Microsoft Purview · Information Protection
Information Protection Readers
View-only access to information protection reports and analytics dashboards.
Scope: Read-only dashboard, reporting, and analytics access without investigation capabilities
Permissions
- View information protection dashboards and analytics
- Access DLP and sensitivity label reports
- Review classification and protection trends and metrics
- Export reports, charts, and aggregate data for leadership
- View Activity Explorer data (read-only, no file content)
- Access information protection summary reports
- Monitor DLP policy effectiveness and alert volumes
- Review label application coverage and trends
- View aggregate sensitive information type statistics
Common use cases
- Executive dashboards for information protection program oversight
- Board reporting on data protection effectiveness and compliance metrics
- Compliance metrics and trend analysis for audit and regulatory reporting
- Program health monitoring and maturity assessment
- Risk committee reporting on data protection posture
- External audit support with read-only access to metrics
- Business unit leaders monitoring their department's classification compliance
Best practices
- Use for executive and governance reporting dashboards
- Generate regular program health reports for leadership and board
- Monitor trends to identify emerging gaps or training needs
- Share aggregate metrics while protecting individual user privacy
- Create custom Power BI reports using exported data for deeper analysis
- Track DLP false positive rates to measure policy tuning effectiveness
- Monitor label adoption rates by department or business unit
- Benchmark protection coverage against industry standards and best practices
Security considerations
- Cannot view individual files, alerts, or content - minimal privacy impact
- Aggregate data and trends only - safe for broad executive access
- Lowest risk information protection role - no configuration or investigation access
- Activity Explorer data is anonymized at aggregate level
- Reports may still reveal business-sensitive metrics and trends
Common questions
When should I assign the Information Protection Readers role?
Assign Information Protection Readers when you need to: Executive dashboards for information protection program oversight; Board reporting on data protection effectiveness and compliance metrics; Compliance metrics and trend analysis for audit and regulatory reporting; Program health monitoring and maturity assessment; and Risk committee reporting on data protection posture. It is part of Microsoft Purview and should be granted as a least-privilege alternative to broader roles like Global Administrator.
What can someone with the Information Protection Readers role do?
The Information Protection Readers role grants permissions including: View information protection dashboards and analytics; Access DLP and sensitivity label reports; Review classification and protection trends and metrics; Export reports, charts, and aggregate data for leadership; View Activity Explorer data (read-only, no file content); and Access information protection summary reports. See the Permissions section above for the full list.
What are the security risks of the Information Protection Readers role?
Key considerations when assigning Information Protection Readers: Cannot view individual files, alerts, or content - minimal privacy impact; Aggregate data and trends only - safe for broad executive access; Lowest risk information protection role - no configuration or investigation access; and Activity Explorer data is anonymized at aggregate level. Review the Security considerations section before assignment, and pair with Privileged Identity Management (PIM) for just-in-time access where possible.