If you have ever built an app in Bubble, you know the feeling. You are in your groove, arranging elements on the page, testing workflows, and connecting your database. Hours pass without you even noticing because you are deep in the zone.
But here is the thing about being in that creative flow – sometimes you forget to check whether the doors to your digital house are locked. And by ‘doors,’ we mean your privacy settings. That little oversight can mean your work in progress, your database, or even your customer data is accidentally visible to the entire internet.
Until now, unless you were obsessively double-checking your settings, there was a chance you would miss it. But Bubble just rolled out a feature that feels like having a friend tap you on the shoulder and whisper, ‘Hey, I think you left the front door open.’
The editor will now alert you if your app is publicly accessible. It is a small banner with a big purpose, something that protects you from the kinds of mistakes that can cause massive headaches later.
Let’s talk about why this is a game-changer, how it works, and why you should not just shrug it off the next time you see it pop up.
Why Publicly Accessible Apps Are a Problem
Before we get to the solution, let’s talk about the mess it is designed to prevent. In Bubble, as with any platform that stores and serves data, the way you set up privacy and permissions makes all the difference.
Picture this – you are building a customer portal. You have a repeating group that shows purchase history. In your head, you know this should be visible only to the logged-in customer. But in the rush of development, you forget to set up the privacy rule. Now, anyone with the page link could potentially see everyone’s order data. Not just theirs. Everyone’s.
And here is the kicker…
It is not just live apps at risk. Even your development version can be a treasure chest for the wrong person if it is open to the public. Maybe you have test data, admin pages, or API keys lying around.
Many creators do not realize how easy it is for a curious stranger to stumble across this stuff. It is not about someone targeting you. It is about the internet being a very big place full of people who know how to poke around.
That is why the new alert matters so much. It is not about Bubble thinking you are careless. It is about giving you a second set of eyes that never blinks.
How the New Bubble Alert Works
The feature is built right into the Bubble editor, which means you do not need to set anything up or install anything. Every time you open your editor, it quietly runs a check to see if your app is accessible to the public.
If it spots something, it does not hide the news in a corner. You get a clear, visible notification right where you work.
This is smart because most of us spend hours inside the editor without thinking about the outside world. You might go days, even weeks, without previewing the app in a fresh incognito browser to test privacy. All in all, the alert removes the guesswork.
Why This Makes a Huge Difference for Security
Security breaches are often portrayed as the work of genius-level hackers who can break into anything. In reality, many breaches come down to something much less glamorous – a door left open.
In web app terms, that door could be an API endpoint without authentication, a database query exposed without privacy rules, or a page that loads sensitive data for any visitor. These are not exotic mistakes. They are everyday oversights that happen to busy builders all the time.
The new alert acts like a personal security guard who checks the perimeter every time you show up to work. And they do it without charging you overtime.
This is especially important for non-technical Bubble users. Many people using the platform are business owners, designers, or first-time app builders. They may not be thinking in terms of data exposure or endpoint protection. They are thinking about getting their app to look and function the way they want. This alert quietly adds a layer of protection that does not require you to be a security expert.
How It Helps Prevent Data Leaks
Let’s go back to that earlier scenario of the customer portal. Imagine you are a week away from showing the client their new system. You open the editor one morning, and there it is, the alert saying your app is publicly accessible.
Instead of panicking, you click through your privacy settings and find that one data type was not restricted. You fix it in minutes, and the alert disappears. Your client never knows there was a potential problem, and the users’ data never leaves your safe hands.
Why Agencies and Freelancers Should Love This
If you are building apps for clients, you know that security is not a nice-to-have. It is part of your professional responsibility. A single oversight could damage your relationship with a client or harm your reputation.
Being able to tell a client, ‘Your app passed Bubble’s own public access checks,’ is a strong trust signal.
And for certain industries like healthcare or finance, it is even more critical. In these sectors, data privacy is tied to compliance laws. The alert becomes not just a helpful feature but a potential compliance checkpoint.
What To Do When You See the Alert
First, do not panic. The alert does not mean someone has broken in. It means the app is currently accessible without proper restrictions.
Start by reviewing your page privacy settings. Any page with sensitive data should require a logged-in user or have role-based rules in place.
Then check your database privacy settings. Bubble lets you define conditions that decide who can view or modify each data type. Use them.
If you have any API endpoints, make sure they are authenticated unless they are intentionally public and non-sensitive.
Once you make the changes, refresh the editor and see if the alert is gone. It is satisfying to watch it disappear, knowing you have just closed a potential gap.
Building Better Habits Over Time
One of the hidden benefits of this alert is how it trains you over time. The more you see it, the more you will start thinking about privacy from the beginning of your builds.
You will find yourself setting privacy rules as soon as you create a new data type, or locking down pages before you even put in the final design touches. It becomes second nature.
And if you are working in a team, it adds another layer of accountability. If anyone on your team sees the alert, they can bring it up right away so the issue gets fixed before it slips through the cracks.
Why This Matters for the No-Code World
Bubble has always been about giving people the power to create apps without needing to write code. But with that power comes the responsibility of keeping those apps safe.
By adding this alert, Bubble is making it easier for everyone to build securely by default. It also saves time and money. Fixing a security issue before it goes live is much easier than cleaning up after a data leak. You avoid the awkward emails to users and the scramble to patch the problem.
Looking to the Future
This feels like the kind of feature that will keep getting better. Imagine future versions where the alert tells you exactly which pages or data types are exposed, or gives you a one-click shortcut to fix them.
Or where it integrates with Bubble’s version control so you can see when a public access issue was introduced and by whom. That could be huge for teams managing complex apps with lots of contributors.
For now though, the current version is already a big win. It is one of those small changes that could save countless apps from security mishaps.
Wrapping It Up
Here is the truth…
No one leaves their app open to the public on purpose. It happens in the rush of building or the assumption that it’s just the dev version. But all it takes is one set of curious eyes finding that open door for things to go wrong.
With Bubble’s new public access alert, you have a safety net. It is like having a friend who notices the little things before they turn into big problems. It is quick, it is helpful, and it just might save you from a serious headache.
So the next time you are in your flow and that banner pops up, do yourself a favor. Pause. Check your settings. Lock the door. Then get back to creating your masterpiece with peace of mind. All the best!