The Spring '26 release is rolling out between January and February 2026, and there are some genuinely useful updates in this one. Here's my take on the features that caught my attention, from long-awaited Flow improvements to significant Shield enhancements.
1. Compare Screen Flow Versions
This one is a game-changer for anyone managing complex Flows. Version bloat has been one of the longest-running frustrations for Flow builders. Even with careful descriptions, it's easy to lose track of what actually changed between versions, especially when a flow is large and complex.
Winter '26 introduced version comparison for most Flow types, but screen flows were notably excluded. Spring '26 closes that gap. You can now use the "Compare Versions" action directly from the Flow's record in the Automation app to see exactly what changed between any two versions of a screen flow.
For orgs with dozens of active screen flows powering user-facing processes, this removes a lot of guesswork when troubleshooting or auditing changes.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
2. Navigate to Flows from Custom Lightning Components
Spring '26 adds a standard Flow PageReference type, allowing custom Lightning components to navigate directly to flows in Lightning Experience. Previously, you had to construct URLs manually or work around limitations with the lightning-flow component.
The use case here is admittedly niche, but if you're building custom navigation experiences or dashboards that need to launch flows programmatically, this provides a cleaner, more maintainable approach than URL hacking.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
3. Field Audit Trail Limit Increased to 200 Fields
For Shield customers, this is significant. The Field Audit Trail limit jumps from 60 to 200 fields per object. That's more than triple the previous capacity.
In regulated industries like financial services and healthcare, tracking field-level changes is often a compliance requirement. The 60-field limit frequently forced difficult decisions about which fields to audit. With 200 fields available, most orgs will have room to track everything that matters without compromise.
Spring '26 also introduces a new Field History Explorer that lets you download metadata and revert changes to tracked fields directly, which adds another layer of utility to the Field Audit Trail investment.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
4. Automatic Storage for Real-Time Events
This one's been a long time coming. Shield's Real-Time Event Monitoring has always required manual configuration to store events in big objects. Spring '26 adds automatic storage for select real-time events, reducing the setup burden and ensuring critical security data doesn't slip through the cracks.
The new Shield app consolidates all Shield features (Data Detect, Field Audit Trail, Platform Encryption, and Event Monitoring) into a single interface, making it easier to manage your security investment holistically.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
5. MuleSoft IDP for Flow (Generally Available)
MuleSoft Intelligent Document Processing goes GA in Spring '26, and it's now accessible directly from Flow. This means you can extract data from invoices, purchase orders, and other unstructured or semi-structured documents using AI, then process that data within your automation.
The technology uses multimodal large language models to interpret both text and images. You create document actions that define what to extract, and the output comes back as structured JSON ready for further processing.
I'd like to see this in action with real-world documents. The promise of bringing IDP capabilities directly into Flow, without external service subscriptions, could be genuinely useful for document-heavy processes like loan applications, claims processing, or vendor onboarding.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
6. Preview Files Natively in Screen Flows
The new File Preview component lets users view files directly within a screen flow without opening new tabs or downloading. You pass a ContentDocumentId to the component, and Salesforce handles the rendering.
This is particularly useful for approval workflows, document verification, and any process where someone needs to review a file before taking action. The component also supports multiple files through repeaters and works reactively, meaning you can preview a file immediately after upload.
It's a nice-to-have rather than transformational, but it does eliminate a friction point in document-centric flows.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
7. Visually Distinct Messages in Screen Flows
Screen flows get a new Message component that displays info, success, warning, or error messages with appropriate styling (colors and icons). Previously, admins had to build workarounds to communicate status or guidance to users mid-flow.
Spring '26 also brings enhanced styling options for screen flows overall: background colors, borders, border radius, and separate styling for Next/Finish, Previous, and Pause buttons. You can even define different styles for default, hover, and active button states.
For orgs that care about the user experience of their flows (and you should), these additions remove the need for custom components just to achieve basic visual polish.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
8. 10 GB File Size Limit
Salesforce Files now supports uploads up to 10 GB, up from the previous 2 GB limit. For orgs with significant file storage (we're seeing some with over 1 TB), this removes a barrier for handling large media files, engineering documents, or other hefty assets.
This is particularly relevant for Experience Cloud portals where external users might need to upload substantial files. Combined with the malware scanning below, file management is getting a meaningful upgrade.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
9. File Malware Scanning (Beta)
Salesforce now scans uploaded files for malware. When a user uploads a file through the UI, it's scanned before completing. If a malicious file is uploaded via API, it's scanned asynchronously and flagged in a new Malicious Files list. Downloads of flagged files are blocked.
For Experience Cloud portals where external users can upload files, this addresses a genuine security gap. It's a beta feature, so expect some refinement, but it's good to see Salesforce building this natively rather than leaving it entirely to third-party solutions.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
10. Shorter Certificate Lifespans
Here's the one that will require action rather than excitement. TLS certificate lifespans are decreasing industry-wide, moving from 398 days down to 47 days by 2029. Salesforce is adopting these new CA/Browser Forum standards.
The practical impact: Salesforce will stop announcing certificate rotations, and any orgs using certificate pinning need to discontinue that practice. New certificates will have shorter lifespans starting in 2026, though existing certificates keep their current expiration dates.
If your integrations rely on pinned certificates, start planning now. The recommendation is to use the Certificate Metadata API for automated updates and assign the Expired Certificate Notification permission to relevant admins.
View in Salesforce Release Notes →
What This Means for Regulated Industries
Several of these updates address long-standing pain points in financial services and healthcare:
- Field Audit Trail expansion: The jump to 200 fields per object means compliance teams no longer have to make hard choices about what to track. For banks dealing with FINRA requirements or healthcare orgs navigating HIPAA, this removes a significant constraint.
- Automatic event storage: Security and compliance teams need comprehensive audit trails. Automatic storage reduces the risk of gaps in your event data.
- File malware scanning: Any org running a customer or patient portal where external users upload documents should take note. Native scanning adds a security layer that previously required third-party tools.
- MuleSoft IDP: Document-heavy processes are everywhere in regulated industries, from loan applications and KYC documents in banking to claims and authorization forms in healthcare. Bringing intelligent document processing directly into Flow could streamline these workflows significantly.
If you're evaluating how Spring '26 impacts your compliance posture or want help prioritizing these features for your org, we're happy to discuss.
Release Timeline
Spring '26 sandbox preview began January 9-10, 2026. Production rollouts are scheduled for January 10, February 14, and February 21, depending on your instance.