Feed Tracking, Chatter
Feed Tracking is the Salesforce Setup feature that controls which fields on which objects generate Chatter feed posts when they change.
Definition
Feed Tracking is the Salesforce Setup feature that controls which fields on which objects generate Chatter feed posts when they change. When a tracked field on a record is updated, the platform automatically writes a feed item visible on the record's Chatter feed and to anyone following the record. The feature is the engine behind the collaboration capability of Chatter: rather than relying on manual posts, the system surfaces every important change as a feed event, so anyone following the record sees the activity history.
Field-level granularity is the point. Administrators enable Feed Tracking on the object in Setup, then check each field that should produce feed events on change. A typical configuration tracks Stage on Opportunity, Status on Case, and Owner on Account, while leaving high-churn fields (LastActivityDate, system audit fields) untracked to avoid feed noise. The setting is org-wide per object; once a field is tracked, every record of that type produces a feed item when the field changes.
How Feed Tracking works with Chatter
Per-object enablement plus per-field tracking
Two settings combine. First, Feed Tracking must be enabled on the object as a whole (Setup > Feed Tracking > Object > Enable). Second, specific fields are checked as tracked. An object with Feed Tracking disabled produces no feed events; an enabled object produces events only for the fields that are checked. Most standard objects are enabled by default with a sensible starter set of fields; custom objects need both steps.
What a feed item looks like
When a tracked field changes, the platform writes a FeedItem record with Type = TrackedChange and a structured body showing the old value, the new value, the user who made the change, and the timestamp. The feed item appears on the record's Chatter feed under the Changes filter, and in the home feeds of every user following the record. Users can comment on the feed item, like it, or share it to a Chatter group.
Following records and users
Users see tracked changes for records they follow and users they follow. Following is set up per-user from the record page (Follow button) or in bulk through Auto-Follow Rules. Users automatically follow records they own. Field changes on records the user does not follow do not appear in their personal Chatter feed, even though the feed item exists on the record itself.
Limits and what counts as a change
Up to 20 fields per object can be tracked. Standard fields, custom fields, lookups, formula fields, and many system fields can all be tracked. Formula fields produce events when their evaluated value changes (recalculated on save). Long text fields, encrypted fields, geolocation fields, and a few other special types cannot be tracked. Plan the field selection deliberately because the cap is per-object.
The feed noise problem
Without careful field selection, Feed Tracking produces overwhelming noise. Tracking LastModifiedDate or LastActivityDate on a high-volume object can flood the feed with one event per save. Tracking 20 fields on a heavily edited object produces dozens of events per record per day. Users disable Chatter or unfollow records because they cannot find signal in the noise. Curate the tracked fields to the few that matter for collaboration.
Reporting and querying
Feed items are queryable through SOQL on FeedItem: SELECT Body, CreatedBy.Name, CreatedDate FROM FeedItem WHERE ParentId = ... returns the activity history for a record. Reports can be built against FeedItem with a custom report type. This is useful for audit purposes (who changed what when) although Field History Tracking is the dedicated feature for that audit log. Feed Tracking is more about real-time collaboration; Field History is about durable audit.
Mute, unfollow, and notification controls
Users have several controls to manage feed volume. Unfollow removes a record from their feed entirely. Mute on a specific feed item suppresses notifications for that thread. Notification settings per user control whether new feed items trigger email, mobile push, or in-app notification. Train users on these controls during rollout; without them, Feed Tracking is the source of "I am drowning in notifications" complaints.
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.
- Open Feed Tracking Setup
Setup > Feed Tracking. The page shows all objects with their tracking status and the list of tracked fields per object.
- Pick the object
Select the object from the left panel. The right panel shows the available fields with checkboxes.
- Enable tracking
Check Enable Feed Tracking at the top of the panel. Without this, no fields produce events even if checked.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Master toggle per object. Required for any field tracking to take effect.
Individual fields to track. Up to 20 per object.
Toggle that controls whether changes on related child objects also appear in the parent's feed.
Related Chatter feature for @mentioning users. Coexists with Feed Tracking; mentions and tracked changes both produce feed items.
Automated record-follow assignment. Drives who sees tracked changes in their personal feed.
- 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.
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
Test your knowledge
Q1. Which Salesforce Cloud is Feed Tracking, Chatter most closely associated with?
Q2. Who would typically configure or interact with Feed Tracking, Chatter?
Q3. What best describes the purpose of Feed Tracking, Chatter in Salesforce?
Discussion
Loading discussion…