Is Power BI Desktop Offline and Safe?

[Fluffy_Skye]

I’m trying out Power BI to process my company’s data, which contains sensitive information and I want to keep everything local to my laptop. I do not want my data to go on any Power BI online services or any internet in general.

I downloaded Power BI desktop and made connection to my company’s SQL server to get the data. I am not signed in inside Power BI desktop. I tried clicking the publish button to see what would happen and it prompted me to sign in with an organization or education account, which I didn’t do.

So, if I don’t sign in inside Power BI desktop, does that mean the data I imported from my SQL server to Power BI is limited to my laptop, thus away from all internet, and safe as long as my computer doesn't get hacked or stolen?

Thank you.

[MFelix · Accepted solution]

Hi  @Fluffy_Skye ,

If you are using the desktop version nothing will be shared, even if you are login with your account if you don't publish the data it won't be send to the service.

Even if you were connected to the service and publish it the information would not be all over the internet would be stored in the Power BI service that is under a layer of security and not public, is the same has your sharepoint or onedrive files they are secured.

But if you only have it on the desktop they are on your computer,

[Bibiano_Geraldo · Accepted solution]

Yes, if you’re using Power BI Desktop without signing in or publishing, your data will remain local to your computer.

When you work in Power BI Desktop without signing in or publishing, all data processing, transformations, and storage happen locally on your device. Power BI Desktop is designed to allow offline usage, and no data is sent to the cloud or any online service unless you explicitly publish it.

If you’re not signed in to a Power BI account, your data remains local. The prompt to sign in or publish is there to connect to Power BI’s online service, but if you skip this step, Power BI Desktop operates purely offline.

If this help you, please accept as solution and give a Kudo.

Thank you

[MFelix · Accepted solution]

Hi  @Fluffy_Skye ,

If you are using the desktop version nothing will be shared, even if you are login with your account if you don't publish the data it won't be send to the service.

Even if you were connected to the service and publish it the information would not be all over the internet would be stored in the Power BI service that is under a layer of security and not public, is the same has your sharepoint or onedrive files they are secured.

But if you only have it on the desktop they are on your computer,