Data Cloud Standard Permission Sets

Permission sets determine the level of access and visibility Salesforce users have to Data Cloud features and data. Salesforce provides six standard permission sets for Data Cloud, which administrators assign to users. While it is possible to create custom permission sets, it is generally recommended to use the standard ones, as they are updated automatically with each release. However, these can be combined with other Salesforce permission sets to expand user access as needed.

Identifying Your Data Cloud License

To check your org’s Data Cloud license:

1. Go to Setup → Permission Sets
2. Review the License field for your Data Cloud standard permission sets.

• If the license is Data Cloud, this guide applies.
• If the license is Customer Data Platform, refer to the Customer Data Platform Standard Permission Sets guide.

Important: For details on the transition from legacy standard permission sets to enhanced standard permission sets, see Data Cloud Permission Set Naming Changes During the Enhanced Security Migration Period.

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System Administrator Access

System Administrators can manage and assign users within Setup and access Data Cloud Setup. They must have either the System Administrator user profile or permissions that grant access to Salesforce Setup.

Note: A Data Cloud standard permission set is not required to access Data Cloud Setup.

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Data Cloud Standard Permission Sets

General Data Cloud Permission Sets

These permission sets can be assigned to users and combined with other Salesforce permission sets:

• Data Cloud Admin – Full access to all Data Cloud features, including data mapping, data streams, identity resolution rulesets, and insights.
• Data Cloud User – Read-only access to view Data Cloud features.

Marketing-Specific Permission Sets

Organizations with the Segmentation and Activation Add-On License, commonly used with Marketing Cloud Engagement and third-party applications, have additional marketing-specific permission sets:

• Data Cloud Marketing Admin – Manages system configuration, support, maintenance, and internal audits.
• Data Cloud Data Aware Specialist – Responsible for data mapping, data stream creation, identity resolution rulesets, and calculated insights.
• Data Cloud Marketing Manager – Oversees segmentation strategy, activation targets, and activations.
• Data Cloud Marketing Specialist – Creates segments for marketing initiatives.

For details on the Segmentation and Activation Add-On License, contact your account executive.

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Feature Access by Permission Set

The following table outlines the access levels for each permission set:

| Feature | System Admin | Data Cloud Admin | Data Cloud User | Data Cloud Marketing Admin | Data Cloud Data Aware Specialist | Data Cloud Marketing Manager | Data Cloud Marketing Specialist | |—|—|—|—|—|—|—|
| Data Cloud Setup | Full Access | | | | | |
| Data Space Management | Full Access | | | | | |
| Data Additions to a Data Space | | Full Access | | Full Access | Full Access | |
| Data Streams | | Full Access | View Only | Full Access | Full Access | View Only | View Only |
| Data Shares | | Full Access | View Only | View Only | Full Access | View Only | View Only |
| Data Lake Objects | | Full Access | View Only | Full Access | Full Access | View Only | View Only |
| Data Transforms | | Full Access | View Only | Full Access | Full Access | View Only | View Only |
| Data Model | | Full Access | View Only | Full Access | Full Access | View Only | View Only |
| Identity Resolution | | Full Access | View Only | Full Access | Full Access | View Only | View Only |
| Calculated Insights | | Full Access | View Only | Full Access | Full Access | View Only | View Only |
| Segments | | | Full Access | View Only | Full Access | Full Access | |
| Activation & Targets | | | Full Access | View Only | Full Access | View Only | |
| Communication Capping Setup | Full Access | | | | | |
| Search Index Configurations | | Full Access | View Only | Full Access | Full Access | View Only | View Only |

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Best Practice: Use Standard Permission Sets

It is strongly recommended to assign standard permission sets rather than creating custom ones. Standard permission sets are automatically updated with each release, ensuring users have access to the latest features. Custom permission sets may not include new functionality, potentially limiting access to new capabilities.

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Customer Data Platform Standard Permission Sets

Salesforce provides four standard permission sets for Customer Data Platform (CDP) licensed orgs. These define access to Data Cloud features under the CDP contract.

For details, refer to Customer Data Platform Standard Permission Sets in Data Cloud documentation.

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Data Cloud Permission Set Changes During the Enhanced Security Migration

Starting November 2023, Salesforce introduced enhanced security measures, renaming existing Data Cloud standard permission sets and creating new permission sets with similar names in all Data Cloud orgs.

Refer to the Data Cloud Permission Set Naming Changes documentation for details.

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Creating Custom Permission Sets in Data Cloud

If a custom permission set is required, it is best to clone an existing standard permission set rather than creating one from scratch. Some Data Cloud features may not be accessible if a permission set is built manually.