Release Updates
Release Updates is a Setup page that lists upcoming and recently enforced Salesforce platform changes that may affect the org.
Definition
Release Updates is a Setup page that lists upcoming and recently enforced Salesforce platform changes that may affect the org. Each update includes a description, impact assessment, enforcement date, and the option to test the update before it is automatically enforced, giving administrators time to prepare.
In plain English
“Here's a simple way to think about it: Release Updates is the page that tells you what's about to change in your org. Salesforce ships three releases a year; the breaking changes show up here with enforcement dates and Test Now buttons.”
Worked example
The admin at Velocity Partners reviews Release Updates and sees that a security update requiring HTTPS for all Visualforce pages will be enforced next quarter. She clicks "Test This Update" to enable it in a sandbox, identifies three legacy Visualforce pages that reference HTTP resources, updates them, and is ready well before the enforcement date.
Why Release Updates is the page that tells you what's about to change in your org
Salesforce ships three releases a year, and each one includes both new features (opt-in) and platform changes that affect existing functionality (opt-out for a window, then automatically enforced). Release Updates is the page where those changes show up. Each line item describes what's changing, when it becomes mandatory, and what your org should do to prepare - including a Test Now button that simulates the post-change behavior in your live environment.
The reason it's worth checking every release rather than once a year is that the changes that matter most are usually the breaking ones. A subtle behavior shift in how Apex handles a corner case, a tightened security default, a removed legacy feature - any of these can produce a surprise outage on the enforcement date if no one tested in advance. Block calendar time during preview windows, run the Test Now button against representative orgs, and address the items that fail before they get enforced.
How to set up Release Updates
Release Updates are the Salesforce-managed list of changes coming in upcoming releases — security improvements, performance changes, feature retirements. The Release Updates page lets you preview changes, test them in your sandbox, and accept (or defer) before they auto-enable.
- Open Setup → Release Updates
Setup gear → Quick Find: Release Updates → Release Updates.
- Review pending updates
Each update has a description, an Enforcement Date (when it auto-enables), Risk Level, and a Test instructions link.
- For each update: read the description and impact
Some updates are net-positive (better security defaults). Others are breaking (require code or config changes). Read carefully.
- Click Get Started or Test Now
Most updates have a sandbox test path — enable in a sandbox first, validate, then accept in production.
- Test in a Sandbox
Replicate production setup, run regression tests with the update on, identify any breakage.
- Accept or Defer
Accept: enable in production immediately. Defer: leave it off until the Enforcement Date, when Salesforce auto-enables. Defer is rarely advisable for security updates.
Per-update guided enablement.
When Salesforce auto-enables the update regardless of your action. Usually 1-3 releases (4-12 months) ahead.
Salesforce-assigned: Low / Medium / High. Higher = more likely to break things in your org.
Optional. Tells Salesforce "I've seen this; not yet." Doesn't change Enforcement Date.
- Enforcement Dates are real. After the date, Salesforce enables the change whether you've accepted or not. Don't ignore Release Updates and assume they'll wait.
- Some updates change defaults (e.g. Allow Anonymous Apex). Existing custom code or integrations that rely on the old default break silently. Test in a sandbox before accepting.
- The list can be long. Sort by Enforcement Date ascending and tackle the soonest first — those are the ones with the least time to react if something breaks.
How organizations use Release Updates
Tested every Release Update during preview window; deployment-day surprises eliminated.
Compliance team reviews every Release Update for regulatory implications; some are deferred until policy review concludes.
Test Now button caught a Lightning rendering change that would have broken the patient portal; fixed before enforcement.
Trust & references
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Release Updates.
- Release UpdatesSalesforce Help
- Manage Release UpdatesSalesforce Help
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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