We built a permissions layer for Notion
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My agency was bleeding $1,800/year on contractor Notion seats. The problem: I needed to give contractors access to specific data (CRM, project tracker) but couldn't let them see pricing, margins, or other clients' information.Notion's native solution doesn't work:Row-level filtering exists but it's view-only (contractors can't edit)Column hiding doesn't existGuest sharing is read-onlySo you either pay $15/mo per seat or duplicate databases (maintenance nightmare)I built a permissions layer using Notion's OAuth API. It lets contractors see only specific rows and columns, edit data, all without expensive seats.How it works:Connect Notion via OAuthDefine roles: "Sales reps see only leads where owner = them, hide pricing column"Contractors access a clean portalThey view/edit data in real-time (syncs every 5 minutes)You pay $59/mo flat for unlimited usersThe math:5 contractors × $15/mo = $900/year wasted20 contractors × $15/mo = $3,600/year wasted50 contractors × $15/mo = $9,000/year wastedWith this: all of them = $59/mo flat.Technical:Frontend: React + TypeScriptBackend: Supabase + PostgreSQL (RLS)Auth: Notion OAuth 2.0Current state: 50 beta testers. First 20 customers get $49/month locked-in (launching at $79 after January).Limitations:Only Notion databases (not pages)5-minute sync (not instant)Requires role definitionNo team permissions yet (roadmap)The ask: If this solves a problem you have, we'd love feedback. Are there permission use cases we're missing? What's your price sensitivity?Free trial: notionportals.com
HN · launched Jan 8, 2026 · 12 upvotes (top 44%) · 0 views
Niche: security screening and access governance software · 54 launches, 6 in the last 7 days · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Horizontal
- Compliance & governance
- B2B
- Not AI
- Commercial product
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 54 launches in security screening and access governance software →
Could you build this?
Yes This is a proxy portal or intermediate database layer that connects to the Notion API, enforcing row/column level access controls before displaying data to contractors.
Discussion
7 comments analyzed.
Competitors mentioned: Notion, Confluence, SharePoint, Jira
Concerns raised: Testimonials appear AI-generated or fabricated, Customers may be fake or unverifiable, Dependency on Notion API - risk of service termination, Lack of compliance/GRC controls, Poor audit logging and reporting capabilities
Feature requests: Canned reports for inactive users, Canned reports for failed login attempts
Competitors
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Attention rank: #73 of 184 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 45 days after the earliest competitor.
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