Shared Dataset and Permissions

[Anonymous]

Hello, 

I am looking for a little clarification on the Microsoft documentation of the Power BI service linked here. Specifically I am curious about this description of datasets...

Power BI introduced Build permission in June 2019 as a complement to the existing permissions, Read and Reshare. All users who already had Read permission for datasets via app permissions, sharing, or workspace access at that time also got Build permission for those same datasets. They got Build permission automatically because Read permission already granted them the right to build new content on top of the dataset, by using Analyze in Excel or Export.

Does this mean a user who has viewer access to workspace, but the report is set to NOT export the data to the user, can analyze the data in Excel and potentially alter/overwrite the dataset?

I am trying limit/lock changes to the dataset with exception of creating new reports of the existing dataset.

Thank you!

[GilbertQ · Accepted solution]

Hi there

In all cases a user cannot overwrite or insert any data into a dataset.

What the above meant is that a user could build another Power BI Report and dashboard off the dataset.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for helping me understand. My next inquiry follows off what you said. "In all cases a user cannot overwrite or insert any data into a dataset."

Is there a way to restrict the ability to alter/change/overwrite a dataset from the Power BI Desktop one has workspace access to? I know now that viewer access to the workspace will prevent that but how about the contributor or member roles?

[GilbertQ]

Hi there

Unfortunately even the Member and Contributor roles allow users to publish datasets to the app workspace.