Hi all,
There is a bit of experimentation with using OAuth to authenticate with gmail here:
opened 11:50PM - 18 Dec 19 UTC
closed 07:08PM - 17 Feb 21 UTC
Enhancement
**Describe the problem you would like to solve**
Starting February 15, 2021, G … Suite accounts will only allow access to apps using OAuth. Password-based access will no longer be supported.
**Describe the solution you'd like**
An OAuth plugin for connecting to Gmail
**Who is asking for this feature?**
System administrators that currently use Gmail SMTP and connect OJS as a "Less Secure App" to Gmail accounts for sending email notifications.
**Additional information**
Here is the complete text from the G Suite notification email...
Dear Administrator,
We’re constantly working to improve the security of your organization’s Google accounts. As part of this effort, and in consideration of the current threat landscape, we’ll be turning off access to less secure apps (LSA) — non-Google apps that can access your Google account with only a username and password, without requiring any additional verification steps. Access through only a username and password makes your account more vulnerable to hijacking attempts. Moving forward, only apps that support a more modern and secure access method called OAuth will be able to access your G Suite account.
Access to LSAs will be turned off in two stages:
June 15, 2020 - Users who try to connect to an LSA for the first time will no longer be able to do so. This includes third-party apps that allow password-only access to Google calendars, contacts, and email via protocols such as CalDAV, CardDAV and IMAP. Users who have connected to LSAs prior to this date will be able to continue using them until usage of all LSAs is turned off.
February 15, 2021 - Access to LSAs will be turned off for all G Suite accounts.
What do I need to do?
To continue using a specific app with your G Suite accounts, users in your organization must switch to a more secure type of access called OAuth. This connection method allows apps to access accounts with a digital key instead of requiring a user to reveal their username and password. We recommend that you share the user instructions (included below) with individuals in your organization to help them make the necessary changes. Alternatively, if your organization is using custom tools, you can ask the developer of the tool to update it to use OAuth. Developer instructions are also included below.
MDM configuration
If your organization uses a mobile device management (MDM) provider to configure CalDAV, CardDAV, and Exchange ActiveSync (Google Sync) profiles, these services will be phased out according to the timeline below:
June 15, 2020 - MDM push of IMAP, CalDAV, CardDAV, and Exchange ActiveSync (Google Sync) will no longer work for new users.
February 15, 2021 - MDM push of IMAP, CalDAV, CardDAV, and Exchange ActiveSync (Google Sync) will no longer work for existing users. Admins will need to push a Google Account using their MDM provider, which will re-add their Google accounts to iOS devices using OAuth.
Other less secure apps
**For any other LSA, ask the developer of the app you are using to start supporting OAuth.**
If you use other apps on iOS or MacOS that access your G Suite account information through only a password, most access issues can be resolved by removing then re-adding your account. When you add it back, make sure to select Google as the account type to automatically use OAuth.
More generally I recommend using a service for email sending other than gmail. Your web host should generally provide an SMTP service, and it’ll be less quirky than gmail – for example, gmail forces all outgoing messages to be From: the gmail account holder, which may not be what you want.
Regards,