If you’re using Glide apps and need secure control over user permissions, be aware that Glide’s visibility conditions (like showing or hiding buttons for certain roles) are not a security feature. While these conditions are helpful for managing the app’s appearance, they do not protect actions at the backend level.
Key Points to Protect Your Data
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Row Owners for Data Protection: Enabling “Row Owners” is effective for securing individual records (for viewing, editing, and deleting), but it doesn’t apply to adding new records.
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Best Practice: Separate Admin and User Apps: For role-based security, the best approach is to create two versions of your app:
- A main, read-only app for general users
- An admin-only app with edit, add, and delete permissions.
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Future Improvements in Role-Based Access Control: The Glide team is exploring stronger role-based access control options to enhance backend security, though no timeline is set.
In summary, separating user roles across different apps is the most effective way to protect sensitive actions for now. Glide’s visibility settings are great for appearance, but backend security requires more. For further guidance, see Glide’s documentation on row ownership and permissions.