1. Home
2. Frequently Asked Questions
3. Microsoft Accounts

Microsoft Accounts

Context Camera allows you to link one or more Microsoft accounts to the app which can then be used as an automatic export destination.

Overview

Adding a Microsoft account to Context Camera is a three step process.

1. Choose permissions

When you link an account with Context Camera you will be prompted for the permissions that should be granted to Context Camera. Your options are:

• Allow Context Camera to read/write files and folders in its own dedicated app folder. This folder (normally at /Apps/Context Camera/) will be created by Microsoft for Context Camera to use, and Context Camera will not have access to any files or folders outside of it. This option is unfortunately not supported by Microsoft for business or education accounts.
• Allow Context Camera to read/write files and folders that belong to the account. Context Camera will have access to all files and folders that belong to the account (ie those appearing in OneDrive) but won’t have access to files or folders that have been shared with the account by others such as shared folders or sharepoints.

Subject to these permissions, Context Camera only accesses your files/folders to the extent necessary to:

1. Choose or create a folder to export photos to, and
2. Upload photos to that folder.

Context Camera does not implement overwriting existing files or deleting photos.

2. Sign in to your account

Context Camera sends you to the Microsoft web site to sign in.

The Microsoft web site will check your username and password and ask you to confirm the permissions you chose in step 1. If you confirm them Microsoft will provide a token to Context Camera. This token is used to browse folders and upload files in the future, and is stored securely inside the app.

Because you are signing in with Microsoft directly, Context Camera never gets to see or record your password.

3. Set up automatic exports

Go to the Settings tab -> Automatic Exports and add a new export, choosing Microsoft OneDrive as the destination. You will be prompted to choose a destination folder for exported photos.

Unlinking your account

Removing your Microsoft account from the app is equivalent to logging out of the app on that device only.

To permanently unlink your account from Context Camera and remove all permissions please use the relevant Microsoft website to manage your account.

Managing your account via the appropriate Microsoft web site is also required to downgrade permissions (eg if you chose all files/folders access then later signed in with app folder access).

Technical details

Context Camera makes use of the Microsoft Authentication Library for iOS and MacOS. This library, written and maintained by Microsoft, implements OAuth2/OpenID Connect for authentication and authorization of Microsoft accounts with Microsoft. It also implements secure storage of tokens via the iOS keychain.

To browse folders and upload files Context Camera makes requests against the Microsoft Graph Rest API v1.0. Context Camera requests the following permissions:

• Files.ReadWrite.AppFolder if the user chooses app folder access
• Files.ReadWrite if the user chooses all files/folders access

Context Camera also stores the account identifier for each linked account along with the permissions requested in NSUserDefaults on the user’s device.