Unlocking the Future of User Management: Salesforce's Latest Innovations and Roadmap

Salesforce recently announced a major shift in data access and user permissions, ushering in a new era of user management. Permissions on profiles will be phased out in the Spring '26 release.

This article explores the rationale behind this change, the future of profiles and permission sets, and how you can prepare for it.

What is Happening and why?

For those following Salesforce admin updates, this move away from profile-based permissions has been anticipated for three years. Profiles will still exist, but permissions will be exclusively managed through permission sets.

These changes aim to simplify user access management, enhance data security, and ensure system safety in Salesforce.

What will remain on a profile:

• One-to-one relationships - login hours/IP ranges
• Defaults - record types, apps
• Page layout assignment - the future is App Builder/Dynamic Forms so Salesforce will not invest in bringing page layout assignment to permission sets

Don't forget to check out: Unpacking Salesforce Experience Cloud: A Comprehensive Analysis

What will only be available on permission sets:

• User permissions (system and app permissions)
• Object permissions (object Create, Read, Update, and Delete)
• Field permissions (field-level security)
• Tabs
• Record types (not defaults)
• Apps (not defaults)
• Connected app access
• Apex classes
• Visualforce pages
• Custom permissions

Here's some Essential Information you Shouldn't Miss

Migrating to Permission Sets. If you're looking to migrate user profiles to permission sets and permission set groups, there's a Closed Beta feature called User Access Policies (as of Spring '23) that can make your life easier. This feature lets you set specific criteria for your users, streamlining the migration process. To get in on the Closed Beta action, just fill out the form.

• Field Level Security (FLS) on Permission Sets. Salesforce has a new feature in Open Beta that allows you to manage Field Level Security (FLS) through permission sets instead of profiles. You can activate this feature in your user management settings. Salesforce plans to make this feature Generally Available (GA) in Summer '23.
• Spring '24 Release. Brace yourself for the Spring '24 release, where you'll have the opportunity to disable the use of permissions on profiles before the official End-of-Life (EOL). It's a chance to stay ahead of the curve.

Check out another amazing blog by Advanced Communities here: Salesforce Experience Cloud Support Portal: Key Considerations Before Implementation

Why Advanced Communities Recommends its Customers to Switch to Permission Sets?

In Experience Cloud sites, each user typically gets assigned a profile, which is used to necessitate manual modifications or Flow-based adjustments by Salesforce admins. Permission sets change this game by streamlining user management and making internal user management in Salesforce much easier for both companies and their admins.

For customers using our custom Salesforce-native solutions on Experience Cloud sites, we strongly advise switching to permission sets. They enable us to implement feature updates and performance enhancements seamlessly without manual access-level changes. Whenever we release a new product version, all updates automatically apply to our customers' orgs, including permission adjustments. This ensures users always have the latest software version without worrying about profile or permission set tweaks. Embrace permission sets to simplify user management and enjoy a seamless experience, even as product updates keep coming.

Need Assistance?

Exciting changes are happening in Salesforce's user management, and you don't have to wait for the Spring '26 release to start using permission sets.

To make this transition as smooth as possible, we recommend enlisting the help of experts. At Advanced Communities, we have a ton of experience working with Salesforce and its tools. Let us assist you in getting fully prepared for the upcoming era of user management in Salesforce.