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Anonymize Feature Highlights
The Anonymize application provides its users with the ability to mask sandbox data. Masking data using Anonymize is accomplished by first creating and then configuring an anonymization template. There are several key Anonymize features that can help you configure the template.
Here are several key Anonymize features that
Custom Replacement
Use the Custom Replacement Value feature to define custom patterns for generating replacement values to mask object field data. The custom pattern building block options are:
- Library (categories)
- Custom (lists)
- Free Text
- Number Range
- Existing Value
- Characters (random strings)
Use these custom pattern building blocks either individually or in combination to generate replacement values for masking. For details, see the Using Custom Replacement Values to Anonymize Data documentation.
Existing Value
Use the Existing Value custom pattern building block to add a prefix, a suffix, or both a prefix and suffix to an object field’s:
- Entire existing value
- A portion of the existing value
Anonymize supports generating replacement values in different languages. The specific language that Anonymize uses to generate replacement values is based on the Locale that you select in the anonymization template. The selected Locale controls:
- The language used to generate replacement values
- Replacement value format (for example, phone number format)
- Available replacement value options (for example, if the selected Locale is Japanese, the generated name, street, and city replacement values are specific to Japan)
Parity Support
Anonymize masks field values of the same field type that are found in an object’s many records in the same proportion as the original field values. Doing so, maintains the data distribution and integrity of the pre-masked, object record data.
Example: The object Contact contains the field City, which is configured to be masked. The object Contact has 5,000 records which have the following distribution of values for the field City:
- 30% have the value Tokyo
- 20% have the value Bangkok
- 25% have the value Singapore
- 25% have the value Beijing
During its masking of the object field City, Anonymize maintains the same percent distribution for the masked field values - 30% are masked with value <zz>, 20% are masked with value <bb>, 25% are masked with value<yy> , and 25% are masked with value <aa>.
For more information, see How Anonymization Works.
Generate Synthetic Data
In a given anonymize template, select the Fill if Empty option for one or more object fields, to generate synthetic data during an anonymize job using that template. During anonymize processing, if the Fill if Empty option is selected for an object field and that field is empty in an object record, the field is still assigned a generated value. The value that is generated for the record’s field is determined by the Replace with option that is selected in the anonymize template for that field.
For each object record where that same field is empty, anonymize processing generates a different value in the field. The generated value is always based on the Replace with option that is selected in the anonymize template for that field.
API Enabled
In addition to working in the Anonymize UI, you can also use API to execute anonymize jobs.
Multi-Sandbox Management
Anonymize has a unified view of all anonymize jobs, their execution, their progress, and their reported results, across multiple sandboxes.
Masking Functions
Perform any of these masking functions using Salesforce's Data Mask:
- Delete attachments
- Delete Case Comments
- Delete Chatter
- Delete emails
- Scheduler: Schedule future masking jobs;, Schedule recurring masking jobs; Schedule masking jobs that run immediately upon sandbox refresh.
- Handle Compliance Categorization and Data Sensitivity Level of Salesforce Fields
For Salesforce fields assigned a Data Sensitivity Level or a Compliance Categorization, the Anonymize application sets a data sensitivity level for the field and identifies if the field needs to be anonymized. The status of the field is shown in the anonymize template.
