Definition
OAuth (Open Authorisation) is an industry-standard protocol that allows an email marketing platform to access another platform's API on your behalf without sharing your password. Instead of a long-lived API key, OAuth uses short-lived access tokens and refresh tokens.
How It Works
- You initiate a connection from Email Calculator to your email platform
- You are redirected to the platform's login page to authorise access
- The platform sends a temporary authorisation code back to Email Calculator
- Email Calculator exchanges the code for an access token (short-lived) and a refresh token (long-lived)
- Subsequent API calls use the access token, which is refreshed automatically when it expires
Why It Matters
OAuth is more secure than API keys because tokens can be scoped to specific permissions, rotated automatically, and revoked individually without affecting other integrations. Most modern email platforms support OAuth 2.0.
Related Glossary Terms
BIMI
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is an email standard that allows brands to display their logo next to their emails in supported email clients. It requires DMARC enforcement at quarantine or reject policy.
Customer Data Platform (CDP) for Email
A customer data platform (CDP) is a system that unifies customer data from multiple sources into a single profile, enabling advanced email personalisation, segmentation, and cross-channel coordination.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is an email authentication method that uses digital signatures to verify that an email was not tampered with during transit and comes from a authorised domain.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) is an email authentication protocol that builds on SPF and DKIM to prevent domain spoofing and provide reporting on authentication failures.
Email API Key Management
Email API key management covers creating, storing, rotating, and revoking API credentials used to connect email platforms, ensuring security while maintaining reliable integration access.
Email API Rate Limits
Email API rate limits control the volume and frequency of requests to an ESP's API endpoints, protecting infrastructure from abuse and ensuring fair resource allocation across all customers.