Following the Sensitivity Labels in Power BI GA announcement back in June, we’re happy to update you about new Microsoft Information Protection sensitivity labels features available now in production.
Excel file to inherit the Power BI dataset’s sensitivity label when using a PivotTable connection
Excel is very popular with Power BI users, especially analyzing Power BI data using PivotTable. We now extend sensitivity label inheritance from Power BI to Excel files to include PivotTable connection.
A sensitivity label applied on a Power BI dataset will automatically be applied on the Excel file when you create a PivotTable in Excel.
A dataset’s sensitivity label and protection applied on an Excel file after the creation of a PivotTable connected to a Power BI dataset
If the label on the dataset later changes to a more restrictive one, the label applied on the Excel file will automatically update upon data refresh in Excel. If the dataset’s sensitivity label is less restrictive than the Excel file’s sensitivity label, no label inheritance or update takes place.
Sensitivity labels in Excel that were manually set are not automatically overwritten by the dataset’s label. If Excel file has a manually set label, a policy tip will show with a recommendation to upgrade the label.
Available for customers with Microsoft 365 E3 and above.
Sensitivity label inheritance when initiating Analyze in Excel from the Power BI service
A dataset’s sensitivity label will also be applied on the Excel file when you select Analyze in Excel in the Power BI service. Upon the download of Excel file with PivotTable connection, Power BI will apply the dataset’s label on the file and protect it according to the label’s file encryption settings.
Sensitivity labels in embedded reports and dashboards – public preview
Power BI business users who embed their reports in business applications such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, or their organization’s website can now classify the embedded reports and dashboards with sensitivity labels and protect their data according to the label’s policy when it is exported to an Excel file.
A sensitivity label is applied in the Power BI workspace where you created the report and dashboards. Once a sensitivity label has been applied, it will appear in embedded reports and dashboards.
Learn how embed Power BI content:
- Embed Power BI content in Microsoft Teams
- Embed a report web part in SharePoint Online
- Embed a report in a secure portal or website
Label inheritance upon creation of new content
To help protect your data throughout its journey, we’ve added support for inheriting labels from your data assets. Now, if you’ve already applied a sensitivity label to a dataset or report, this sensitivity label will be applied to new reports or dashboards, built on top of those labeled assets, that you or someone else creates in the Power BI service.
How does this work?
- New reports – when you create a new report, the sensitivity label applied to the dataset you select will be applied to the new report, thus preserving the sensitivity label applied by the dataset owner.
- New dashboard – when you pin a visual to a new dashboard from a report or from the dataset’s quick insights analytics (Q&A), the sensitivity label applied to the report or dataset will automatically be applied to the new dashboard.
Learn more about sensitivity label inheritance upon creation
We’d love to hear any ideas or feedback you have to make sensitivity labels more useful for you and your customers. Please share your ideas, or vote for features you’d like to see added, at Power BI Ideas: https://ideas.powerbi.com/ideas/ or any other channel of your preference.