Privacy levels

Privacy levels specify isolation levels that determine the degree to which one data source is isolated from other data sources. Although a restrictive isolation level blocks information from being exchanged between data sources, it can reduce functionality and performance.

Data source privacy levels classify each source as None, Private, Organizational, or Public. Privacy level options are separate app settings that control whether Power Query enforces or ignores those classifications when it combines data. The option to ignore privacy levels is also known as Fast Combine.

Configure privacy levels correctly so that only authorized users can view sensitive data. Data sources must also be isolated from other data sources so that combining data has no undesirable data transfer impact. Incorrectly setting privacy levels might lead to sensitive data being leaked outside of a trusted environment. Make sure you understand and set privacy to the appropriate level for your needs.

The following table lists the available privacy levels.

Prevent accidental data transfer

Privacy levels might prevent you from inadvertently combining data from multiple data sources that are set to different levels of privacy, such as private and organizational. Depending on the query, you could accidentally send data from the private data source to another data source that might be outside of a trusted scope. Power Query analyzes each data source and classifies it by the defined level of privacy: Public, Organizational, and Private. This analysis ensures data isn't combined if there's undesirable data transfer.

This process of data protection can also occur when a query uses query folding, which translates Power Query transformations into a data source query. Running the translated query on the data source can improve performance and capacity. However, Power Query blocks a query if there's a potential for data to be compromised. For example, a merge is defined between a workbook table and a SQL Server table. The workbook data privacy is set to Private, but the SQL Server data is set to Organizational. Because Private is more restrictive than Organizational, Power Query blocks the information exchange between the data sources. When privacy levels prevent this exchange, you might see a blocked query or privacy level error because query folding occurs behind the scenes.

Privacy levels dialog

When you combine data from multiple sources, and you don't set the privacy level for one of the sources or the privacy levels are different, Power Query displays a warning that data privacy information is required. Select the button to open the Privacy levels dialog. In this dialog, set the privacy levels for the sources that don't have a privacy level yet.

Set data source privacy levels in Power Query Online

Power Query Online provides several ways to set privacy levels, including the Power Query get data experience, the Power Query manage connections option, and the Power BI service cloud data sources.

Edit privacy levels in Power Query Online

To configure the privacy level in the Power Query Online get data experience:

1. Select the connector that you want to use to access your data in the Power Query get data experience. For example, select the OData or OData Feed option. Different apps have different ways of getting to the Power Query Online get data experience. For more information, see Where to get data.

2. In the Get data dialog for your connector, fill in the connection settings and connection credentials for your connector. These settings and credentials vary depending on the connector you're using. At the bottom of the connection credentials, select the privacy level you require for your connection.

   

Before you continue, confirm that the selected privacy level appears in the connection credentials.

For Power BI service cloud data sources, you can also configure the privacy level for either new connections or existing connections. To set the privacy level for a new connection:

1. Select the Power BI service settings icon, and then select Manage connections and gateways.
2. In the Data (Preview) page, select the Connections tab, and then select New.
3. In the New connection pane, select Cloud.
4. Fill in the Connection name and select a Connection type.
5. After filling in or selecting the rest of the connection settings, select the privacy level in the General section.
6. Select Create to create the new connection.

To verify the setting, open the new connection's Settings pane and confirm the selected privacy level under General.

To set the privacy level for an existing connection:

1. Select the Power BI service settings icon, and then select Manage connections and gateways.

2. In the Data (Preview) page, select the Connections tab.

3. Select a connection from the list of existing connections.

4. Select the ellipsis next to the connection name, and then select Settings.

5. In the Settings pane, under General, select the privacy level.

   Note

   To save the change in privacy level, reenter your credentials. The Save button is unavailable until you finish reentering your credentials.

6. Select Save to save the new privacy level.

To verify the change, reopen the connection's Settings pane and confirm the selected privacy level under General.

For more information, see Create and share cloud data sources in the Power BI service.

You can also set a connection's privacy level by using the Manage connections option under the Home tab in Power Query Online. The Manage connections dialog is one centralized way in your Power Query project to manage the connections that your project references.

To set the privacy level using the Manage connections option:

1. Select Manage connections in the Home tab of the online Power Query editor.

2. Select either Current project or Global permissions. For more information about the differences between the current project and global permissions, see Manage connections.

