My Settings
My Settings is the per-user Salesforce area where individual users configure their personal preferences: display language, locale, time zone, email signature, calendar visibility, notification preferences, password, and various smaller settings.
Definition
My Settings is the per-user Salesforce area where individual users configure their personal preferences: display language, locale, time zone, email signature, calendar visibility, notification preferences, password, and various smaller settings. The area is accessible from the user avatar menu in the top-right corner of Lightning Experience, opening a guided menu of categorized settings (Personal, Display & Layout, Email, Calendar & Reminders, Chatter, etc.). Unlike Setup, which holds org-wide configuration controlled by administrators, My Settings holds per-user preferences controlled by the user themselves.
The area is the user-facing counterpart to admin-set defaults. The org default Locale is set in Setup; the user's personal Locale override is in My Settings. The org default Email Footer is set in Setup; the user's email signature is in My Settings. Each user can configure their own experience without admin involvement, within the bounds the admin allows. Some settings have admin-side enforcement: an org with mandatory MFA prevents the user from disabling it through My Settings.
What My Settings contains
Personal Information
The Personal Information section lets users update their name, email, phone, and other contact details on their User record. Some fields are locked (Username, Profile) because they require admin action; others are user-editable. Changes here flow into the org User record and trigger any related automation (workflows on User updates).
Display and Layout
Users configure their default Salesforce app, the home page they land on, language and locale preferences, theme, accessibility options, and various display defaults. The settings here override org defaults for that user only; they do not affect other users.
Email settings
Per-user email configuration: default From address, email signature, work email setting, send through settings (Salesforce versus user mail server through Send Through Gmail or Outlook). The signature is the personal close to outbound emails; it is separate from the org-wide email footer (legal disclaimers).
Calendar and Reminders
Per-user calendar preferences, including default views, work hours, reminder defaults, and Outlook/Google Calendar sync settings. The Calendar sync is configured here even though the underlying capability is enabled by admins in Setup.
Chatter settings
Per-user Chatter preferences: email digest frequency, notification preferences (which Chatter events produce email or mobile push), Auto-Follow preferences. Chatter notifications can be the source of "I am drowning in notifications" complaints; users tune the preferences here.
Security: Identity Verification methods
Users register and manage their Identity Verification methods (Salesforce Authenticator, SMS, email, FIDO key) in My Settings. The admin sets policy; the user picks which methods to use. Encourage users to register multiple methods to avoid lockout.
Email to Salesforce auto address
Users generate their personal Email to Salesforce auto address in My Settings (if the feature is enabled org-wide). The address is unique per user and persistent for the lifetime of the user account.
Configure My Settings for a new user
Navigating My Settings is straightforward but the breadth of available preferences means many users never explore them. The steps below cover the highest-value configurations for a new user.
- Open My Settings
Click your avatar in the top-right of Lightning Experience. Choose Settings.
- Set personal email signature
Personal > My Email Settings. Add your signature. It appears on outbound mail sent through Salesforce.
- Configure Identity Verification methods
Personal > Advanced User Details > Identity Verification. Register Salesforce Authenticator (recommended) plus a backup method.
- Set default app and home page
Display & Layout > Customize My Tabs. Configure the apps you use most.
- Tune Chatter notifications
Chatter > Email Notifications. Set frequency for digest emails; disable notifications you do not need.
- Configure calendar preferences
Calendar & Reminders. Set default view, work hours, reminder defaults. Configure Outlook/Google sync if available.
- Generate Email to Salesforce address
Email > My Email to Salesforce. Generate your auto address. Add to your mail client as BCC for activity logging.
Name, email, phone updates.
Default app, home page, language, locale.
Signature, Email to Salesforce, send-through configuration.
Calendar preferences and sync.
Per-user registration of verification factors.
- Some settings are admin-controlled. Users cannot override mandatory MFA or strict password policies.
- Email signature is per-user. The org-wide footer is separate; both append to outbound mail.
- Single-method Identity Verification is risky. Encourage users to register multiple methods.
- Chatter notifications can overwhelm. Tuning is per-user; admins cannot reduce volume centrally.
- Email to Salesforce auto address requires admin enablement before users can generate. Confirm feature is on org-wide.
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. What is My Settings?
Q2. How do you access My Settings?
Q3. What can users configure?
Discussion
Loading discussion…