What Google permissions Distro needs (and why)

Distro asks Google for two Gmail permissions, one to send and one to read. Here is what each is used for, what Distro never does, and how to remove access.

Updated October 11, 20263 min read

When you connect a mailbox, Distro asks Google for exactly two Gmail permissions: one to send email as you and one to view your email messages and settings. Distro needs both, and it doesn't ask for anything broader, such as permission to delete mail, manage your drafts or change your Gmail settings.

The two permissions

Permission (as Google may describe it)	Technical name	What Distro uses it for
Send email on your behalf	`gmail.send`	Sending the campaign emails, follow-ups, test emails and Inbox replies that you write, schedule or approve in Distro
View your email messages and settings	`gmail.readonly`	Confirming which address you connected, reading your Send mail as addresses so you can choose who an email comes from, and detecting replies, bounces and out-of-office responses to emails Distro sent

Google words its consent screen in its own way and may change it, but these are the only two permissions Distro requests.

Why sending needs its own permission

Distro sends through your mailbox using the Gmail API, not through its own servers. Google requires an app to hold the send permission before it can send on your behalf. Distro only sends emails you created or approved: campaigns you launched, one-off emails you composed, test emails you asked for, and replies you sent (or allowed Distro to send) from the Inbox.

Why Distro needs to read

The read permission does three jobs:

Identity. It lets Distro confirm with Google which mailbox you actually connected. Distro never trusts an address typed into the browser for this.
Senders. It lets Distro read your Gmail Send mail as list, so you can add your verified aliases as senders on the Sending accounts page. Distro only reads this list. It never creates, verifies or edits an alias in Gmail.
Replies. It lets Distro notice when a prospect replies, bounces or sends an automatic reply, so their follow-ups stop and the reply appears in your Distro Inbox.

Distro deliberately requests the narrowest Gmail permissions that cover sending plus these three jobs, and nothing more.

What Distro does not do with your mailbox

It keeps only what belongs to your outreach. When Distro checks new mail, it keeps a message only if it is part of a conversation that started with an email sent through Distro, or a bounce of one. Everything else is discarded and not stored.
It doesn't import your history. Reply detection starts when you connect. Older mail is not copied into Distro.
It can't delete, archive or label your mail, because it never asks for those permissions.
It never sees your Google password. You sign in on Google's own page. Distro receives an access grant from Google, stored encrypted, and you can withdraw it at any time.

Read the full details in Distro's privacy policy, section How we use Gmail data, and in Data, privacy and disconnecting integrations.

If a permission is missing

If you untick one of the permissions on Google's screen, Distro can't finish the connection. You'll see "Please allow all the permissions Distro asks for on Google's screen, then try again", and the account shows Missing permission under Google accounts on the Sending accounts page. To fix it:

On the Sending accounts page, open the ⋮ menu next to the account.
Click Reconnect.
On Google's screen, allow both permissions.

How to remove Distro's access

You can withdraw access in either place:

In Distro: Outreach → Sending accounts → ⋮ next to the account → Disconnect. Distro asks Google to cancel its access and deletes the stored access grant.
In your Google Account: open your Google Account's security settings, find the list of third-party apps and services with access to your account, select Distro and remove its access. Follow Google's current documentation, as the page layout changes.

If you remove access in Google only, Distro shows the account as needing a reconnect the next time it tries to use it, and stops sending from it. See Disconnect or reconnect your Google account.