You can protect sensitive information stored in a custom contact field in Zoho Marketing Automation, formerly called Zoho MarketingHub, by encrypting it. Encryption scrambles the stored data so that only authorised access can read it. Zoho uses AES, the Advanced Encryption Standard, which relies on keys to encrypt and decrypt data. This article explains where to switch it on and what to think about first.
What you can encrypt
Custom fields on contacts. Zoho Marketing Automation lets you create custom fields to hold extra information about each contact, with your own field types and character limits. Zoho's guide says an account can have up to 150 custom fields, of which up to 75 can be text fields. You need the matching permission on the Custom Fields tab to work with them.
How to encrypt a field
When you create a new custom field
- Click Settings in the top right corner of the page.
- Under General, choose Contact Fields, and open the Custom Fields tab.
- Click Add Custom Field and fill in the details.
- Tick the Encrypt field checkbox, and save.
For an existing custom field
- Go to Settings, then Contact Fields under General, and open the Custom Fields tab.
- Click More beside the field you want, and choose Edit.
- Tick the Encrypt field checkbox, and save the change.
What the guide does not say: whether encrypted fields can still be used in segments, filters, merge tags, and reports, and what limits apply to the number of encrypted fields. Other Zoho products restrict some of these, so do not assume it works the same way here. Test with a spare field before you encrypt one your campaigns depend on.
Our advice
This section is our own advice, not Zoho's.
- Decide what really needs it. Encryption suits genuinely sensitive values, such as identity or health-related details. If you do not need to store the data at all, the safest choice is not to collect it.
- Encrypt before you load data, where you can, so you do not have a period when the field is unprotected.
- Remember it is one control among several. Restrict who has access to contact data, and check which integrations, such as Zoho CRM sync, pass the field on.
- Think about data protection law. Encryption helps meet security duties under UK data protection law, but it does not replace a lawful basis, a privacy notice, or a retention policy. This is general guidance and not legal advice.
Need help? As a Zoho Partner serving the UK and Ireland, we can review which fields in your contact data need protecting, set up encryption, and check it against your data protection obligations. Email
zoho@1cloudconsultants.com or
raise a support request with 1 Cloud Consultants.