can revoke Power My Analytics' access to their account at any time through the relevant platform's account settings, by removing the Power My Analytics connection. Note that revoking access will cause the data source to become disconnected in the PMA hub, which will affect reports that use that data source.

Will I be billed for data sources connected through Auth Links?

Yes. Data sources connected through Auth Links are billed the same as data sources connected through the standard connection process. Each account within a connected data source counts toward your plan's account limits. For more information, see Billing Basics and Best Practices.

Can multiple source owners authorize the same connector?

Each Auth Link generates a connection for a single account. If you need to connect data from multiple accounts for the same connector type (e.g., two different clients' Google Ads accounts), you will need to generate separate Auth Links and send each one to the respective source owner. Each completed authorization will create a separate data source in your hub.

Learn More

• Connect to a Data Source
  
• How Data Sources Work with Power My Analytics
• Manage and Configure Data Sources
• Add and Remove Accounts from Data Sources
• Why Does PMA Request Permission to Access My Account?
• Disconnect and Reconnect a Source from Your Hub