File, Privately Shared
A File (Privately Shared) is a Salesforce concept that combines platform functionality with Privately Shared-specific behavior.
Definition
A File (Privately Shared) is a Salesforce concept that combines platform functionality with Privately Shared-specific behavior. It is a building block used by developers and administrators to implement business logic and extend the platform.
In plain English
“Here's a simple way to think about it: a Privately Shared file is like passing a printed memo to specific people across the table. They get it; nobody else does. The file owner picks the audience explicitly, and only those people see it.”
Worked example
Consider a scenario where Devesh, an AE at Meridian Software, prepares a draft proposal and shares it as Privately Shared with the SE Priya and the deal lead Jordan - but no one else. The three of them iterate on it for two days; Devesh's manager doesn't see it because she wasn't added; the broader Account team doesn't see it. Once the proposal is final, Devesh changes the sharing to Your Company so the whole rev-ops team can reference it.
Why a Privately Shared file is the middle ground between personal and broadcast
Some files need to be shared, but not broadly. A draft proposal between an AE and an SE, a review document between a manager and a direct report, a sensitive PDF between two specific people on a deal team - none of these belong in the company's general access. Privately Shared is the sharing level for that case. The owner picks specific users (or groups) who get access; everyone else, including admins, doesn't see the file unless explicitly granted.
The reason it's worth knowing about as a distinct level is that it sits between the over-restrictive Private and the over-broad Your Company defaults. Most file-sharing decisions naturally land here: the right level for working documents, in-flight collaboration, peer review. Establish team norms around when to use Privately Shared versus broader sharing, and use it as the default for materials that aren't yet ready to be visible across the org.
How organizations use File, Privately Shared
Deal teams share competitive battle cards as Privately Shared so only AEs and SEs working an active deal see them - competitor intel doesn't leak across the org.
Compliance teams share regulatory-review drafts with two named legal partners; the documents stay invisible to anyone who isn't on the named-recipient list.
Project teams use Privately Shared for in-flight engineering specs, opening access progressively as the design moves from concept through review to release.
Trust & references
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on File, Privately Shared.
- Share Files with People in Lightning ExperienceSalesforce Help
Test your knowledge
Q1. Which Salesforce Cloud is File, Privately Shared most closely associated with?
Q2. What best describes the purpose of File, Privately Shared in Salesforce?
Q3. What happens when File, Privately Shared data is not maintained properly in Salesforce?
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