To import a client's social profiles without a password, send them an OAuth authorization link, let them approve the exact pages they want you to manage, and confirm the list on a pending connection screen before anything is saved. You never see their login, and they can revoke access at any time.
TLDR: Swap shared passwords for a six-step OAuth import: check the profile type, send the link, the client approves, review the pending list, confirm, then set a date to re-check. In Mydrop's data, the most common hard publishing failure was an expired platform connection.
Why passwords break first
Shared logins fail in predictable ways. The client changes a password and publishing stops. A teammate leaves and you have to rotate credentials for every brand. A platform sees a login from a new location and asks for verification.
OAuth avoids all three. The client signs in on the platform's own page and grants limited permissions, and your tool receives a token, not a password.
| Password handover | OAuth connection | |
|---|---|---|
| What you hold | The client's login | A scoped token |
| Client changes password | Publishing breaks | Usually keeps working |
| Removing access | Reset the password | Client revokes it on the platform |
| Preview before saving | No | Yes, on the pending screen |
The six steps for each brand
1. Check the account type first. Publishing needs a profile type the platform allows through its API. For example, Instagram generally needs a Business or Creator account linked to a Facebook Page. Ask the client which type they have before you send anything.
2. Send the authorization link. Use a link generated from your workspace, not a screen share. The client portal lets clients connect their accounts without a Mydrop login.
3. Client signs in and approves. They see the platform's own permission screen. Ask them to select only the pages and channels you will manage. Tell them in advance, so nobody gets a surprise.
4. Review the pending connection. This is the step that stops mistakes. A good import does not save the connection straight away. It shows the pages, groups or channels the platform returned, so you can check them first.
5. Confirm only what you need. If the platform returned five pages and the campaign covers one, select that one. Cancel and retry if the list is wrong.
6. Write down the date and owner. Note who connected the account and when, so you know who to ask when it needs a refresh.
What the pending screen tells you
Read the list for three problems:
- Wrong pages. A client with several pages may approve all of them. Remove the ones you do not manage.
- A service connection instead of a publishing profile. Sometimes the response is for a service such as a calendar or a cloud drive, not a profile you can post to. That is a sign the wrong permission was granted. Retry with the right scope instead of trying to work around it.
- Missing pages. If the one you want is absent, the client probably lacks admin rights. Ask them to check their role before they try again.
Plan for the connection to expire
A connection is not a one-off job. Tokens expire, passwords change, and permissions get removed. In Mydrop's publisher data for the 30 days to 16 September 2026, the most common hard failure was an expired platform connection.
Make this a habit:
- Review connection status once a month
- Reconnect before a big campaign, not during it
- Keep a list of owners, so you know who to email
For more detail on keeping connected accounts secure, see our guide to validating multi-account OAuth imports without password sharing.
Set it up for many brands at once
An agency with ten clients repeats the same six steps ten times. Make it routine: use one email template that explains what the client will see, group each client's profiles into a single brand so the team sees the right accounts, and keep each brand in its own workspace so access stays separate.
Send your first authorization link today
Pick one client still using a shared password, send them the link and run the six steps. Then ask them to change the old password, since it is no longer needed. To try the flow with your own profiles, start free with Mydrop.
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