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Decide what the agent is allowed to do
Define the job as specific operations, not vague mailbox control. “Read messages with this label and prepare a reply” is a more useful authorization target than “manage my inbox.” The difference matters because reading message metadata, reading message bodies, changing mail, and sending mail expose different levels of authority.
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- Triage or summaries: begin with read-only access; if the task permits, limit it to metadata rather than message bodies and attachments.
- Drafting: grant only the read and draft capabilities the task requires. Keep sending separate wherever the provider supports that split.
- Mailbox organization: add only the necessary label, move, or update operations. Do not assume that a permission described as “write” excludes deletion.
- Sending or forwarding: treat as a higher-risk capability, preferably behind an explicit review and approval step.
Google’s Gmail scope guidance says to choose the most narrowly focused scope possible and avoid scopes the application does not require: Gmail API scopes. Microsoft similarly recommends requesting only the permissions an application needs: Microsoft identity platform least-privilege guidance.
Choose a permission boundary for Gmail
The Gmail API supports authorized mailbox access and sending. Its scope list includes narrower add-on scopes as well as sensitive or restricted scopes. For example, the full-mail scope, https://mail.google.com/, allows reading, composing, sending, and permanent deletion. Google says to request it only when immediate permanent deletion is required; other actions can use less permissive scopes. See the Gmail API scope list for current scope definitions and classifications.
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Scopes such as gmail.readonly, gmail.compose, and gmail.modify are listed as restricted, while gmail.send is sensitive. Scope classification and application eligibility affect deployment: public applications using applicable sensitive or restricted scopes must follow Google’s verification rules, and server-side storage or transmission of restricted-scope data may require a security assessment. Applicability depends on the app, its use, and possible exceptions. Check Google’s current restricted-scope verification requirements and Google Workspace API user-data policy before launch.
For a background service, Google’s server-side OAuth flow can return a refresh token when offline access is requested. The service uses it to obtain new access tokens after short-lived access tokens expire. A refresh token is therefore a persistent credential, not a harmless setup detail: protect it, limit which components can access it, and provide a way to revoke authorization and delete the stored token. Google also directs applications to revoke scopes that are no longer needed at the earliest opportunity. See Google’s OAuth 2.0 web-server flow and OAuth token revocation.
Choose a permission boundary for Microsoft Graph
Microsoft Graph makes the difference between reading, changing, and sending mail explicit. The following descriptions are for the listed Graph mail permissions; consent and account requirements depend on the permission and application setup.
| Permission | What it allows | Useful boundary |
|---|---|---|
Mail.ReadBasic |
Read basic mail properties, excluding the body, body preview, attachments, and extended properties. | Use when metadata is enough for the task. |
Mail.Read |
Read mail, including fuller message content. | Use when the agent genuinely needs to interpret message bodies. |
Mail.ReadWrite |
Create, read, update, and delete mail; it does not itself include sending. | Can support changes or drafts without granting send authority. |
Mail.Send |
Send mail. | Grant separately only when sending is part of the agent’s permitted job. |
Permission definitions are in Microsoft’s Graph mail permissions reference. This separation allows a system to let an agent prepare a draft while withholding the permission to send it.
Graph permissions can be delegated, meaning the app acts on behalf of a signed-in user, or application permissions, which let the app act without a signed-in user. Application access can have broader tenant reach. Microsoft recommends preferring delegated or resource-specific consent when they satisfy the use case; administrators can use application access policies to constrain some application mail permissions to specific mailboxes. Exact permission availability, admin-consent requirements, and policy behavior vary, so review the Microsoft Graph permissions and consent overview and mailbox access restriction guidance for the chosen permission.
Keep email content from controlling the agent
Incoming messages, attachments, quoted text, and retrieved thread content are untrusted input. A message can contain instructions aimed at the model rather than the human reader. OWASP describes an email-assistant scenario in which malicious instructions in an incoming email lead an LLM assistant to send spam: OWASP prompt-injection guidance.
Do not let message content change the agent’s policy, grant new permissions, or authorize a tool call. Enforce permitted operations outside the model’s interpretation of the message: expose only the tools needed for the job, validate each proposed action in code, and keep send, delete, bulk-change, and sensitive-disclosure operations behind a human approval boundary. Record the triggering request, proposed action, tool execution, and approval so the action can be reviewed.
Build the connection with separate controls
- Write down the exact job. List which messages the worker may inspect and whether it may summarize, draft, label, move, delete, or send.
- Select the provider’s official API and authorization flow. Prefer granular provider API scopes over broad mailbox protocols when they support the task. Gmail’s documentation distinguishes granular Gmail API scopes from the full-mail scope used for IMAP, POP, and SMTP access: Gmail API scopes. For other providers, confirm their current authorization and permission documentation; Gmail and Graph rules do not establish other providers’ requirements.
- Request the minimum scope set. Start with metadata-only or read-only access when possible. Add body access, write operations, and send permission only when the job requires each one.
- Match tools to scopes. Keep read, label or move, delete, draft, and send methods distinct. Confirm that the server-side tools actually enforce the same limits described in the consent request; a narrow-looking prompt does not reduce an overbroad token’s authority.
- Set approval gates. Require a person to review consequential actions, especially sending, forwarding, bulk changes, deletion, or disclosure of sensitive content. Make approval explicit rather than inferred from the message being processed.
- Protect unattended authorization. Store persistent tokens as sensitive credentials, restrict access to the service components that need them, and document revocation and incident-response steps. For Graph application permissions, assess whether administrator mailbox restrictions are appropriate.
- Check production obligations and operating limits. Verify consent, app-review, security-assessment, and quota requirements for the selected provider and permission set before deployment.
Plan for provider review and background polling
Permission choices can create obligations beyond implementation. Gmail scopes that read, create, or modify message bodies, attachments, metadata, or headers are categorized as restricted under Google Workspace policy. Verification and, in some server-side cases, a security assessment may apply; check current rules for the application’s specific use rather than assuming every integration follows the same path. Microsoft Graph application permissions may need administrator consent and mailbox-level restrictions, depending on the permission and tenant setup.
Background polling also needs to fit the provider’s current API limits. Google states that Gmail API quota limits changed on May 1, 2026. Projects with API activity from November 2025 through April 2026 retain their previously set quotas; projects created on or after May 1, 2026 are subject to the new quotas. These are project-specific conditions, not a universal polling allowance. Check the live Gmail API quota page for the project and design polling, retries, and backoff against its applicable limits.
What to compare before choosing an implementation
- Read versus write versus send: can the agent prepare changes without permission to send or delete?
- Metadata versus content: does the task need bodies and attachments, or only headers and basic properties?
- Delegated versus unattended access: must a user be signed in, or does the service need application access without one?
- Mailbox reach: is access limited to one mailbox, or could an application permission expose mail across a tenant?
- Autonomy: can the agent only draft, or can it execute actions without a person present?
- Credential lifecycle: who can access refresh tokens, how are they revoked, and how is their deletion handled?
- Provider obligations: are verification, security assessment, administrator consent, or access policies required?
- Polling volume: do expected background checks and retries fit current provider quotas?
These boundaries determine an inbox agent’s actual authority and exposure more than the choice of language model. Revisit them whenever the task, scopes, tools, provider rules, or API limits change.
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