Starting on October 1st, 2022, Microsoft Outlook will deprecate all of the basic email account authentication methods. Please, log in to PeopleLinx before October 1st and reconnect your Office 365 Outlook/Exchange accounts using one of the single-click options.
This article explains how to connect and reconnect email accounts using the single-click option and how the deprecation of basic authentication affects previously connected email accounts.
How to use the single-click option
Follow these steps to connect or re-connect Office 365 Outlook/Exchange accounts to PeopleLinx with a single-click option:
1. Open the 'Setup email account for sending messages' pop-up. You can access it once you sign up to PeopleLinx, or by visiting the Settings → Email accounts page.
2. Select one of the options according to the type of account you want to connect:
Outlook SingleClick (OAuth 2.0, Sending: API\SMTP, Receiving: IMAP);
Exchange SingleClick (OAuth 2.0, Sending: API, Receiving: API) - this option is better suited for those who have IMAP disabled;
Exchange on premise - this option will be suitable for those who connect private services, Sending: API, Receiving API.
3. Click Continue.
4. Enter your account credentials and confirm them.
Important. There are a few important things to know about how reconnection affects your past interactions with the platform:
Your email account's historical data, collected from all of your interactions with the platform, will remain unaffected after reconnection. You can freely access and view all previous reports and statistics in your email account.
Your email account will be removed from the sequences as sending email after reconnection. Please add it to the sequences again.
What is basic email account authentication and why it will be deprecated?
It is a standard mechanism that is enabled by default on the vast majority of servers and services. It operates on the basis of sending a login and password along with an API request to the server and then storing all data on the devices. Because using this method, it is easy to attack users and grab their credentials, it has become an increasingly outdated industry standard.
All basic authentication methods, or non-single click connections, will be deprecated and no longer available to connect Office 365 Outlook/Exchange accounts starting October 1st, 2022.
What does it mean for PeopleLinx users?
According to new rules, four types of users will be affected:
Users who have connected Office 365 accounts using Outlook manually option;
Users who have connected Office 365 Outlook accounts via Other provider option;
Users who have connected Exchange (EWS) on Microsoft servers via the Exchange option (via the password + endpoint https://outlook.office365.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx);
Users who have connected Exchange (EWS) via Other provider option.
There are a few guidelines for how it will affect work in the PeopleLinx platform:
If you are a new user that has just signed up to PeopleLinx, these methods will be unavailable at all and you will be offered to use a new way to connect Office 365 Outlook/Exchange account. Even if you try to use old methods, you will get an error message telling you it is impossible.
If you have already connected an account in PeopleLinx via outdated methods (non-single click connections), you can still use this account to send messages in sequences. However, starting on October 1st, 2022, the connection will be blocked, so all of the sequences will be stopped. To prevent blocking of your sequences, it is advisable to reconnect your account in advance using a single-click connection.