Is Underlying Data Always Available to Users?

[aswanso1]

Using test data, I have tried sharing reports via publishing to the web and via giving direct access to associates.  When publishing to the web, I am alerted that the dataset will be accessible by anyone on the internet.  When giving direct access to reports, I notice that the individuals I share the report with are given direct access to the semantic model as well.  In the case of some data, I feel that there is no real reason to share the underlying data with people who don't need it, even if they could access it anyway.  Before sharing reports, is the best practice to pre-aggregate the data before publishing to the web and to accept that those given direct access to the report will be able to access the semantic model?  Or is there a way to avoid giving access to the underlying data?  Thank you.

[frankvb]

Can someone also connect to you dataset and build a new report with it? And unhide hidden fields?

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi @aswanso1 ,

When you create an embed code using Publish to web, the report is made visible to Internet users. It's publicly available, so you can expect viewers to easily share the report through social media in the future. Users view the report either by opening the direct public URL or viewing it embedded in a web page or blog. 

When you use Publish to web, anyone on the Internet can view your published report or visual. Viewing requires no authentication. It includes viewing detail-level data that your reports aggregate. It's hard to limit user access to the underlying data.

Publish to web from Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

If you don't use the publish to web feature, here are some suggestions for workaround:

1.Manage semantic model access permissions.This feature allows you to monitor and manage access to your semantic model. It has two tabs that help you control access to your semantic model:

2.Enables you to monitor, add, modify, or delete access permissions for specific people or groups (distribution groups or security groups).Shared report links: Shows you links that were generated for sharing reports. Such links sometimes also give access to your semantic model.
3.Restrict access to the underlying dataset: You can restrict the access of the user to the underlying dataset by going into the manage permissions option of the respective dataset.

4.RLS can be used to restrict data access for given users. You can define roles and rules within Power BI Desktop. When you publish to Power BI, it also publishes the role definitions.

Manage semantic model access permissions - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Row-level security (RLS) with Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Best regards.
Community Support Team_Caitlyn