---
title: "Secure fields"
section: "Builder Guide"
canonical_url: "https://support.buildwithhq.com/builder-guide/secure-fields.html"
reviewed_at: "2026-10-22"
authority: Official
---

# Secure fields

Per-field encryption for your most sensitive data — and what it deliberately turns off.

## In brief

- **Audience:** Builders
- **Security level:** Field-level encryption
- **Trade-off:** No search on encrypted fields

Supported Contact secure fields provide encrypted storage, masked display and an explicit permission-checked reveal. Availability depends on the module, field definition and configured key protection. Do not assume that every field or module has a working reveal flow. Confirm the enabled controls in your app before storing sensitive values.

## What changes when a field is secure

- Values are stored encrypted; they never sit readable in the database.
- Reading requires an explicit **reveal** action by an authorized user — values don't display in lists by default.
- **The field drops out of search and AI features entirely.** Encrypted values are invisible to search indexing and to AI assistants — structurally, not as a setting someone could misconfigure.

Important

The search trade-off is the point, not a limitation to work around. If a field must be searchable, it cannot be a secure field — decide which property matters more for each field before enabling.

## What to secure

Good candidates: government ID numbers, bank details, health notes, credential-like values. Poor candidates: names and emails you need to search by, fields that drive workflow branching.

---

Capability review: 2026-10-22. [View the canonical guide](https://support.buildwithhq.com/builder-guide/secure-fields.html).