Which product and account does this cover?
Personal Copilot, Microsoft 365/Agent Builder, and Copilot Studio's standard-harness tools. Excludes GitHub Copilot.
- Personal Copilot connectors
- Microsoft lists Personal, Family, Premium, and Pro personal accounts; web and mobile.
- Browse with Copilot
- Consumer Edge feature rolling out to Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers in the US.
- Microsoft 365 / Agent Builder
- Work/school account; knowledge sources, Work IQ, and agent creation depend on licensing and administrator settings.
- Copilot Studio
- Separate maker environment; organization policies determine available tools and connectors.
What the permission settings mean
Personal account: inspect each connection
Open Profile → Connectors → Connect → Continue to the service. Check the account and requested access. OneDrive and Outlook must use the same personal Microsoft account as Copilot. On web, + → Use connectors selects services for the conversation; mobile uses Profile → Connectors.
Edge browsing is another access route. Existing website sign-ins and open tabs matter. Use a fresh test browser profile, or leave browser actions out of this exercise.
Work account: fix permissions at the source
Microsoft 365 respects existing file access. If a group has excessive SharePoint access, correct that sharing first. Turning Work IQ off limits work grounding; it is not a global ban on every agent action.
In Agent Builder, choose the needed knowledge sources on Configure. Only use specified sources prioritizes those sources for search-based answers; it does not block general AI knowledge. Keep the agent private while testing, and inspect both agent membership and underlying file sharing.
Studio: configure approval on the actual tool
For external actions, inspect each tool using the path above. Enable approval where human review is required. Check its authentication identity: maker credentials can give it a different reach.
Turning off automatic tool selection does not disable a tool: an explicit topic can still call it. An instruction saying 'ask first' also does not change this setting. For a recap-only agent, leave sending and publishing tools out.
Separate memory, training, and history
Current personal app: Settings → Personalization → Saved memories controls future memory. Manage → Delete all memories clears saved entries separately. Microsoft's Training on conversation activity instructions explicitly apply to the older app; its current privacy-controls page does not document a replacement path. Do not assume the memory switch controls training.
Connected-service data is not used to train consumer Copilot. Commercial Microsoft 365 prompts, responses, and Microsoft Graph data are not used to train foundation models. Conversation history can still remain.
Review the work, then remove unused access
In Edge, watch the working tab and take control or stop the task; history records its work. Microsoft 365 administrators can inspect interactions through Content search or Purview. Also inspect source-file history.
For a Google connection, open Google Account → Linked apps → Access to your Google Account → Copilot → See details → Remove access. For an owned Agent Builder agent, Share → user's role → Remove revokes agent access; revoke shared files separately in SharePoint.
Work-account history deletion: My Account → Data and Privacy → Data options → Copilot activity history → Delete. This does not undo saved document changes. Organization retention policies can also apply.
Practice with fictional material
Verify a draft against the source
Use disposable approved notes with a unique check value. Record the contents, version, and sharing. Keep production mailing lists out of this test.
- Choose one product route above. For attachments only, turn off unused connectors and Work IQ where available; omit browser actions.
- Ask: Use these notes to draft a 150-word event recap in chat. Include three takeaways and the check value. Flag missing facts. Do not edit, send, share, publish, or schedule.
- Decline unexpected tool requests. In Studio, use its test chat and inspect the actual tool invocation and approval state.
- Open the original file in its service. Compare its version and sharing. Check the relevant Drafts/Sent folder or target service if any email tool was available.
Check the evidence
- Citations and the check value match the approved source.
- The original and its sharing remain unchanged; no unexpected message or external draft exists.
- Record actual settings, tool activity, and results. One successful draft does not prove universal read-only access.
Common questions
Is Agent Builder's source setting an access-control list?
No. Source selection guides answers; file permissions govern organizational access.
Does deleting chat history undo changes?
No. Inspect and, when appropriate, restore the affected file or service separately.
Official sources
These instructions were checked against product documentation on October 31, 2026. The practice exercise is a suggested test for your own permitted workspace, not a claim that these controls were configured in your account.
- Connect personal Copilot to other services
- What information Copilot uses and Work IQ controls
- Add knowledge sources in Agent Builder
- Share and manage Agent Builder agents
- Configure tools for Copilot Studio custom agents
- Browse with Copilot in Microsoft Edge
- Current personal Copilot privacy controls
- Legacy Copilot privacy controls and applicability notice
- Data, privacy, and security for commercial Microsoft Copilot
- Delete work or school Copilot activity history
- Remove a third-party app's Google Account access
Keep the whole workflow in view.
Set permissions for the tools you use.
Start with the overview, then follow the guide for your assistant or connection. Check what it can read, what it can change, and where approval happens.
Read the Controls overview