Google Looker Studio leaks "Unlisted" reports exposing them to unauthorised access
Take action: If you use Google Looker Studio for business reports, be aware that all your "unlisted" shared reports may be showing up in other users' dashboards, potentially exposing sensitive business data. It may be a huge effort to review all "unlisted" reports, so prioritize critical ones and re-share using other methods. Also, consider moving confidential analytics to more secure platforms or implementing stricter access controls until Google fixes this visibility flaw with no promised timeline.
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Google has acknowledged privacy vulnerability in Looker Studio that enables leaking of potentially sensitive business intelligence reports to unintended recipients.
Looker Studio, formerly known as Google Data Studio, is a free online tool that allows users to create customizable reports and interactive dashboards from various data sources. The platform is used by marketing teams using Looker Studio for campaign reporting, financial analysts sharing performance dashboards, and consulting firms providing client analytics all facing potential exposure of confidential information through sharing mechanism failures.
The vulnerability undermines the expectations of the "Unlisted" sharing feature. Reports configured with "Unlisted" permissions, are designed to be accessible only through direct links but to remain invisible in users' standard dashboard listings.
The flaw causes these reports to appear in other users' "Shared with me" sections, creating an unintended visibility pathway that defeats the purpose of the unlisted sharing mechanism.
According to Google's Cloud Looker Studio Engineering team response documentation, the company has assigned the primary sharing vulnerability to their engineering team for investigation, though they have provided no estimated timeline for resolution.
While security by obscurity through shared but "Unlisted" report is a bad practice in general, the visibility of these reports in a user dashboard definitely breaches any assumed or hoped for privacy of such reports.
Organizations currently using Looker Studio should be aware of these flaws and the unknown timeline for remediation. They should reassess their data sharing strategies and implement additional safeguards for sensitive business intelligence content.
