Underlying Error Privacy...combining of data

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This is a pretty common roadblock when moving from Desktop to Service. The key is that Power BI Service enforces privacy checks differently than Desktop. Even if you’ve set everything to Public and ticked “Always ignore privacy levels” locally, the Service doesn’t honor that desktop setting. That’s why you get the “privacy settings don’t allow combining data from multiple sources” error.

Here’s what usually works to resolve it:

1. Configure Privacy at the Dataflow/Dataset Level

• In Power BI Service, go to Settings → Data source credentials for the dataset.

• Make sure every source in your queries has its privacy level explicitly set (Public, Organizational, Private).

• Service sometimes resets these when publishing.

2. Use a Staging Query Approach

If you’re combining sources:

• Stage each source in a separate query first.

• Then reference those staging queries inside one final query.

• This often satisfies the firewall because the combination happens inside the same privacy context.

3. Avoid “Always ignore privacy levels” Reliance

That option only applies in Desktop. In Service, you need to explicitly define and align privacy levels for each connector.

4. Check for Hidden Cross-Source Joins

Sometimes the issue isn’t obvious:

• A parameter, custom function, or reference to another query can trigger cross-source data combination.

• Try isolating the query that fails, then simplify until you find the step combining two sources.

5. Workarounds if Security Is Not a Concern

• If it’s truly safe for your business context, you can reconfigure all sources as Organizational (instead of Public). This sometimes relaxes the firewall rules in Service.

• Or, load both sources into a single gateway/environment (like staging both into a Fabric Lakehouse or Azure SQL), so Power BI sees it as one source.

You can’t fully disable the firewall in the Service like you can in Desktop. The fix is to either align privacy levels in Service, stage your queries, or consolidate data into a single source.

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