Recent Items
Recent Items is the Salesforce UI component that lists the records each user has most recently viewed, giving the user a one-click path back to records they opened earlier in the session or recent days.
Definition
Recent Items is the Salesforce UI component that lists the records each user has most recently viewed, giving the user a one-click path back to records they opened earlier in the session or recent days. In Lightning Experience it appears as the Recent Records dropdown on each object's standard tab and as a section in the global search results dropdown. In the older Classic interface it appeared in the left sidebar on every page.
Recent Items is per-user and per-object. Each user sees their own list, scoped to records they personally viewed; another user looking at the same screen sees a completely different list. Salesforce tracks the views automatically; there is no manual add or remove. The platform caps the list at the most recent 10 to 50 records depending on context, and the records age out as the user views new ones. The data lives in the RecentlyViewed virtual object and is queryable through SOQL using FOR VIEW or FOR REFERENCE clauses.
How Recent Items helps users navigate and how admins should think about it
How Salesforce records a view
Every time a user opens a record detail page, Salesforce writes an entry into the per-user RecentlyViewed cache for that object. The view is also recorded when the user opens a record from a lookup dialog, hovers a related record, or runs a report that includes the record. SOQL queries can mark records as viewed by appending FOR VIEW or FOR REFERENCE to the query (used in custom Lightning components to keep the platform's view tracking accurate when records are rendered without a detail page open).
Where Recent Items appears in Lightning
On every standard object tab (Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities), Lightning Experience shows a Recently Viewed list view at the top of the tab. The user can switch to other list views from a dropdown, but Recently Viewed is the default landing list. Global Search also shows a Recent Items section in the dropdown before the user types anything, with up to 10 entries per object. The Lightning App Builder lets admins add a Recent Items component to any custom page.
The RecentlyViewed object in SOQL
Recent Items data is queryable as the RecentlyViewed virtual object. A query like SELECT Id, Name FROM RecentlyViewed WHERE Type = 'Account' ORDER BY LastViewedDate DESC LIMIT 10 returns the current user's recent Accounts. Custom Lightning components and Visualforce pages use this query to render personalized recent-record cards. The object is per-user (you cannot query another user's recent items) and read-only.
Most Recently Used vs Most Recently Viewed
Salesforce distinguishes two slightly different concepts. Most Recently Viewed is the strict last-view list per object, capped at 10 entries. Most Recently Used is a broader behavioral signal that powers the lookup dialog default-suggestions and the search autocomplete; it weights frequency alongside recency and is not directly queryable. The two are related but produce different ordering, which is why a lookup dropdown sometimes shows a record that does not appear in the visible Recent Items list.
Per-user scope and privacy implications
Recent Items respects every sharing rule. A user only sees records they have read access to, even in the Recent Items list. If their access is revoked after they viewed a record, the record disappears from their recent list immediately. This matters for compliance: Recent Items does not leak the existence of records the user no longer has access to. It also means a user who switches profiles mid-session may lose access to records that were in their Recent Items moments ago.
Mobile and Salesforce App
The Salesforce mobile app surfaces Recent Items on the home screen, scoped to the same view-tracking cache as desktop. Records viewed on mobile appear in desktop Recent Items and vice versa, because the cache is server-side per user. The mobile UI typically shows a slightly shorter list (5 to 10 entries) to fit the smaller screen. The cross-device continuity is useful for reps switching from a desk to a phone mid-task.
Customizing Recent Items components
The Lightning App Builder lets admins drop a Recent Items component onto any custom home page, app page, or record page. The component takes a list of objects to include and the maximum number of records per object. This is how teams build custom Home pages with a curated Recent Items view (Accounts only, or Opportunities and Cases only) so reps see exactly the records they need without scrolling through every object type.
Surface Recent Items on a custom Lightning Home page
Add a tuned Recent Items component to a custom Home page so reps see their most-viewed Opportunities and Accounts as soon as they log in, without scrolling through every object.
- Open the Lightning App Builder
Setup, Lightning App Builder. Pick the Home page you want to edit, or click New to create a new Home page.
- Drag a Recent Items component onto the page
The component lives in the standard library on the left. Drop it into the right column or wherever fits the layout.
- Configure included objects
In the component property pane, select the objects to include (Opportunity, Account, Case, etc.) and the maximum records per object.
- Set component title
Set a clear title (My Recent Sales Records) so users understand what the list contains.
- Activate and assign
Activate the Home page and assign it to the relevant App, Profile, or App page. Save.
- Verify as a test user
Log in as a sales rep. Confirm the Recent Items component shows the rep's recent records, ordered by view time.
Multi-select of which objects appear in the component (Opportunity, Account, Case, custom objects).
Cap on how many entries per object appear in the list.
Most Recently Viewed (default) or alphabetical.
Customizable label shown above the list.
- Recent Items respect sharing. A user who lost access to a record will not see it in Recent Items even if they viewed it minutes ago.
- The RecentlyViewed object is per-user. Admins cannot query another user's recent items via SOQL; the only path is through the impersonation flow.
- Lookup dropdowns use Most Recently Used, not the visible Recent Items list. Records visible in a lookup suggestion may not appear in the user's main Recent Items view.
- Recent Items caps at 10 to 50 records per object depending on context. Older views age out automatically; there is no way to expand the cache size.
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
- Recent Records in Lightning ExperienceSalesforce Help
- RecentlyViewed Object ReferenceSalesforce Developer Docs
- Lightning App BuilderSalesforce Help
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Recent Items.
- Recent Records DocumentationSalesforce Help
- SOQL FOR VIEW ClauseSalesforce Developer Docs
- Global SearchSalesforce Help
Hands-on resources to go deeper on Recent Items.
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.
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