Find who changed a cell in Google Sheets

Right-click the cell and choose Show edit history. Google Sheets shows who changed that cell and when. If the change you're looking for isn't there, check version history, which shows changes across the whole file.

Check the edit history of one cell

1. Open the spreadsheet at sheets.google.com on your computer.
2. Right-click the cell.
3. Click Show edit history.

Google lists changes that might not show up in the edit history:

• added or deleted rows and columns;
• changes to the cell's format;
• changes made by formulas;
• changes made before a past version of the spreadsheet was restored.

Check version history for the whole file

Use version history when the cell's own history is empty, when rows were inserted or deleted, or when you want to see everything one person changed.

1. Open the spreadsheet on your computer.
2. At the top right, click Last edit.
3. In the right panel, choose a version. You can see who updated the file and their changes.
4. Optional: click Show unmodified rows to see the rows that didn't change. Google Sheets hides them by default.
5. Optional: in the right panel, click Expand to see grouped versions.
6. Click Back at the top left to return to the current version.

To see version history, you need permission to edit the file. Google also notes that "the revisions for your file may occasionally be merged," so very close edits can appear as one version. To keep a version from being merged, name it: choose the version, click More, then Name this version. You can name up to 15 versions per spreadsheet.

Get notified of future changes

To get an email when others change the spreadsheet:

1. Open the spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
2. Click Tools → Notification settings → Edit notifications.
3. Under when to notify you, select Any changes are made.
4. Under how often, select Email - daily digest or Email - right away.
5. Click Save.

You can only set up notifications for yourself, and you won't get notifications for your own changes. Editors can see the usernames of people who make changes; viewers can set notifications but can't see usernames.

What each tool shows

None of these tools records why a change was made. For an inventory sheet, add a Reference and Note column to each movement row, as described in Inventory management in Google Sheets.

How LightInventory records changes

LightInventory writes every stock change to a Log tab in your own spreadsheet: who made it, when, and the value before and after. Each movement also carries a reference and a note, so the reason travels with the change. A keyed hash chain of those entries, without your values, makes the log tamper-evident. Changes made through the app reach Google from the connected account, so Google's own history shows that account; the Log tab names the team member. Edits made directly in the Sheet are detected and recorded too. See the audit trail.