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Comma Compliance Docs

Setting Up IMAP / Any Email Provider

Not every workplace runs on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Regional providers, on-prem Exchange, ProtonMail, Zoho, FastMail, and dozens of others speak IMAP. Comma connects via IMAP and captures every message into the same exam-ready archive.

How IMAP capture works

Section titled “How IMAP capture works”
  • Comma stores the IMAP server, port, username, and password (encrypted at rest with AES-256 via ActiveRecord Encryption)
  • A background worker polls the mailbox on a configurable schedule (default: every 5 minutes)
  • New messages are downloaded with full headers, body parts, and attachments
  • Folder structure (INBOX, Sent, Drafts, custom folders) is preserved
  • IDLE / push is used where the IMAP server supports it for near-real-time capture
  • Deleted messages remain in the archive under retention policy

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • An IMAP-compatible mailbox with the credentials to access it
  • IMAP enabled on the mail server (some providers require an admin flag)
  • For multi-user tenants: per-user credentials, or an admin OAuth bridge if your provider supports one (some on-prem Exchange installations do)
  • About 10 minutes per mailbox

Setup steps

Section titled “Setup steps”
  1. Sign in to the Comma Compliance dashboard
  2. Open Integrations in the top navigation
  3. Find the IMAP / Any Email Provider card and click Connect
  4. Fill in:
    • Email address for the mailbox
    • IMAP server (e.g. imap.fastmail.com)
    • Port (993 for IMAPS - default; 143 for STARTTLS)
    • Username (often the email address, sometimes a separate login)
    • Password or app-specific password
  5. Click Test connection; Comma validates that the credentials open the mailbox
  6. Click Connect; the credentials are encrypted and stored
  7. Initial backfill begins (full mailbox); ongoing capture follows the poll schedule

App-specific passwords

Section titled “App-specific passwords”

Many providers (Gmail, iCloud Mail, Yahoo, FastMail, Zoho with 2FA, ProtonMail Bridge) require an app-specific password rather than the account password. Generate one in your provider’s account settings before connecting.

Common providers

Section titled “Common providers”
  • FastMail - generate an app password under Settings > Privacy & Security > App Passwords, scope to “Mail”
  • Zoho Mail - My Account > Security > App Passwords
  • ProtonMail - install ProtonMail Bridge locally; it exposes an IMAP/SMTP endpoint with bridge-issued credentials
  • On-prem Exchange (IMAP enabled) - use the regular AD credentials or an OAuth bridge
  • Regional providers (mail.ru, qq.com, etc.) - check the provider’s IMAP docs for server, port, and any app-password requirement

Verifying capture

Section titled “Verifying capture”
  • The integration card shows the connected mailbox and last successful sync timestamp
  • A test message sent to the mailbox appears in Messages > Email within one poll cycle

Removing the integration

Section titled “Removing the integration”
  1. From the IMAP card in Comma, click Disconnect
  2. The encrypted credentials are wiped immediately
  3. Historical messages remain in your archive under your retention policy

What’s next

Section titled “What’s next”