Beginner 15 min read

Understanding the Salesforce Security Model

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to:

  • Describe the layers of the Salesforce security model, from org-wide access down to individual records
  • Explain the difference between object-level, field-level, and record-level security

Prerequisites: None — this is the first lesson in the course.

The three layers of data security

Every piece of data in Salesforce is protected by three independent layers:

  • Object-level — can the user perform Create, Read, Update, or Delete on this type of record at all? Controlled by Profiles and Permission Sets.
  • Field-level — of the fields on a record they can see, which ones can they actually view or edit? Controlled by Field-Level Security (FLS).
  • Record-level — of the individual records for an object they have access to, which specific rows can they see? Controlled by Organization-Wide Defaults, role hierarchy, and sharing rules.

Layers are additive, never subtractive

A user must pass all three layers to see a piece of data — if any single layer denies access, that's the final answer, no matter how permissive the other two are.

Record-level sharing can only ever widen access above the Organization-Wide Default baseline; it can never be used to restrict a user below it, and it can't override an object or field permission the user simply doesn't have.

Checking object-level access with Schema describe

Schema.DescribeSObjectResult accountDescribe = Account.sObjectType.getDescribe();
System.debug('Can current user create Accounts? ' + accountDescribe.isCreateable());

Schema describe calls let Apex check object-level permissions for the running user at runtime, before attempting a DML operation.

Exercise

Using Schema describe methods, write a line of Apex that prints whether the running user can delete Opportunity records.

Show hint

Opportunity.sObjectType.getDescribe().isDeletable()

APEX

Understanding the Salesforce Security Model — Quick Check

1. Which of these is NOT one of the three layers of the Salesforce security model?

2. A user can see a record's field value if record-level sharing grants access, even when field-level security denies that field.

3. What determines whether a user can perform CRUD operations on an object at all, regardless of any specific record?

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Summary

Salesforce security is enforced in layers — object permissions, field-level security, and record-level sharing all apply together, and a user needs to pass every layer to see or edit a piece of data.

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Organization-Wide Defaults & Sharing Settings →