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I have been using Thunderbird email for years. Why did I get a notification now asking Thunderbird Email to be granted access to my linked Google Account?

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  • Last reply by christ1

smakela
smakela
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What would have prompted this request at this point?

I did it, but then worried that it was a security concern. The response email back says, "Mozilla Thunderbird Email was granted access to your linked Google Account..."

What would have prompted this request at this point? I did it, but then worried that it was a security concern. The response email back says, "Mozilla Thunderbird Email was granted access to your linked Google Account..."

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christ1
christ1
  • Top 25 Contributor
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As of version 38 Thunderbird supports OAuth2 for authentication of Gmail IMAP accounts. This is the only way considered 'secure' by Google. http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/17/google-oauth-2-0-for-gmail-and-talk/

The authentication process includes the prompt to grant Thunderbird permissions to access your Gmail account. This is legitimate, and just the way it works.

Basically you authenticate with your Gmail account once, and Google provides you with an authentication token. This is what Thunderbird saves as 'password'. It's not your actual Gmail password. The token will expire at some point, so you'll have to renew it at some point in the future.

Modified by christ1