---
schema_version: "1"
id: 9fe984fced0c93a8b001615d5873c96fb38b9ee488cbdbc25c71ecda9428b0ab
title: Allow Users to Create Private Contacts
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/sales/264-0-0/contacts_private.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.contacts_private.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 0a62af593e01594c2594f38434ae4fa1090745153d03584d65c6e1d34b5f6223
description: Private contacts are contacts that aren’t associated with an account. To give your users the ability to create private contacts, adjust your contact page layouts so the Account Name field isn’t required.
products:
  - Sales Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Allow Users to Create Private Contacts

Private contacts are contacts that aren’t associated with an account. To give your users the ability to create private contacts, adjust your contact page layouts so the Account Name field isn’t required.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: all editions</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small ">
        <colgroup>
          <col style="width:50%">
          <col style="width:50%">
        </colgroup>
        <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
          <tr class="">
            <th scope="colgroup" class="slds-cell-wrap" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" id="d54577e63">User Permissions Needed</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d54577e63 ">To customize page layouts:</td>

            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d54577e63 ">Customize Application</td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d54577e63 ">To view page layouts:</td>

            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d54577e63 ">View Setup and Configuration</td>

          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>

Contacts that aren’t associated with an account are always private, regardless of your organization’s sharing model. Before allowing private contacts, consider the downside: they're easy to forget because they're hidden from all users except their owner and your Salesforce admin.

1. From the object management settings for contacts, go to Page Layouts.
2. Select the layout you want to edit.
3. Find the Account Name field on the layout and hover over it. Then, click the wrench icon to show the field properties.
4. Deselect the Required checkbox.
5. Confirm your changes.