I want to share links of my power BI reports, but the recipients should not gain access to the reports. Initially when they receive the link and open it, they should not have access till they request it. I have already tried Embedded link, people with existing access and none of them work, the recipients were able to view the reports with just the shared links.

For some reason the link you get after link generation for specific people / existing users doesn't work, but if you go the the report links created for that report and copy it from there it would work, I am not sure if I am missing something or the power BI feature is just not working correctly, either way I found a solution to my problem.

Power BI Link Access | Microsoft Fabric Community

9 Replies

tayloramy
Super User
11 months ago
Hi Tiyani,

In Power BI, some link types grant access when you create them. If your recipients could open the report, it means they already had access somewhere (workspace role, app audience, org-wide share link, or dataset permission). If you want recipients to see a “Request access” screen first, you must remove any existing access and share only a link that does not grant permissions.
Remove all access first:
Take the users out of the workspace (Viewer/Contributor/Member) and out of the app audience.
Make sure they don’t have direct permissions on the report or dataset. See Microsoft’s sharing basics and request-access behavior: Share Power BI reports and dashboards and Request or grant access to dashboards or reports.
Send a link that doesn’t grant access:
Use “People with existing access” (or just copy the report URL from your browser). That link won’t grant permissions; users without access will land on “Request access.” Microsoft’s link-types explainer: Sharing links for Power BI reports.

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- Tiyani
  Helper I
  11 months ago
  I tried browser link, specific people, users with existing access and they all failed. People who had no access to the reports and workspace were able to view the reports using these links.
  - v-veshwara-msft
    Community Support
    11 months ago
    Hi Tiyani ,
    
    Thanks for the update and also thanks to MasonMA and tayloramy for sharing the details.
    
    I tested this by adding an external user with no prior access. When I shared the report link using the “People with existing access” option, the user was prompted to request access as expected.
    
    This means if someone is able to view the report directly, they already have access through a workspace role, app audience, direct permissions, or if they are part of the organization where the report has been shared. To make sure the request access screen appears, you’ll need to remove all existing permissions before sharing the link.
    
    Reference: Sharing links for Power BI reports - Power Platform Release Plan | Microsoft Learn
    
    Request or grant access to dashboards or reports - Power BI | Microsoft Learn
    
    Hope this helps. Please reach out for further assistance.
    
    Thank you.
MasonMA
Super User
11 months ago

If you share report using 'Embed' like publishing to web, the report becomes public, so anyone with the link can view it and there is no access control.

If to ensure that when someone clicks it, they get the Power BI "Request Access" screen, you would need to first make sure the audiences do not have workspace or report access yet, then share the direct report link from Power BI Service.

If you refer to Collaborate and share in Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn, among all three `Share link` options you would need to use either “People with existing access” which ensures there is no new permissions or “Specific people” which is restricted to only someone who already has access.
- Tiyani
  Helper I
  11 months ago
  I tried browser link, specific people, users with existing access and they all failed. People who had no access to the reports and workspace were able to view the reports using these links.