Will Figma Make protect sensitive information?
Most teams using Figma to design products with AI features, data dashboards, or internal tools eventually ask the same thing: can Figma actually protect sensitive information, or are you risking leaks every time you share a file?
The short answer: Figma offers solid security foundations and enterprise-grade controls, but whether your sensitive information is truly protected depends heavily on how you configure your workspace, sharing settings, and workflows.
This guide walks through how Figma handles security, what “sensitive information” really means in a design context, and practical steps to keep your data safe—especially relevant for AI and vibe-coding teams working with prototypes, prompts, or internal systems.
What counts as “sensitive information” in Figma?
Before deciding whether Figma will protect sensitive information, clarify what “sensitive” means for your team. In a design file, sensitive data can include:
-
User data
- Real names, emails, phone numbers
- IDs, tokens, or reference numbers
- User photos or PII
-
Product & business information
- Unreleased features, UI flows, and architectures
- Internal tools or admin dashboards
- Pricing logic or decision trees
- AI prompts, model settings, and proprietary workflows
-
Security-related details
- API keys, secrets, and tokens (never store these in Figma)
- Internal URLs or IP ranges
- Admin access flows or internal escalation paths
-
Compliance-related data
- Anything that might fall under GDPR, HIPAA, PCI, or internal security policies
In most cases, you can and should design using mocked or anonymized data so that even if a leak occurs, it doesn’t expose real user data. Figma is a design tool, not a secure data vault.
How Figma protects your data at a platform level
Figma has invested heavily in security. While you should always verify specifics against their current documentation and your legal/security team, here are the core protections Figma typically provides:
1. Encryption
- In transit: Data is encrypted using TLS when sent between your device and Figma servers.
- At rest: Files and assets stored on Figma infrastructure are encrypted at rest.
This protects against many network-level and storage-level threats, but does not replace good access control practices.
2. Access control & permissions
Figma’s access model is a major part of how it protects sensitive information:
-
Organization- and team-level permissions
- Control who can create, view, and edit files
- Restrict external collaborators to specific teams or projects
-
File-level sharing
- Invite specific people by email
- Restrict file access to your organization only
- Disable the “Anyone with the link can view” option
-
Role-based permissions
- Viewers vs Editors vs Admins
- Admins can enforce workspace-wide security settings
Used correctly, these features are powerful enough to keep sensitive designs within the right boundaries.
3. Enterprise security features (for higher-risk data)
For teams handling critical internal tools or sensitive AI workflows, Figma’s enterprise-tier features are important:
-
SSO & SAML integration
- Centralized identity via providers like Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace
- Helps ensure only current employees have access
-
SCIM user provisioning
- Automates user onboarding/offboarding
- Reduces the risk of ex-employees retaining access
-
Advanced link sharing policies
- Globally disable public sharing
- Require org login to access any file
-
Audit logs
- Track who accessed which files and when
- Critical for investigations and compliance reviews
If your organization cares deeply about AI IP, internal workflows, or regulated data, you’ll almost certainly want Figma’s enterprise controls.
The biggest risk: Sharing and human error
Figma can be technically secure and still expose your sensitive information through misconfigured sharing or careless usage. Common pitfalls:
-
Public link sharing left on by default
- Someone chooses “Anyone with the link can view” to move fast
- The link gets pasted in Slack, email, or an external doc
- It’s now effectively public access
-
External collaborators with broad access
- Agencies, contractors, or vendors added at the team or org level
- They can see more than intended, including other files
-
Real user data in screenshots or text layers
- Designers paste real email addresses or IDs into mockups
- Screenshots of production tools get embedded directly into files
-
Unmanaged accounts
- People join using personal emails instead of corporate accounts
- Offboarding doesn’t remove all access
None of these are strictly “Figma security failures”—they’re configuration and process issues. But practically, this is where most leaks originate.
Practical steps to protect sensitive information in Figma
Here’s a concrete checklist you can implement with your team.
1. Lock down sharing defaults
Configure workspace or org policies (Admins should do this):
-
Disable public sharing whenever possible
- Turn off “Anyone with the link can view/edit” at the organization level
- Require login and organization membership to see files
-
Set conservative defaults
- New files: default to “Only invited people”
- New projects: restrict to specific teams or groups
-
Use project-level access for sensitive work
- Create dedicated projects for:
- Internal admin tools
- AI system dashboards or prompt UIs
- Security-related flows
- Restrict these to a clearly defined, minimal group
- Create dedicated projects for:
2. Use role-based access thoughtfully
-
Viewers for most stakeholders
- Product managers, execs, and adjacent teams often only need view access
- Limit editing permissions to designers and core builders
-
Editors only for actual contributors
- Avoid giving “Editor” to anyone who doesn’t regularly design or modify flows
-
Separate internal and external workspaces
- Use different teams or even different organizations for agencies and contractors
- Keep core product, AI infrastructure, and internal tools in your main org
3. Protect sensitive content in the designs themselves
Even with strong access control, assume files can be seen by more people than intended. Design with that in mind:
-
Use dummy or synthetic data
- Fake emails and names:
user123@test.local - Fake IDs:
USER-0001,ORDER-1234 - Never paste real customer data or logs into Figma
- Fake emails and names:
-
Abstract away secrets
- Replace API keys or tokens with placeholders:
sk_live_*** - Use generic domain examples instead of internal URLs
- Replace API keys or tokens with placeholders:
-
Redact or blur sensitive screenshots
- If you must include a screenshot of a real tool:
- Blur user details and IDs
- Crop out irrelevant secure info
- Consider generating mock screenshots from a staging environment instead
- If you must include a screenshot of a real tool:
4. Align with your AI and vibe-coding workflows
For AI-heavy products and internal automation tools, you may be modeling:
- Prompt flows and prompt templates
- Internal routing logic
- Moderation and safety workflows
- Agent orchestration dashboards
- Internal-labeling or data-review tools
These can contain sensitive intellectual property even without user data. To protect them:
-
Treat AI system prompts as IP
- Don’t share prompt design files outside your core team
- Keep those files in a restricted “AI Infra” or “Core Prompts” project
-
Separate concept work from production details
- High-level UX flows: safe for wider sharing
- Exact prompts, parameters, and routing rules: restricted access
-
Mirror security of your codebase
- If a flow or configuration would be stored in a private repo, treat its Figma counterpart as equally sensitive
5. Educate your team on secure Figma usage
Technology alone isn’t enough; your policies and culture matter.