3. Select a connection.

4. Select the Edit icon next to the name of the connection.

5. Select the privacy level you want to use.

6. Select Update.

   

To verify the change, reopen the connection for editing and confirm the selected privacy level.

For more information about Power Query manage connections, see Manage connections.

Set data source privacy levels in Power Query Desktop

Power Query Desktop provides several ways to set privacy levels, either globally or for individual files or Excel workbooks.

Edit global privacy levels

Global privacy levels refer to connections you already made to data sources. Edit these privacy level settings from the app that created the connection, such as Power BI Desktop or Excel.

To configure global privacy levels in the data source settings:

1. In your desktop app, select Data source settings. For example, in Excel, select the Data tab, and then select Get Data > Data Source Settings. In Power BI Desktop, select the File tab, and then select Options and settings > Data source settings.
2. Select a data source from the list, and then select Edit Permissions.
3. Under Privacy Levels, select a privacy level.
4. Select OK, and then select Close.

To verify the change, reopen Edit Permissions for the data source and confirm the selected privacy level.

Edit file level privacy levels

File-level privacy levels refer to the current connection that you have to a data source. For example, if you load a SQL database in Power Query Desktop, changes to the privacy level apply to this file. You can edit these privacy level settings from the Power Query editor.

To configure a privacy level for a data source in the current file in Power Query Desktop:

1. In the Home tab, select Data source settings.
2. Select Edit Permissions.
3. Under Privacy Levels, select a privacy level.
4. Select OK.

To verify the change, reopen Edit Permissions in the current file and confirm the selected privacy level.

Set the privacy level options

In addition to the privacy level settings, you can set the privacy level options in your apps to ignore the privacy levels when combining data. This option is sometimes referred to as Fast Combine. This option isn't enabled by default. You can set the privacy level options for global permissions, or for individual files or workbooks.

The following table describes privacy level options for global permissions:

The following table describes privacy level options for a file or workbook:

Set the privacy level options in Power BI Desktop

These steps control whether Power BI Desktop enforces privacy levels globally or in the current file.

1. From the File tab, select Options and settings.
2. Select Options.
3. In the Options dialog, select Privacy under the Global section to set the global privacy level option or select Privacy under the Current file section to set the current file's privacy level option.
4. Select OK.

To verify the change, reopen Privacy for the chosen scope and confirm the selected privacy level option.

Set the privacy level options in Excel

These steps control whether Excel enforces privacy levels globally or in the current workbook.

1. From the Data tab, select Get Data > Query Options.
2. In the Query Options dialog, select Privacy under the Global section to set the global privacy level option or select Privacy under the Current workbook section to set the current workbook's privacy level option.
3. Select OK.

To verify the change, reopen Privacy for the chosen scope and confirm the selected privacy level option.

Set the privacy level options in Power Query Desktop

These steps control whether Power Query Desktop enforces privacy levels for its host app's global or current file or workbook scope.

If you opened Power Query Desktop from Power BI Desktop:

1. From the File tab, select Options and settings.
2. Select Options.
3. In the Options dialog, select Privacy under the Global section to set the global privacy level option or select Privacy under the Current file section to set the current file's privacy level option.
4. Select OK.

To verify the change, reopen Privacy for the chosen Power BI Desktop scope and confirm the selected privacy level option.

If you opened Power Query Desktop from Excel:

1. From the File tab, select Options and settings.
2. Select Query Options.
3. In the Query Options dialog, select Privacy under the Global section to set the global privacy level option or select Privacy under the Current workbook section to set the current workbook's privacy level option.
4. Select OK.

To verify the change, reopen Privacy for the chosen Excel scope and confirm the selected privacy level option.

Set the privacy level options in Power Query Online

These steps control whether Power Query Online enforces privacy levels when the current project combines data. By default, the project combines data according to the privacy level setting for each source, but you can override this behavior in the Power Query Online options.

To allow combining data from multiple sources in Power Query Online:

1. From the Home tab, select Options.
2. In the Options dialog, under Project, select Privacy.
3. Select Allow combining data from multiple sources. This could expose sensitive or confidential data to an unauthorized person.
4. Select OK.

To verify the change, reopen Privacy under Project and confirm that the option to allow combining data from multiple sources is selected.

Related content

• Behind the scenes of the Data Privacy Firewall
• Manage connections (Preview)