This is difficult to understand. People use email clients, such as Thunderbird, to provide a platform to read, compose, send, and delete email messages. So, what is it that you are requesting? Thank you.

I have been clicking "DENY" ON THE POP UP that asks me this question, every few minutes for at least a week. How do I make it stop?

This is a copy and paste from the pop up:

This will allow Mozilla Thunderbird Email to: Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail

It popped up three more times while I was writing this reply

> I have been clicking "DENY" ON THE POP UP that asks me this question, every few minutes for at least a week.

This almost sounds like the oauth prompt coming from google, not something in Thunderbird.

A screen shot would be much better to help us understand what you are seeing.

Mozilla Thunderbird Email wants to access your Google Account undefined johnperna@gmail.com This will allow Mozilla Thunderbird Email to: More info Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail Click for more information By clicking Allow, you allow this app and Google to use your information in accordance with their respective privacy policies. You can change this and other Account Permissions at any time.

As @wayne indicated, this is a popup from Google and Thunderbird has no authority to override Google policies. If Thunderbird, or any other email client, is to be used to administer a Gmail account, this Google popup will appear.

The pop up says "Mozilla Thunderbird Email wants to access your Google Account"

It does that at your request. That is, you want Thunderbird to access your gmail, so a request is sent from Thunderbird for that purpose. Otherwise, Thunderbird would not do it. Specifically, if you do not want Thunderbird to access your gmail account, then remove the gmail account.

> It does that at your request.

It's a little more complicated than that. Google has been updating their prompts, and perhaps the process and oauth tokens. I for example have been having some difficulty the last few days with oauth prompts during startup and after.

See if the problem goes away after a few days of allowing the access (not declining).

3/30/24, 6:50 AM The pop up says Mozilla Thunderbird Email wants to access your Google Account undefined johnperna@gmail.com This will allow Mozilla Thunderbird Email to: More info Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail Click for more information By clicking Allow, you allow this app and Google to use your information in accordance with their respective privacy policies. You can change this and other Account Permissions at any time.

SENDING AND RECEIVING EMAIL DOES NOT REQUIRE THE ABILITY TO "Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail"

I believe there is a misunderstanding here. YOU are the one who 'reads' the messages, but Thunderbird must be authorized to retrieve from the Gmail server. YOU are the one who makes the decision to send messages by pressing the 'send' button, but Thunderbird must be authorized to communicate that decision for you to the Gmail server. YOU are the one who composes messages, and that is done by entering keystrokes into Thunderbird to send to Gmail. YOU are the one to decide to delete messages by pressing the appropriate keys in Thunderbird, but Thunderbird needs to be authorized by Google to communicate that decision of yours to the Gmail server. Thunderbird is only your agent; it does not do any of that on its own -- and cannot. When you click 'Allow', you are stating that messages and instructions received by Gmail from your installation of Thunderbird are with your approval.

You can't use Thunderbird for read-only access to gmail.

Or any email client for that matter.

It sounds like you should just use a web interface to access your mail.

I tried deactivating Gmail and the popups continued. It looks as though the volunteers who staff Mozilla support are not privy to all of what Mozilla is doing. How can I reach someone who can tell me how to stop these popups. I have had Gmail on Mozilla for years and these popups just started

The pop up says This will allow Mozilla Thunderbird Email to: Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail

allow Mozilla Thunderbird - allow Mozilla Thunderbird

The pop up does not say This will allow YOU to: Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail AFTER Mozilla Thunderbird Email CONNECTS

> How can I reach someone who can tell me how to stop these popups.

The people here have decades of experience and a breadth of experience that includes situations like yours. And this is the only official support site. If you can't put your trust in the advice given here then, again, you should just use the gmail web mail interface and skip using Thunderbird.

You are reading too much into this login process. The prompt you are seeing is standard stuff. But google in the last month did change how the login authorization looks.

If you want the prompts to stop, then click allow instead of deny.

If that doesn't stop the prompts then we try something else.

POP UPS CONTINUE

POP UP SAYS Mozilla Thunderbird Email wants to access your Google Account johnperna@gmail.com This will allow Mozilla Thunderbird Email to: Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail By clicking Allow, you allow this app and Google to use your information in accordance with their respective privacy policies. You can change this and other Account Permissions at any time.

NOTICE THAT THE POP UP SAYS This will allow Mozilla Thunderbird Email to: Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail IT DOES NOT SAY This will allow YOU to: Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail

IT DOES NOT SAY This will allow GOOGLE to: Read, compose, send, and permanently delete all your email from Gmail

You continue to repeat that. We know what the text says. We have no authority to define how Google explains its services. I suggest you revert to using the Gmail website to access your messages, as we have reviewed the Google wording extensively, and Google needs confirmation that a PC-based client is accessing the account. If you highlight the account, right-click and select 'setting' and then scroll down slightly on next pane to "Account Settings', you can click to 'remove account'. That will remove Gmail and that should stop your popups. If they continue, it may be that you also set up access to the Google calendar. You can delete that by opening the Calendar menu. --- OR -- you can follow @wayne's advice: click 'Allow' and let Thunderbird access the account.

https://support.rowan.edu/kb_view.do?sys_kb_id=eb8039f81bd174148b3931901a4bcb35&sysparm_media=print are simplified instructions for getting a screen shot - save the file to your computer.

Please post a screen shot here so we can make a direct comparison against what we think you should be seeing. Just below the area where you have been typing your responses to us there is "Add images (optional):" to upload your screen shot with your response.

The message says if we grant permission it will: "ALLOW THUNDERBIRD TO: ...permanently DELETE ALL YOUR EMAIL FROM Gmail" (upper case my addition)

Regarding the response, "You are reading too much into this login process": I appreciate your attempt to help. I do not understand how the "login process" is relevant. I just know that the frequent popups prompt me to allow THUNDERBIRD to permanently delete all my Gmails. The wording is frighteningly clear. I am not reading too much into this.

SUGGESTION: I would appreciate clarification from our expert helpers thus: Does clicking "Allow" mean that ONLY *I*, the user, can permanently delete Gmails via Thunderbird, and that Tbird will NOT do this without my action?

In other words, does the message really mean "This will allow YOU [not "Thunderbird"] to permanently delete...."?

That would allay my fears, and possibly those of other posters.

Thank you for your anticipated response.

> In other words, does the message really mean "This will allow YOU [not "Thunderbird"] to permanently delete...."?

In short, yes.

The instructions/prompts/login you see for account X are from Google. This is not a Thunderbird prompt and Thunderbird cannot change or modify the text - what you see is what you need to live with.

Google are asking you to acknowledge that Thunderbird is allowed to access to the messages provided by Google for account X. You are giving permission.

Once you allow/permit access, then you determine through Thunderbird what messages get acted upon.

Does that help?

Hi Wayne, it sure does help! I'll begin clicking "Allow."

Amazing that Google doesn't hire a couple of good editors to review their stuff. All they had to do was use the word "Thunderbird" instead of "you" for accuracy and to avoid my (our) panicked responses. Disclaimer: I'm a semi-retired editor.)

Much thanks, Marc