Share Airtable Bases Securely (Granular Permissions & Audits)

What goes wrong with “anyone with the link”

Public links are easy to forward and hard to track. A single mis-click can expose PII or client data. Prefer per-person access with the least privilege that still gets the job done.

Granular roles to use

• Read-only: great for stakeholders who just need to view.
• Commenter: feedback without edits.
• Editor: can change records; avoid for contractors unless necessary.
• Creator/Owner: limit to admins.

Safer sharing patterns

• Invite by email and toggle only the minimum permissions.
• Use share links for low-risk review windows only; disable after use and avoid indexing.
• Disable link previews in chat apps when sending any sensitive links. Guide: Prevent Accidental Link Previews (Stop Unfurls).
• Deliver attachments via one-time, expiring links with a separate access code. Basics: The Safe Way to Share Passwords in 2025 (No Email).

Audits & offboarding

• Quarterly reviews of who can access which bases; downgrade or remove dormant users.
• Rotate secrets if files or tokens were shared inside bases. Incident plan: The Simple Incident Playbook for Leaked Passwords.
• Clean exports: strip metadata and watermark if forwarding to clients. File playbook: Share Sensitive Photos and Documents Safely.

Useful external references

• Airtable: Permissions overview 🔗
• Airtable: Share views & bases 🔗

Related reading

Copy-paste policy that works: Secret-Sharing Policy

Teach link hygiene to everyone: Verify Links Like a Pro

Bottom line

Invite people, not links. Keep roles narrow, time-box public links, audit regularly, and deliver attachments ephemerally.

Secure One-Time Messages - Send confidential messages that self-destruct after being read once. Your privacy is our priority. →.