Smash the Salesforce Certified Identity and Access Management Exam 2026 – Your Path to Power!

Delegated Authentication SSO in Salesforce allows you to use a token for authentication. This mechanism lets organizations manage user authentication through a third-party system in a secure manner, relying on tokens that confirm a user's identity without storing the actual credentials within Salesforce itself.

The process typically works by validating the user's credentials externally and, upon successful verification, returning a token that Salesforce can use to authenticate the user. This method enhances security by reducing the exposure of sensitive information and enables organizations to leverage their own authentication systems or processes, leading to a smoother single sign-on experience for users.

While integrating with OpenID Connect providers, secure IdPs, or Active Directory can be components of an overall identity and access management strategy, those options typically encapsulate broader standards or architectures rather than the specific mechanism of using tokens directly associated with Delegated Authentication. This distinction is key in understanding Delegated Authentication SSO's unique role in Salesforce's identity management landscape.