How would you troubleshoot record access when OWD is set to Private but a user can still view another user's records?

Hi @SAITEJA B Good question! Even when OWD is set to Private, users may still access other users' records through additional sharing settings or permissions.

1. Steps to Troubleshoot Record Access

1. Check OWD: Confirm the object's default access is Private.
2. Profile & Permission Sets: Check for View All, Modify All, or View All Data permissions.
3. Role Hierarchy: Verify whether the user is above the record owner in the hierarchy.
4. Sharing Rules: Check owner-based and criteria-based sharing rules.
5. Manual Sharing: Verify whether the record was shared directly with the user.
6. Account/Opportunity Teams: Check whether team membership provides access.
7. Public Groups: Review group membership and record-sharing permissions.

2. How to Identify the Exact Access Source

• Open the record → Sharing Hierarchy to review who has access and why.
• Use the UserRecordAccess object to check the user's effective record permissions.
• Review the object's Share records for additional sharing details.

3. Official Salesforce Documentation

• Control Access to Records
• Salesforce Data Security
• UserRecordAccess Object

Create two test users, set Account OWD to Private, and grant access through different sharing methods. Then investigate how each user received access.

Key Point:

OWD defines the minimum record access. Other permissions and sharing mechanisms can provide additional access. 

Hope this helps! Venkat Yadav | SFDCINDIA