Salesforce Dictionary - Free Salesforce GlossarySalesforce Dictionary
Full Feed Tracking, Chatter entry
How-to guide

Set up Feed Tracking on an object

Setting up Feed Tracking on a new object is a per-object configuration with two halves: enable tracking on the object, then check the fields to track. The steps below cover the safe rollout.

By Dipojjal Chakrabarti · Founder & Editor, Salesforce DictionaryLast updated May 19, 2026

Setting up Feed Tracking on a new object is a per-object configuration with two halves: enable tracking on the object, then check the fields to track. The steps below cover the safe rollout.

  1. Open Feed Tracking Setup

    Setup > Feed Tracking. The page shows all objects with their tracking status and the list of tracked fields per object.

  2. Pick the object

    Select the object from the left panel. The right panel shows the available fields with checkboxes.

  3. Enable tracking

    Check Enable Feed Tracking at the top of the panel. Without this, no fields produce events even if checked.

  4. Select fields deliberately

    Check the fields that matter for team collaboration. Start with 3-5; add more later if needed. Avoid high-churn fields like LastModifiedDate.

  5. Save and test

    Click Save. Edit a test record, change a tracked field, and confirm a feed item appears on the record's Chatter feed.

  6. Set up Auto-Follow Rules (optional)

    For records that need broader visibility, configure Auto-Follow Rules so a set of users automatically follow new records.

  7. Communicate to users

    Email or Slack the team explaining what is now tracked. Include guidance on Follow/Unfollow and notification settings so users can control their volume.

Key options
Enable Feed Tracking on objectremember

Master toggle per object. Required for any field tracking to take effect.

Per-field tracking checkboxesremember

Individual fields to track. Up to 20 per object.

All Related Objects (Tracked Changes)remember

Toggle that controls whether changes on related child objects also appear in the parent's feed.

Mention in Chatterremember

Related Chatter feature for @mentioning users. Coexists with Feed Tracking; mentions and tracked changes both produce feed items.

Auto-Follow Rulesremember

Automated record-follow assignment. Drives who sees tracked changes in their personal feed.

Gotchas
  • The 20-field cap is per object. Hitting it is common for high-detail objects; curate ruthlessly and use Field History for the rest.
  • Long text, encrypted, and geolocation fields cannot be tracked. Plan around these exclusions; tracking the encrypted version of a sensitive field is not supported.
  • Tracking high-churn audit fields (LastModifiedDate) floods the feed and drives users to disable Chatter. Curate the field list with user adoption in mind.
  • Disabling Feed Tracking on an object does not delete prior feed items. They remain queryable on FeedItem; the change only stops new events.
  • Apex updates and bulk loads produce feed items for every changed record. A bulk load of 10,000 records updating a tracked field writes 10,000 feed items, which can spike storage and feed noise.

See the full Feed Tracking, Chatter entry

Feed Tracking, Chatter includes the definition, worked example, deep dive, related terms, and a quiz.