Security for Salesforce channels

Salesforce channels in Slack map to corresponding Salesforce records, such as Accounts and Opportunities. Security and access for Salesforce channels differ slightly from other Slack channels. Here’s how:

• Salesforce channels are available to workspaces or Enterprise Grid organisations with the Slack Sales Elevate add-on.
• Salesforce channels inherit permissions set in Salesforce. People can only view and edit data in Slack that they’re allowed to access in Salesforce.
• People can join private Salesforce channels without being added by a current channel member if they have access to the corresponding record in Salesforce.

Salesforce channels fall under the same security programme as the rest of Slack. For more information, visit our Trust Centre.

FAQ 

Who can use Salesforce channels?

Salesforce channels are available to workspaces and Enterprise Grid organisations with the Slack Sales Elevate add-on. Members that are assigned access to Sales Elevate will be able to use the full functionality of Salesforce channels, while members without access can still view the conversations in the   Messages tab.

How does access to Salesforce channels work?

Salesforce channels follow the same privacy model as other Slack channels and can be either public or private. On the Enterprise Grid subscription, Salesforce channels are org-wide multi-workspace channels.

Public Salesforce channels

Public channel names and messages will appear in search results in Slack and anyone can join them (just like other Slack channels).

Private Salesforce channels

Private channel names and messages won’t appear in search results and people can be added to them by current channel members. Unlike typical private Slack channels, if people have access to the Salesforce record associated with a Salesforce channel, they can take the following actions:

• See the channel name along with any messages forwarded from the channel to other conversations.
• Join a private Salesforce channel when the channel name appears in Slack or from the record in Salesforce.

What Salesforce data can I access?

You can only view or edit data in Slack that you would be able to in Salesforce. Your permissions in Salesforce channels match those set in Salesforce.

Who can view Salesforce record previews?

When a Salesforce record is shared in Slack, your members will see a preview containing record details. The Salesforce permissions used to generate record previews are generated based on where the record is shared in Slack:

Channels or DMs

Canvases

Record previews in channels and direct messages (DMs) reflect the details of the record when it was shared and are generated using the Salesforce permissions of the person who shared it. When a record preview is created using an admin-created custom notification, the details are generated using the Salesforce permissions of your Salesforce integration user. Record previews won’t appear in channels with external people. 

Record previews that appear in a canvas are generated when someone opens a canvas, and are based on the Salesforce permissions of the viewer. People aren’t able to view records or fields that they don’t have access to in Salesforce, so previews in canvases may appear differently depending on who’s viewing the canvas and when they open it. 

Note: Workspace owners, org owners and Salesforce admins can limit which details appear in record previews.

Can I rename a Salesforce channel in Slack?

No. It’s not possible to rename Salesforce channels in Slack, but you can update the record name in Salesforce and it will update to match in Slack.

How do Salesforce channels protect the security of our data?

Salesforce channels were built to uphold Slack’s security practices and compliance standards. Where possible, Salesforce channels use Slack’s existing compliance infrastructure such as Enterprise Key Management, data residency and data loss prevention.

How long will Salesforce channels retain data?

Data hosted in Slack will use the data retention settings that you choose in Slack. Data that is hosted in Salesforce will use Salesforce retention policies. Structured Salesforce data displayed in Slack (such as Salesforce data shown in the Record details tab) will adhere to Salesforce retention policies.

Can I use Salesforce channels with Slack Connect?

No. At this time, you can’t invite external people to Salesforce channels.

Can I choose which Salesforce objects can have Salesforce channels?

Yes. Workspace owners, org owners and Salesforce admins can create a Salesforce channel configuration for each record type that they’d like to permit in Salesforce channels.