When enabling 'Person Accounts', how should the org-wide default settings for Contact be configured?

When enabling 'Person Accounts' in Salesforce, the org-wide default settings for Contact should be configured to "Controlled by Parent" due to the unique relationship between Person Accounts and Contacts.

Person Accounts represent both the Account and Contact records for individuals. When this setting is applied, the access to Contact records is determined by the Account record. This configuration allows for a cohesive sharing model where the permissions for accessing Contact information are directly tied to the permissions set for the associated Person Account. This is particularly important for maintaining data privacy and ensuring that appropriate access levels are applied consistently across records.

For example, if a user has access to a specific Person Account, they will automatically inherit access to the associated Contact information. This reduces complexity in managing sharing rules and ensures that users only see data they have access to.

In contrast, other configurations like setting Contacts to "Public Read Only," "Private," or using "Custom Access Levels" do not provide the same level of integration and consistency in permissions as "Controlled by Parent" does. "Public Read Only" would allow all users to view Contact records regardless of their related Person Account, which may not be desirable for privacy reasons. "Private" would restrict access for users who need to view Contacts tied to Person Accounts.