Abstract: A method for optimizing a database query includes receiving a database query from a user requesting a database to conditionally return one or more rows stored at the database and characterizing one or more user filters. Each user filter filters rows from the database. The method includes determining that a security filter restricts the user from accessing one or more rows of the database. For each respective user filter, the method includes classifying the respective user filter as a safe user filter incapable of reporting an error or an unsafe user filter capable of reporting an error. The method also includes determining a filter execution order of the one or more user filters and the security filter based on the classified one or more user filters and executing, using the determined filter execution order, the one or more user filters and the security filter.