SharePoint List View Filter by Current User (Using [Me] – Step by Step)

Do you want to make sure your SharePoint list only shows items relevant to the person viewing it? Whether you’re building a task tracker, an expense submission list, or an HR portal, filtering list views by the current user is one of the most practical things you can do in SharePoint Online.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about SharePoint view filter by user — what it means, how it works, and multiple ways to set it up step by step.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What “filter by user” means in SharePoint
• How the [Me] filter works
• Two approaches to create a filtered view by current user
• How to filter by a custom Person column (not just Created By)
• How to filter by current user email in a text column
• Common mistakes and tips to get it right

What Does “Filter by User” Mean in SharePoint?

When we talk about filtering a SharePoint view by user, we simply mean showing only the list items that belong to the person who is currently logged in and viewing that list.

Think of it like this: you have a shared list with 500 items added by 50 different people. You don’t want everyone to see all 500 rows — you want each person to only see their own entries. That’s exactly what a user-filtered view does.

This is especially useful for:

• Leave request lists — employees only see their own submissions
• Task trackers — users only see tasks assigned to them
• Expense reports — each person sees only their own records
• IT helpdesk tickets — users only see the tickets they raised

SharePoint makes this possible with a special dynamic keyword called [Me]. This keyword automatically resolves to the account of whoever is currently logged in, so the filter is always personal and dynamic — no manual updates needed.

Understanding the [Me] Filter in SharePoint

The [Me] filter is a built-in SharePoint keyword you can use in view filters. It works with Person or Group type columns — like Created By, Modified By, or any custom People column you’ve added to your list.

Here are the key things to know about [Me]:

• It is dynamic — it changes based on who is viewing the SharePoint list
• It only works with Person or Group column types (not plain text columns)
• It can be used in the Edit View filter settings (classic view editor)
• In the modern experience filter pane, it appears as @Me when you click on a person column. Here is a screenshot for your reference.

Important note from Microsoft: You cannot use [Me] or [Today] when filtering from a column header in the modern experience. To use [Me] as a persistent filter in a saved view, you must go through the Edit current view option (which uses the classic filter editor).

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Approach 1: Filter Using the Filter Pane (Quick Method)

This is the fastest way to apply a current-user filter in the modern SharePoint experience. The downside? This filter is temporary — it won’t save automatically unless you follow the extra steps below.

Steps:

• Open your SharePoint list.
• Find the Created By column header (or any Person column).

• Click the dropdown arrow on that column header.
• Select Filter by.

• Check @Me from the options that appear.

• Click Apply.

Your list will now only show items where that column matches your account. You’ll see a filter indicator in the column header confirming it’s active.

To save this as a named view:

• Click on the View dropdown in the command bar (top right area of the list).
• Select Save view as.

• Give it a meaningful name like My Items or Created by Me.
• Click Save.

This saves the filtered view so you (and anyone else) can come back to it anytime. Remember — for other users, [Me] will still resolve to their account, not yours. That’s the beauty of it.

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Approach 2: Filter Using Edit Current View (Permanent Method)

This approach gives you more control and lets you set up complex filter conditions. It’s also the only reliable way to use the [Me] keyword for a saved view.

Steps:

• Open your SharePoint list.
• Click the View dropdown from the command bar.
• Select Edit current view (or first create a new view if needed).

• Scroll down to the Filter section on the Edit view page.

• Under Show the items when column, set the condition:

Column	Operator	Value
Created By	is equal to	[Me]

Here is a screenshot for your reference.

• If you want to add more conditions, click Add condition and use And / Or logic.
• Scroll to the bottom and click OK.

The view will now automatically filter to show only items created by the logged-in user every single time someone opens it. Here is the exact output in the screenshot below:

Example of a multi-condition filter:

If you want to show items either created by the current user OR assigned to them, set it up like this:

Column	Operator	Value	Logic
Created By	is equal to	[Me]	—
Assigned To	is equal to	[Me]	Or

This is really useful for task lists where someone might be the creator of a task or the one assigned to complete it — and they should see both.

