Salesforce Sharing and Visibility Certification Practice Exam

For a custom object with a public read/write sharing rule, what is required to further control access?

1. Custom Profiles

2. Custom Permission Sets

3. Individual User Permissions

4. Sharing Rules

The correct answer is: Sharing Rules

When a custom object has a public read/write sharing rule, it means that all users have read and write access to the records of that object. However, if there's a need for more granular control over access—allowing or restricting access for specific users or groups—sharing rules can be utilized. Sharing rules are designed to extend access to users beyond the default permissions set by their profiles and provide additional control over who can view or edit specific records. They allow administrators to define access levels based on criteria that are not defined by the underlying profile permissions. By creating sharing rules, you can specify which users or groups should have access to specific records in the custom object. This is particularly valuable in scenarios where broader, public access does not align with business needs, or when sensitive data within the object should be restricted from certain users while still being available to others. In contrast, options like custom profiles, custom permission sets, and individual user permissions provide settings for baseline access but do not offer the same level of record-specific adjustment that sharing rules allow. Hence, when looking to further refine access within a context that has already established public read/write permissions, sharing rules are essential.