Integrations2 min readBeta

Approving Symbi in Microsoft 365 (for IT admins)

What Symbi asks for when a user connects Outlook, why an admin may need to approve it once, and how to approve or revoke it.

Many Microsoft 365 organisations let only an administrator approve apps that read or send mail. When a user in such an organisation connects Outlook to Symbi, Microsoft shows "Need admin approval" and Symbi gives the user a link to send to you. This page explains what that link asks for.

What Symbi asks for

These are delegated permissions on Microsoft Graph. Symbi acts only in the mailbox of the person who connects it, and only after that person signs in. Approving them connects no mailbox and gives Symbi no access to any other mailbox.

  • openid, profile, email — sign the user in with their work account and read their name and address, to know which mailbox is connected
  • offline_access — stay connected without the user signing in again every hour
  • User.Read — read the signed-in user's basic profile
  • Mail.ReadWrite — read mail and save drafts in the mailbox the user connects, so an agent can read requests and prepare replies
  • Mail.Send — send mail as that user: the agent's replies, after review if the agent is set to ask first

Symbi does not ask for application (app-only) permissions, which would reach every mailbox without anyone signing in.

How to approve

  1. Open the link the user sent you (it goes to symbi.no/connect/microsoft/admin-approval)
  2. Read the list of permissions and click Approve in Microsoft
  3. Sign in with a Microsoft 365 administrator account (Global Administrator, Cloud Application Administrator or Application Administrator)
  4. Microsoft lists the same permissions. Click Accept
  5. You land back on Symbi, which confirms the approval. Your users can now connect Outlook without an approval screen; each one still connects their own mailbox

How to review or revoke

In the Microsoft Entra admin center:

  • Review: Identity → Applications → Enterprise applications → Symbi → Permissions
  • Revoke one permission: on the same Permissions tab, open the permission and choose Revoke permission
  • Remove Symbi entirely: Enterprise applications → Symbi → Properties → Delete

After revoking, Outlook connections in Symbi stop working and show Reconnect; reconnecting needs your approval again.

What's Next?