Sharing and access control in Power BI - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Sharing and access control in Power BI lets you give others permission to see or edit your reports and dashboards. This helps teams work together while keeping data safe and private.

When you want to share a sales report with your manager without sending files by email

When your team needs to collaborate on a dashboard and make updates together

When you want to control who can view sensitive financial data in your reports

When you need to share a dashboard with external partners securely

When you want to stop sharing a report after a project ends

Steps

Step 1: Open the report or dashboard you want to share

- Power BI Service workspace

The report or dashboard is displayed on screen

Step 2: Click the Share button

- Top right corner of the report or dashboard page

A sharing pane opens where you can enter email addresses

Step 3: Type the email addresses of people you want to share with

- Sharing pane input box

Email addresses appear as recipients in the sharing list

Step 4: Choose if recipients can reshare or build new content

- Sharing pane options under the email input

Permissions are set for each recipient

Step 5: Click Send

- Bottom of the sharing pane

Recipients receive an email with a link to the report or dashboard

Step 6: To manage access later, click the More options (three dots) next to the report

- Workspace content list

A menu opens with Manage permissions option

Step 7: Select Manage permissions

- Menu from More options

A list of users with access appears where you can remove or change permissions

Before vs After

Before

Report is only visible to the report owner in the workspace

After

Selected users receive email links and can view or edit the report based on permissions

Settings Reference

Allow recipients to reshare

📍 Sharing pane under email input

Controls if people you share with can share the report with others

Default: Off

Allow recipients to build new content with the data

📍 Sharing pane under email input

Controls if recipients can use the data to create their own reports

Default: Off

Manage permissions

📍 More options menu on report or dashboard in workspace

Allows you to change or remove access for users after sharing

Default: View

Common Mistakes

Sharing reports without checking permissions

Recipients might get more access than intended, risking data security

Always review and set permissions carefully before sending the share link

Not managing access after project ends

Old users keep access to sensitive data unnecessarily

Regularly review and remove access for users who no longer need it

Sharing reports outside your organization without proper settings

External users might not be able to access or data might be exposed

Use Power BI’s external sharing settings and verify external user permissions

Summary

Sharing and access control lets you safely give others access to your Power BI reports and dashboards

You can set who can view, edit, or reshare your content to protect your data

Always manage permissions regularly to keep your data secure and up to date