---
schema_version: "1"
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title: What's the difference between private items in both Salesforce for Outlook (Retiring) and Microsoft® Outlook®?
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/sales/264-0-0/faq_sfo_private_items.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.faq_sfo_private_items.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 786fc395d8a5e2e9db446a23f69c2439720943f6ff5bb20bf7888228d5b89971
description: Private items in Microsoft Outlook and Salesforce differ in unexpected ways. Before choosing to sync private events, consider how they’re displayed to colleagues in each system.
products:
  - Sales Cloud
  - Cross Cloud
  - Service Cloud Voice
release: "264"
---
# What's the difference between private items in both Salesforce for Outlook (Retiring) and Microsoft® Outlook®?

Private items in Microsoft Outlook and Salesforce differ in unexpected ways. Before choosing to sync private events, consider how they’re displayed to colleagues in each system.

![Important](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sales-sales_productivity-264-0-0-production-enus/b2f6c36a-fa61-4a3c-9752-032ce1818a69/images/icon_important.png)

Important Full product retirement for Salesforce for Outlook is scheduled on January 30, 2027. See [Salesforce for Outlook Retirement](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=000393445&type=1&mode=1&language=en_US). To keep integrating Microsoft Outlook with Salesforce, check out our next-generation products: the Outlook integration and Einstein Activity Capture. See [Move from Salesforce for Outlook (Retiring) to the Next-Generation Products](https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=outlookcrm_sfo_move_parent.htm&language=en_US).

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small ">
        <colgroup>
          <col style="width:14.046822742474916%">
          <col style="width:41.80602006688963%">
          <col style="width:44.14715719063545%">
        </colgroup>
        <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
          <tr class="">
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d165705e52">Item</th>
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d165705e55">Private in Outlook</th>
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d165705e58">Marked private in Salesforce</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Item" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d165705e52 ">Contacts</td>

            <td data-label="Private in Outlook" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d165705e55 ">Your Exchange administrator can see your contacts. Other users cannot.</td>

            <td data-label="Marked private in Salesforce" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d165705e58 ">
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Other Salesforce users can see contacts that are associated with
                accounts.</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Contacts that aren’t associated with accounts are private and aren’t
                visible to other Salesforce users except for Salesforce administrators who can view,
                edit, and report on contacts.</p>
            </td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Item" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d165705e52 ">Events</td>

            <td data-label="Private in Outlook" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d165705e55 ">Your Exchange administrator can see your events. Other users cannot.</td>

            <td data-label="Marked private in Salesforce" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d165705e58 ">Only blocks of time, and not event details are visible to other Salesforce users,
              except for Salesforce administrators who can view, edit, and report on events.</td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Item" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d165705e52 ">Tasks</td>

            <td data-label="Private in Outlook" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d165705e55 ">Your Exchange administrator can see your tasks. Other users cannot.</td>

            <td data-label="Marked private in Salesforce" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d165705e58 ">Salesforce doesn’t include any means for keeping tasks private. So other
              Salesforce users can see your tasks.</td>

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

#### See Also

- [Salesforce for Outlook (Retiring)](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.outlookcrm_sfo_about.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Sync contacts, events, and tasks between your desktop-based version of Outlook and Salesforce. Select an email in Outlook to see related Salesforce records, like leads, contacts, tasks, and opportunities. And relate that email to the Salesforce records of your choice.")
- [Syncing Between Salesforce for Outlook (Retiring) and Microsoft® Outlook®](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.outlookcrm_sync.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Stop duplicating your contacts, events, and tasks in Outlook and Salesforce and start syncing between the two systems with Salesforce for Outlook.")