Lesson 102 Power BI Row-Level Security (RLS) Best Practices

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Want to share your Power BI report but restrict access to only certain data for different users? That’s where Row-Level Security (RLS) becomes a game-changer.

RLS lets you control who sees what data in your report—automatically and securely.

🧠 What Is Row-Level Security (RLS)?

RLS is a Power BI feature that restricts data access based on user roles. Instead of creating separate reports for each user, you create one report, and Power BI shows only the relevant data to each person.

For example:

• Salesperson A sees only their sales
• Manager sees all sales in their region
• Director sees company-wide data

🔧 How to Set Up Row-Level Security in Power BI Desktop

1. Create a Roles Table

You need a mapping table, such as:

UserEmail                 Region

john@example.com North

priya@example.com South

This helps Power BI match users to specific data.

2. Manage Roles

• Go to: Modeling → Manage Roles
• Choose a table and apply a DAX filter. Example for region-based RLS:

DAX

[Region] = LOOKUPVALUE(Users[Region], Users[UserEmail], USERPRINCIPALNAME())

3. Test Roles

Use the "View As Role" feature to preview how your report looks to different users.

☁️ Publish & Secure in Power BI Service

After publishing the report:

• Go to the dataset in Power BI Service
• Click on Security
• Assign users or groups to each role you defined

They’ll only see the filtered data when viewing the report.

🛡️ Why Use RLS?

• ✅ Reduce the number of reports you maintain
• ✅ Keep sensitive data secure
• ✅ Improve scalability with role-based views
• ✅ Avoid accidental data exposure

🚫 Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ❌ Forgetting to apply roles before publishing
• ❌ Using USERNAME() in Power BI Desktop (use USERPRINCIPALNAME() for service)
• ❌ Applying filters on non-related tables
• ❌ Not validating with “View As Role”

🧩 Advanced Tips

• 🔁 Combine RLS with Dynamic Titles using DAX
• 🔍 Use RLS with Power BI Embedded in web apps
• 💼 RLS works with Microsoft 365 groups for better user control
• 🧮 Use PATH() function for hierarchical RLS (e.g., manager-subordinate view)

💼 Real-Life Applications

• Show region-specific sales to sales teams
• Restrict department-level KPIs in HR dashboards
• Financial dashboards with user-specific business unit views
• School performance reports limited to class teachers

📌 Final Thoughts

Row-Level Security helps you protect sensitive data and deliver personalized insights with minimal effort. It’s essential for enterprise-ready dashboards in Power BI.

Need help setting it up for your company?

📧 Contact us at support@virvijay.com

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