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Filter by a Custom Person Column

So far we’ve only talked about the built-in Created By column. But what if you have a custom Person or Group column in your list — like Event Manager, Assigned To, Approver, or Project Owner?

Great news: [Me] works with any Person or Group column, not just the built-in ones.

Example: Let’s say you have a list called Scheduled Events with a column called Event Manager. You want each event manager to only see the events they are responsible for.

Steps:

• Go to your SharePoint Online list and click View → Edit current view.
• Scroll to the Filter section.
• Set the condition:

• Event Manager | is equal to | [Me]

• Click OK.

Now, when Sarah opens this list, she only sees events where she is the Event Manager. When John opens it, he sees his own events. Simple and powerful.

You can even combine this with Created By using an Or condition so the view shows items where the current user is either the creator or the event manager.

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What If You Have an Email Address in a Text Column?

This is a really common question: “I have a plain text column with email addresses. Can I filter by [Me] in that column?”

Unfortunately, the short answer is no — the [Me] keyword only works with Person or Group type columns. It does not work with Single Line of Text columns, even if those columns contain email addresses.

However, there are workarounds:

Option 1: Change the column type
If possible, convert your text column to a Person or Group column. This is the cleanest fix.

Option 2: Use Power Automate
Set up a Power Automate flow that runs when an item is created and automatically populates a Person or Group column with the submitter’s account. Then apply your [Me] filter on that column instead of the text column.

Option 3: JSON Column Formatting (for display only)
You can use SharePoint column formatting with JSON to highlight or style rows where the email matches the current user, but this is a visual trick — it doesn’t actually filter the view.

Making a View Public vs. Personal

When you save a filtered view in SharePoint, you have the option to make it Public or Personal:

Setting	Who Can See It
Public view	Every user who has access to the list can see this view
Personal view	Only you can see this view

For a [Me]-filtered view, making it Public is perfectly fine — because the [Me] keyword dynamically adjusts for each person. So every user will see the same view name in the dropdown, but the actual items shown will be filtered to their own account.

To set this when saving a new view:

1. Go to View → Create new view (or Save view as).
2. Under the view name field, you’ll see an option to choose Public or Personal.
3. Select Public if you want all users to have access to this filtered view.

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Key Tips and Things to Watch Out For

Here are a few things that often trip people up:

• [Me] only works in Person or Group columns. If your filter isn’t working, double-check the column type in list settings.
• The filter pane @Me is temporary. If you want a persistent view, always go through Edit Current View to set the filter there.
• Views with [Me] are secure by design — each user only sees their own data, so you don’t need to worry about one person accidentally seeing another person’s entries (within the same view).
• Item-level permissions are different from view filters. A view filter just hides items visually — it doesn’t prevent access. If someone knows the URL of a specific list item, they can still access it if they have list permissions. If you need true data isolation, combine view filters with SharePoint item-level permissions (available in List Settings → Advanced Settings).
• You can have multiple saved views on the same list. For example: an “All Items” view for admins, a “My Items” view filtered by [Me] for regular users, and an “Open Tasks” view filtered by status. Each serves a different audience.
• View filters do not affect list exports. If a user exports the list to Excel from a filtered view, the exported file will reflect the filtered results, not all items. Keep this in mind for reporting.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, I showed you how to filter a SharePoint list view by the current user using the [Me] keyword. We covered how to use it with the built-in Created By column, how to apply it to custom Person or Group columns, and what to do when you’re dealing with a plain text email column.

In my experience, setting up a [Me]-filtered view is one of the quickest wins you can get in SharePoint Online. It takes just a few minutes to configure but makes a huge difference in how clean and personal the list experience feels for your users.

If you found this tutorial helpful, feel free to share it with your team. And if you run into any issues or have questions, drop a comment below — I’d love to help!

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