security-rls-performance

Optimize RLS Policies for Performance#

Poorly written RLS policies can cause severe performance issues. Use subqueries and indexes strategically.

Incorrect (function called for every row):

create policy orders_policy on orders
  using (auth.uid() = user_id); -- auth.uid() called per row!

-- With 1M rows, auth.uid() is called 1M times

Correct (wrap functions in SELECT):

create policy orders_policy on orders
  using ((select auth.uid()) = user_id); -- Called once, cached

-- 100x+ faster on large tables

Use security definer functions for complex checks:

-- Create helper function (runs as definer, bypasses RLS)
create or replace function is_team_member(team_id bigint)
returns boolean
language sql
security definer
set search_path = ''
as $$
  select exists (
    select 1 from public.team_members
    where team_id = $1 and user_id = (select auth.uid())
  );
$$;

-- Use in policy (indexed lookup, not per-row check)
create policy team_orders_policy on orders
  using ((select is_team_member(team_id)));

Always add indexes on columns used in RLS policies:

create index orders_user_id_idx on orders (user_id);

Reference: RLS Performance