What is granular access control?

Granular access control is a concept in computer science that refers to the practice of granting differing levels of access to a particular resource to particular users. Access determines what a user is authorized to do in a system.

In databases, granular access control can mean that specific tables of information are available to particular users only. Moreover, performable actions can also be restricted. For example, a customer can have access to the inventory of a book store but cannot perform rewrites to the data or check the cash reserves of the store.

Levels of control are used to prevent tampering, leaking, or otherwise malicious use of privileged information in an organization. It is good practice to follow the principle of least access where users only have access to the parts of the system they need.