Microsoft Graph Outlook Email API Production and Security Requirements

Question

Microsoft Graph Outlook Email API Production and Security Requirements

Allen Satani 0

We are developing our own CRM platform and integrating Outlook/Microsoft email using Microsoft Graph API and OAuth 2.0.

Our use case: Users connect their personal or business Microsoft email accounts, and our CRM synchronizes emails into MongoDB so users can view and organize emails using CRM tags. Users can also send emails from our CRM.

Authentication: We use Microsoft's official OAuth 2.0 authorization flow with delegated permissions. We do not collect or store user passwords.

Requested permissions:

offline_access, openid, profile, email, User.Read, Mail.Read, Mail.Send

Security measures planned:

Encrypt access and refresh tokens.
Restrict email and token access to authorized services/users.
Revoke access when the user disconnects.
Delete synchronized email data after disconnect, subject to applicable retention requirements.
Provide privacy policy and email data deletion request process.
Do not log email content or OAuth tokens.
Implement security monitoring and incident response.

We need Microsoft's guidance on:

What verification, publisher verification, admin consent, or approval is required before production?
Are these permissions appropriate and is a more limited permission set recommended?
Are there specific security requirements for storing Microsoft email data in our own database?
What are Microsoft's requirements for email data retention, deletion, and backups?
Are there specific requirements for OAuth token storage, encryption, rotation, and revocation?
Are there any ongoing compliance or security review requirements?

Our goal is to ensure our CRM complies with Microsoft Graph, OAuth, data protection, and security requirements before production launch.

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1 answer

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Answer 1

Dear @Allen Satani,

I hope you’re having a good day.

Your proposed architecture is generally aligned with Microsoft's recommended approach: OAuth 2.0 with delegated permissions, no password collection, and user-controlled consent.

For a production multi-tenant CRM, I would strongly recommend completing Publisher Verification. This improves trust with users and administrators and is especially relevant for Microsoft Graph applications used across multiple customer tenants.

Your requested permissions appear reasonable for a CRM that synchronizes and sends email. Microsoft's primary recommendation is to follow the least-privilege principle and request only the permissions required for your functionality.

Regarding storing email data in MongoDB, Microsoft does not prohibit storing synchronized email data in your own platform. Once data is copied into your CRM, your organization becomes responsible for securing it, honoring deletion requests, and documenting retention and privacy practices. Your proposed controls around encryption, revocation, restricted access, and deletion are all consistent with common SaaS security practices.

For additional guidance, I would recommend posting in the Microsoft Graph community, since your questions are primarily related to Graph permissions, OAuth, consent, and application design: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/category/microsoftsearch/discussions/officegraph

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If you require an official Microsoft position on compliance, security requirements, or production readiness for a commercial multi-tenant SaaS application, then opening a Microsoft support case would also be appropriate.

Overall, I don't see any immediate concerns with the architecture you've described. My primary recommendations before production are Publisher Verification, maintaining a least-privilege permission model, and ensuring your data handling and deletion processes are clearly documented.

I hope this information helps point you in the right direction.

Warm regards,

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