## Why authorization is necessary

Normal access to Google Ads requires that a user be present and actively making
changes with an active session in order to make changes or read data from a
Google Ads account. Google Ads scripts, however, are different in that they can
execute even when the user is not signed in:

- Scheduled scripts run periodically, whether or not the user happens to be signed in at the time.
- Since scripts can take up to 30 minutes to complete, the user could have signed out of Google Ads in the meantime.

Scripts are basically independent entities that take actions **on the user's
behalf**. For that reason, you must explicitly grant scripts permission to run.

You can review permissions granted to your scripts and other applications by
navigating to [your account's Security page](https://www.google.com/settings/security)
and clicking **Manage third-party access**.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** If the original author of a script is disassociated with the Google Ads account from which the script was created, the script will stop running but remain available. If you want the script to continue to run, someone who still has access to the account must reauthorize it.

## How to authorize

The first time you try to preview or run a script, or whenever authorization
has lapsed for any reason, you are prompted to authorize the script
automatically. Just follow the on-screen instructions when this happens.