salesforce-data-handling

Salesforce Data Handling

Overview

Handle sensitive data correctly when integrating with Salesforce: PII classification, GDPR/CCPA compliance with Salesforce's Individual object, data retention, and field-level encryption.

Prerequisites

• Understanding of GDPR/CCPA requirements
• Salesforce org with data classification enabled (Setup > Data Classification)
• For encryption: Salesforce Shield license (Platform Encryption)

Instructions

Step 1: Salesforce Data Classification

// Salesforce has built-in data classification on fields
// Setup > Object Manager > [Object] > Fields > [Field] > Edit > Data Sensitivity Level

// Query field classification metadata
const conn = await getConnection();
const contactMeta = await conn.sobject('Contact').describe();

const sensitiveFields = contactMeta.fields
  .filter((f: any) => f.compoundFieldName === null) // Skip compound fields
  .map((f: any) => ({
    name: f.name,
    label: f.label,
    type: f.type,
    encrypted: f.encrypted || false,
    // Check custom data sensitivity via field metadata
  }));

// PII fields in standard Salesforce objects
const PII_FIELDS: Record<string, string[]> = {
  Contact: ['FirstName', 'LastName', 'Email', 'Phone', 'MailingAddress', 'Birthdate'],
  Lead: ['FirstName', 'LastName', 'Email', 'Phone', 'Company'],
  Account: ['Phone', 'Website'], // Less PII, but may contain it
  User: ['Email', 'Phone', 'Username'],
  Case: ['SuppliedEmail', 'SuppliedName', 'SuppliedPhone'],
};

Step 2: GDPR — Individual Object & Consent

// Salesforce has a built-in "Individual" object for GDPR consent tracking
// Setup > Data Protection and Privacy > Enable Individual object

// Link Contact to Individual for consent tracking
await conn.sobject('Individual').create({
  FirstName: 'Jane',
  LastName: 'Smith',
  HasOptedOutTracking: false,
  HasOptedOutProcessing: false,
  HasOptedOutSolicit: true,
});

// Check consent before processing
const contact = await conn.query(`
  SELECT Id, FirstName, LastName, Email,
    Individual.HasOptedOutTracking,
    Individual.HasOptedOutProcessing
  FROM Contact
  WHERE Id = '003xxxxxxxxxxxx'
`);

const individual = contact.records[0]?.Individual;
if (individual?.HasOptedOutProcessing) {
  console.log('Contact has opted out of data processing — skip');
}

Step 3: Data Subject Access Request (DSAR)

// GDPR Article 15: Right of Access
async function exportContactData(contactId: string): Promise<object> {
  const conn = await getConnection();

  // Gather all data related to this contact
  const [contact, cases, activities, opportunities] = await Promise.all([
    conn.query(`
      SELECT FIELDS(ALL) FROM Contact WHERE Id = '${contactId}' LIMIT 1
    `),
    conn.query(`
      SELECT Id, Subject, Description, CreatedDate, Status
      FROM Case WHERE ContactId = '${contactId}'
    `),
    conn.query(`
      SELECT Id, Subject, ActivityDate, Description
      FROM Task WHERE WhoId = '${contactId}'
    `),
    conn.query(`
      SELECT Id, Name, StageName, Amount
      FROM Opportunity WHERE Id IN (
        SELECT OpportunityId FROM OpportunityContactRole WHERE ContactId = '${contactId}'
      )
    `),
  ]);

  return {
    exportDate: new Date().toISOString(),
    subject: 'Data Subject Access Request',
    contact: contact.records[0],
    cases: cases.records,
    activities: activities.records,
    opportunities: opportunities.records,
  };
}

Step 4: Right to Deletion (Right to be Forgotten)

// GDPR Article 17: Right to Erasure
async function deleteContactData(contactId: string): Promise<void> {
  const conn = await getConnection();

  // 1. Delete related records first (due to lookup relationships)
  const tasks = await conn.query(`SELECT Id FROM Task WHERE WhoId = '${contactId}'`);
  if (tasks.records.length > 0) {
    await conn.sobject('Task').destroy(tasks.records.map((t: any) => t.Id));
  }

  // 2. Delete the contact
  await conn.sobject('Contact').destroy(contactId);

  // 3. Audit log (required — don't delete this)
  await conn.sobject('Integration_Log__c').create({
    Action__c: 'GDPR_DELETION',
    Record_Id__c: contactId,
    Object_Type__c: 'Contact',
    Timestamp__c: new Date().toISOString(),
  });

  // 4. Delete from local caches/databases too
  console.log(`Contact ${contactId} deleted from Salesforce (GDPR erasure)`);
}

Step 5: Data Redaction in Logs

// NEVER log raw Salesforce records containing PII
function redactSfRecord(record: Record<string, any>, objectType: string): Record<string, any> {
  const piiFields = PII_FIELDS[objectType] || [];
  const redacted = { ...record };

  for (const field of piiFields) {
    if (redacted[field]) {
      redacted[field] = '[REDACTED]';
    }
  }

  return redacted;
}

// Usage in logging
const contacts = await conn.query('SELECT Id, FirstName, LastName, Email FROM Contact LIMIT 5');
for (const contact of contacts.records) {
  console.log('Processing:', redactSfRecord(contact, 'Contact'));
  // Logs: { Id: '003xx', FirstName: '[REDACTED]', LastName: '[REDACTED]', Email: '[REDACTED]' }
}

Step 6: Salesforce Shield Platform Encryption

For field-level encryption at rest (Salesforce Shield license required):

Setup > Platform Encryption > Encryption Policy:
- Encrypt: Contact.Email, Contact.Phone, Lead.Email
- Key Management: Salesforce-managed or customer-managed (BYOK)

Limitations of encrypted fields:
- Cannot use in WHERE clause (use deterministic encryption for filters)
- Cannot use in ORDER BY
- Cannot use in aggregate functions
- SOQL LIKE operator not supported on encrypted fields

Output

• Data classification for PII fields documented
• GDPR consent tracking via Individual object
• DSAR export function for data subject access
• Right to deletion with audit trail
• Log redaction preventing PII exposure

Error Handling

Issue	Cause	Solution
FIELD_NOT_FOUND: Individual	Individual object not enabled	Setup > Data Protection > Enable Individual
Can't delete Contact	Related records exist	Delete related Tasks/Events first
Encrypted field in WHERE	Shield encryption limitation	Use deterministic encryption or query differently
PII in logs	Missing redaction	Wrap all SF logging with redactSfRecord

Resources

• Salesforce Data Protection & Privacy
• Individual Object
• Shield Platform Encryption
• GDPR Compliance in Salesforce

Next Steps

For enterprise access control, see salesforce-enterprise-rbac.