Sensitivity Labels

Some data needs to be handled more carefully. To ensure trust and security, it's important that users know which data that is. Starting in Tableau Cloud June 2023, if you have a Data Management license, Tableau offers a new category of data label: Sensitivity labels. Users can use sensitivity labels to indicate the level of care that should be taken when creating views or sharing information. Furthermore, sensitivity labels can co-exist on the same asset as other labels, such as certification and data quality warnings. And, using the REST API, an administrator can create new sensitivity labels to suit the needs of their organization.

Note: In Tableau Cloud March 2023 and earlier, data sensitivity was expressed using the "sensitive data" data quality warning. Because only one data quality warning could be attached to an asset, a "sensitive data" warning couldn't co-exist with other data quality warnings. With the upgrade to Tableau Cloud June 2023, "sensitive data" data quality warnings were migrated to sensitivity labels. Sensitivity labels do not currently exist in Tableau Server.

Sensitivity labels can be attached to the same types of assets that other data labels can.

Attach a sensitivity label to an asset

1. To attach a sensitivity label to an asset:
2. Open the Sensitivity Label dialog for the asset you want to create a sensitivity label for. How you do this depends on the type of asset.
• For all asset types except columns: Select the More actions menu (. . .) next to the asset, and then select Sensitivity Label.
• For columns: On the table page, select the check box next to the column. Click the Actions menu and select Sensitivity Label.
3. Turn the label on using the Show label toggle.
4. Select the sensitivity label value from the drop-down list.
5. Enter a message to display to users if desired. You can format the text in a message with bold, underline, and italics, and include a link or an image. To see text formatting tips, hover over the information (i) icon above the Save button.
6. Click Save.

Remove a sensitivity label from an asset

To remove a sensitivity label from an asset:

1. Open the Sensitivity Label dialog as described in the "Attach a sensitivity label to an asset" section, above.
2. Depending on your need, either turn off the label or clear the settings:
• If you think you might want to save the label value and message text for later, turn the label off with the Show label toggle.
• To return the label value and message to their defaults, click Clear Settings.
3. Click Save.

Where sensitivity labels appear

Sensitivity labels appear on assets when navigating Tableau Server. Like data quality warnings, sensitivity labels appear downstream from the assets on which they're attached. For example, a sensitivity label on a column will appear next to the column on the table page, at the top of the table page, and on the database page.

Who can do this

To set a sensitivity label, you must either

• be a server or site administrator, or
• have the Overwrite capability for the asset.

Customize sensitivity labels

There is only one built-in sensitivity label: Sensitive data. Using the REST API, an administrator can create new sensitivity label values or change the name and description of an existing one. Typical additions (name and description) might be:

• Public: Available to the public to view.
• Internal: Restricted to company employees and contractors. This data must not be shared publicly, but it can be shared with customers, partners, and others under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
• Confidential: Available to an approved group of employees and contractors. This data isn’t restricted by law, regulation, or a company master service agreement (MSA). It can be shared with customers, partners, and others under an NDA.
• Restricted: Available only to an approved group of employees and contractors. This data is likely restricted by law, regulation, an NDA, or a company MSA.
• MissionCritical: Available only to a small group of approved employees and contractors. Third parties who are given access could be subject to heightened contractual requirements. This data is almost always restricted by law, regulation, an NDA, or a company MSA.

For information, see Customize Labels.