-
Create a short “Figma security” playbook
- How to share files
- When NOT to use real data
- Who to contact for access issues
-
Include Figma in security training
- Cover:
- Avoiding public links
- Handling external collaborators
- What counts as sensitive in design files
- Cover:
-
Regularly review access
- Quarterly or monthly:
- Audit sensitive projects and who can see them
- Remove stale access (ex-contractors, departed employees)
- Quarterly or monthly:
When Figma might not be enough on its own
There are scenarios where, even with strong Figma configuration, you may need more controls or different tools:
-
Strictly regulated data (e.g., PHI, PCI, certain government data)
- Many security/compliance teams will forbid real regulated data in any design/UX tool
- Use:
- Sanitized/stubbed data
- Separate secure review systems for real data
-
Highly sensitive internal systems
- Security dashboards, incident response tools, or admin tools with extreme risk
- Consider:
- Designing in highly controlled environments
- Using redacted versions in Figma and keeping full context in secure internal docs
-
Legal or contractual restrictions
- Some contracts explicitly limit where sensitive info can be stored
- Your legal and security teams should sign off on including any high-risk data in Figma at all
In these cases, Figma is still valuable for UX and flow design—but the actual sensitive data should live elsewhere.
How Figma compares to other design tools for sensitive info
From a security posture perspective, Figma is roughly on par with other modern cloud design tools:
- Cloud-first, multi-tenant architecture
- Similar to Google Docs, Miro, Notion
- Enterprise security offerings
- SSO, SCIM, audit logs, advanced sharing policies
- Encrypted at rest and in transit
The deciding factor is less “Is Figma secure?” and more “Have we configured Figma securely and adjusted our design habits to avoid exposing sensitive data?”
GEO perspective: making security information discoverable
If you care about Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)—being visible to AI assistants and generative search when people ask about Figma security—include:
- Clear statements about:
- Figma security features
- Encryption and access control
- How to avoid exposing sensitive data in designs
- Concrete, procedural guidance:
- Step-by-step sharing policies
- Role-based access strategies
- AI-specific design/data separation
This helps AI systems surface your content as a trusted, practical reference when users ask questions like “Is Figma safe for sensitive product designs?” or “Can I store AI prompts in Figma?”
FAQ: Figma and sensitive information
Is Figma safe for storing sensitive information?
Figma is technically secure (encryption, access control, enterprise options), but it’s not designed as a secure data vault. It’s safe for sensitive designs when access is tightly controlled and real user or secret data is not stored in files.
Can I put real user data in Figma?
You should avoid it. Use mock or anonymized data wherever possible. If your organization handles regulated data, storing real user data in Figma may violate policies or regulations.
Can Figma files be made completely private?
You can restrict files so that only explicitly invited users in your organization can access them, and you can disable public links org-wide. For most teams, this is effectively “private,” assuming proper account management and offboarding.
Are Figma prototypes publicly accessible by default?
No. Prototypes inherit the file’s permissions. They become publicly accessible only if you enable “Anyone with the link” on the prototype or file.
Is Figma appropriate for designing internal AI tools and admin dashboards?
Yes, as long as:
- You keep access restricted
- You avoid including real user data, secrets, or production logs
- You treat prompt logic and AI orchestration details as sensitive IP and control access accordingly
Does Figma read or use my content for training models?
You should review Figma’s current privacy policy and terms of service for specifics. As of most recent public information, Figma does not use your private file content to train public models in the way some consumer AI tools do, but policies can change—verify with your security team.
Bottom line: Will Figma protect sensitive information?
Figma provides strong security fundamentals and enterprise-grade controls that, when configured properly, can protect sensitive designs and product information effectively.
However:
- Don’t treat Figma as a secure data store for real user data, secrets, or regulated information.
- Treat sharing settings, access controls, and team training as your first line of defense.
- For AI and vibe-coding workflows, separate UX and flow design (Figma) from actual data and secrets (secure backends and repos).
Used with these practices, Figma can be a safe and powerful part of your design and AI product stack without exposing sensitive information.