# Tableau 2025.3 Release: What's New in Pulse, Desktop, Public and more.

> This is content from just-tim, the data-and-analytics channel by Tim Ngwena (formerly 'Tableau Tim'). Tim has 12+ years of hands-on BI experience and covers Tableau most of all, plus Power BI, Looker, Hex, SQL and data modelling, the analytics industry, and the craft of doing the job — always tool-agnostic and honest about the trade-offs.

- **Author:** Tim Ngwena (just-tim, https://just-tim.com/about)
- **Published:** 2025-10-22
- **Format:** Video · 29 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Data visualisation, Industry trends, Tool strategy
- **Tools:** Databricks; Snowflake; Tableau (ai, cloud, data modelling, embedding, extensions, prep, public, pulse, server)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-20253-release-whats-new-in-pulse-desktop-public-and-more
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoQfQu2oLek

I walk through the Tableau 2025.3 release alongside the September Pulse and Tableau Next updates. I cover everything from custom domains for Tableau Cloud and external key management to Prep in-database processing, Viz extension and colour palette improvements, REST API and SAML enhancements, and Tableau Public's new social features. My laptop's audio cut out near the end, so the final sections are narrated over the screen recording.

## Key takeaways

- Tableau Cloud finally gets custom domains, which removes the third-party cookie headache in embedded scenarios and gives users a memorable branded URL.
- External key management via AWS KMS lets you disable the encryption key and instantly render extracts unreadable to anyone who gains access to your environment.
- Tableau Prep now supports in-database processing and can write outputs directly back to Databricks, mirroring the earlier Snowflake capability.
- The release leans heavily on REST API and JWT/unified access tokens for touchless, programmatic site management, SAML configuration and disaster recovery.
- Viz extensions keep expanding with a new Radial chart, plus workbook-level custom colour palette assignment that can restyle an entire workbook in one step.

## Chapters

- 0:06 Release overview and expectations
- 1:43 Tableau Pulse September updates
- 7:28 Security: key management and Private Connect
- 9:33 Custom domains for Tableau Cloud
- 11:00 APIs, tags and admin management
- 19:21 Prep in-database processing and Databricks
- 21:56 Viz extensions and custom colour palettes
- 23:34 Instant Viz and related data tables
- 24:51 Semantics, MCP and Tableau Next
- 26:16 Tableau Public social features
- 28:21 Audio loss and wrap-up

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-20253-release-whats-new-in-pulse-desktop-public-and-more

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just-tim — Data and analytics, with a point of view. · https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYxRWmaNlJux-X7rNLZyw · https://twitter.com/TableauTim · https://www.linkedin.com/in/timngwena