Skip to main content

Connect Outlook to Porcia

Connect your Outlook or Microsoft 365 account via OAuth to automatically discover SaaS vendors from your email.

Prerequisites

  • An Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 account
  • Admin access to your email account
  • 5 minutes for setup
Porcia only requests read-only access to your email. We never send emails from your account or modify your inbox.

Step-by-Step Setup

1

Navigate to Email Integration

Go to Settings → Integrations → Email or click during onboarding
2

Click 'Connect Outlook'

Click the Connect Outlook button to start the OAuth flow
3

Sign in to Microsoft

You’ll be redirected to Microsoft’s sign-in page. Enter your Outlook/Microsoft 365 credentials
4

Review Permissions

Microsoft will show the permissions Porcia is requesting:
  • Read your email - To analyze vendor emails
  • Maintain access to data - To keep the connection active
These are read-only permissions. Porcia cannot send emails or modify your inbox.
5

Grant Access

Click Accept to grant Porcia access to your Outlook account
6

Wait for Initial Sync

You’ll be redirected back to Porcia. The initial email sync will begin automatically and takes 2-5 minutes.Porcia will scan the last 6 months of emails to discover vendors.
7

View Discovered Vendors

Once the sync completes, go to your dashboard to see discovered vendors

What Happens After Connection?

Initial Sync (First 5 Minutes)

  • Porcia scans your last 6 months of emails
  • AI identifies vendor emails (invoices, renewals, updates)
  • Extracts pricing, contract terms, and renewal dates
  • Matches vendors to our global database
  • Discovered vendors appear in your dashboard

Ongoing Sync (Real-Time)

  • New emails are processed within 5 minutes of arrival
  • Vendor information is automatically updated
  • You receive alerts for important emails (renewals, invoices)

Permissions Explained

What We Can Access

  • Read emails - To identify and analyze vendor communications
  • View metadata - Sender, subject, date (no content stored)
  • Access folders - To understand email organization

What We CANNOT Do

  • Send emails - We never send emails from your account
  • Delete emails - Your inbox remains untouched
  • Modify emails - We only read, never write
  • Access personal emails - Only vendor emails are processed

Troubleshooting

Connection Failed

If the OAuth connection fails:
  1. Check browser pop-ups - Make sure pop-ups are enabled for app.porcia.org
  2. Try incognito mode - Sometimes browser extensions interfere
  3. Clear cookies - Clear cookies for login.microsoftonline.com and try again
  4. Check admin restrictions - Your Microsoft 365 admin may have restricted third-party apps
If you’re using Microsoft 365 and the connection fails, your admin may need to whitelist Porcia:
  1. Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center → Settings → Org settings
  2. Click Services → Microsoft 365 on the web
  3. Ensure Let people in the organization use third-party apps is enabled
  4. Or go to Azure AD → Enterprise applications and add Porcia
Contact your IT admin if you don’t have access to these settings.

No Vendors Discovered

If no vendors appear after the initial sync:
  1. Wait 5-10 minutes - Initial sync can take time for large inboxes
  2. Check email history - Porcia only scans the last 6 months
  3. Verify vendor emails - Make sure you have vendor emails (invoices, renewals) in your inbox
  4. Check junk folder - Vendor emails in junk won’t be processed

Sync Stopped Working

If email sync stops after working initially:
  1. Check connection status - Go to Settings → Integrations → Email
  2. Reconnect if needed - Click Reconnect if the status shows “Disconnected”
  3. Check token expiration - OAuth tokens may expire; reconnect to refresh
  4. Verify Microsoft 365 license - Ensure your Microsoft 365 subscription is active

More Troubleshooting Help

View complete email sync troubleshooting guide

Disconnecting Outlook

To disconnect your Outlook account:
  1. Go to Settings → Integrations → Email
  2. Find your connected Outlook account
  3. Click Disconnect
  4. Confirm disconnection
Disconnecting will stop new email processing. Historical vendor data will be preserved unless you choose to delete it.

Revoke Access in Microsoft

To completely revoke Porcia’s access:
  1. Go to account.microsoft.com/privacy
  2. Click Apps and services
  3. Find “Porcia” in the list
  4. Click Remove

Privacy & Security

Data Storage

  • OAuth tokens - Stored securely with encryption at rest
  • Email metadata - Sender, subject, date stored in our database
  • Raw email content - Stored encrypted for 90 days, then automatically deleted
  • Extracted data - Vendor name, pricing, dates stored for your dashboard

Data Retention

  • Active connection - Email metadata retained while connected
  • After disconnection - Email metadata deleted within 90 days
  • Vendor data - Preserved (you can manually delete if needed)

Compliance

  • Data privacy - Right to access, delete, and export your data (GDPR compliance in progress)
  • Encryption - AES-256 at rest, TLS 1.3 in transit

Contact Support

Questions about security? Contact us

Microsoft 365 vs Outlook.com

Both Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) and Outlook.com accounts work with Porcia:
FeatureMicrosoft 365Outlook.com
OAuth Connection✅ Supported✅ Supported
Email Sync✅ Full sync✅ Full sync
Admin RestrictionsMay require IT approvalNo restrictions
Best ForBusiness accountsPersonal accounts
If you’re using a work email with Microsoft 365, check with your IT admin before connecting to ensure third-party apps are allowed.

Next Steps