Learn how Cognism securely connects to your CRM and sales engagement platforms using OAuth authentication and API permissions.
This article explains how Cognism accesses your connected applications, what permissions are required, and how your data is protected during exports and synchronisation.
How Cognism connects to your CRM
Most Cognism integrations use OAuth 2.0, an industry-standard authentication protocol that allows you to securely connect your CRM or sales engagement platform without sharing your login credentials.
During the connection process, you authorise Cognism to access specific data within your CRM. The level of access is determined by the permissions granted to the connected user account.
Cognism only performs the actions required to support the integration.
How authentication works
When you connect an integration:
- You sign in to your CRM or sales engagement platform.
- The platform asks you to approve Cognism's requested permissions.
- An encrypted access token is generated.
- Cognism uses this token to securely communicate with your connected application.
Your CRM password is never stored by Cognism.
Access tokens and refresh tokens
OAuth uses two types of tokens.
Access token
An access token allows Cognism to perform authorised actions such as:
- Creating records
- Updating existing records
- Checking for duplicate records
- Reading CRM fields required for exports
Access tokens expire automatically after a period determined by the connected platform.
Refresh token
When an access token expires, Cognism uses a securely stored refresh token to request a new access token.
This allows the integration to continue working without requiring you to reconnect every time an access token expires.
Why permissions are required
Each integration requires specific permissions to perform actions within your CRM.
Depending on the platform, these permissions may allow Cognism to:
- Create new records
- Update existing records
- Search for existing records
- Read custom fields
- Add records to campaigns, cadences, or sequences
- Display synchronisation status
Only the permissions granted by the connected account are available to Cognism.
If required permissions are missing, some integration features may not work correctly.
How Cognism uses your CRM data
When exporting data, Cognism may temporarily access CRM records to:
- Check whether a record already exists
- Match contacts or companies
- Prevent duplicate records
- Apply update rules
- Populate mapped fields
This information is used only to complete the requested export or synchronisation.
Data security
Cognism does not have unrestricted access to your CRM.
Your connected account controls what Cognism can access.
You can revoke the connection at any time from your CRM or by disconnecting the integration within Cognism.
When you may need to reconnect
You may need to reconnect an integration if:
- The connected user changes their password (platform dependent)
- OAuth access has been revoked
- The connected user account has been deactivated
- Required permissions have changed
- Your organisation updates its security policies
If the integration becomes disconnected, Cognism will notify administrators and exports may fail until the connection is restored.