To protect a range in Google Sheets, go to Data > Protect sheets and ranges, pick the cells, and choose who can edit them. This guide covers locking a range, locking a whole sheet while leaving input cells open, using a soft warning instead of a hard lock, and removing protection. It also covers what protection can't do, which matters more than most guides admit.
All steps come from Google's Docs Editors Help page on protecting sheets. That page shows no update date. It was checked on 2026-11-07.
Protect a range on a computer
- Open the spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
- Click Data > Protect sheets and ranges. A panel opens on the right.
- Click Add a sheet or range. To edit an existing protection, click it instead.
- Click Range. Then click the spreadsheet icon and highlight the cells, or type the range in.
- Click Set permissions. For an existing protection, this button says Change permissions.
- Choose how to limit editing (options below).
- Click Save or Done.
Lock a whole sheet but leave input cells editable
This is the setup most shared trackers and budgets need. Formulas stay locked, and the cells people are supposed to fill in stay open.
- Click Data > Protect sheets and ranges, then Add a sheet or range.
- Click Sheet and choose the sheet.
- Tick Except certain cells and add the input cells you want to leave open.
- Click Set permissions, choose your restriction, and click Done.
One limit applies here. According to Google's help page, sheet protection can't lock cell formatting while still letting users edit input values. So people who can type in your open cells can also change how those cells look.
Warning or hard lock: pick the right option
After Set permissions, you get two choices.
Show a warning when editing this range. This doesn't block anyone. Editors see a message asking them to confirm the edit. Use it when you trust your collaborators and only want to stop accidental changes.
Restrict who can edit this range. This blocks edits for everyone except the people you allow:
- Only you: you, plus the owner if you aren't the owner.
- Only domain: Workspace work or school accounts only. This option appears only when everyone in the domain can edit the spreadsheet.
- Custom: only the people you pick.
- Copy permissions from another range: reuses the settings from another range or sheet.
Who is allowed to set protection
Google's page splits it by role:
- Owner: decides who can change ranges and sheets.
- Editor: can decide who can edit ranges and sheets, but can't take permissions away from owners.
- Viewer or commenter: can't make changes.
If you need to lock out an editor completely, protection alone won't do it, since editors can set protections too. Changing their access to viewer is the cleaner fix.
See which cells are already locked
Click View > Show > Protected ranges. Protected cells get a striped background.
When "Protect sheets and ranges" is missing
If the menu item isn't there, you're probably in Microsoft Office editing mode, meaning you've opened an Excel file in Sheets. Google's help page says to convert the file to Google Sheets to use protection.
Protection isn't security, and there's no password option
Google states plainly that protection shouldn't be used as a security measure. People can print, copy, paste, and import and export copies of a protected spreadsheet. Google's advice is to share only with people you trust.
Two more limits from the same page:
- You can't protect data with a password. If you were searching for a way to password-protect a Google Sheet, protected ranges aren't it.
- Copies escape protection in practice. Editors can copy the protected sheet, copy the workbook, or upload a new version. Viewers can make a copy of the spreadsheet.
Hiding a sheet isn't protection either: Google's page says all editors can unhide a hidden sheet, and viewers can still access content in hidden sheets.
If someone you've shared with has already broken something, restoring an earlier version of the sheet is usually faster than fixing it by hand.
You can't set up protection on Android
The Android version of Google's help page says to use Google Sheets on a computer to protect a sheet or range, and gives no mobile steps. So if you're looking to lock formulas from your phone, you'll need a computer. Google's page has a separate iPhone and iPad tab, which isn't covered here.
Remove a protected range
- Click Data > Protect sheets and ranges.
- In the right panel, click Cancel. The label is odd, but Google's help page says this is how you get to the list of all protected ranges.
- Find the protection you want to remove and click the delete (trash) icon.
The cells are now editable by anyone with edit access to the file.
