OVERALL CONTROL / 0.6-customer-control
Grades and scoring
Data access
25% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Read interface 7.5/10
Structured API for the declared product scope
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Structured records are available for the declared product scope.
Search contacts ↗
Search contacts; structured results · Checked 2026-10-16
Bulk delivery 8.8/10
Batched or iterable API requests
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Iterable record queries provide bulk retrieval within endpoint limits; complete account recovery is unverified.
Search contacts ↗
Search contacts; structured results · Checked 2026-10-16
Query expressiveness 8.8/10
Documented structured API filters
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Query object, nested filters and cursor pagination
Search contacts ↗
Query object, nested filters and cursor pagination · Checked 2026-10-16
Access cost barrier -
-
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Paid workspace is documented; lowest eligible plan and fixed API fees not established
Set up a Workspace ↗
Reviewed route entitlement and plan conditions · Checked 2026-10-16
Third-party accessibility
20% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Third-party eligibility 7.5/10
Open registration under published review criteria
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
All third-party public apps, listed or unlisted, need Intercom review under published submission requirements. Private workspace tokens cannot be handed to a chosen third party.
App Review and Publishing ↗
Which apps require a review?; Review required for all public apps · Checked 2026-10-16
Downstream permission -
-
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Downstream processing, AI and redistribution permission require a separate applicable-terms review.
Set up a Workspace ↗
Authentication documentation reviewed; applicable downstream contractual clause not established · Checked 2026-10-16
External action
15% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Write interface 7.5/10
Create and update in one business domain
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Documented contact creation and updates plus conversation replies, within granted app permissions.
Create contact ↗
Create contact; POST /contacts · Checked 2026-10-16
Update a contact ↗
Update a contact; PUT /contacts/{contact_id} · Checked 2026-10-16
Reply to a conversation ↗
Reply to a conversation; POST /conversations/{conversation_id}/reply · Checked 2026-10-16
Custom application path 10.0/10
Customer applications using fixed APIs without provider selection
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Customer application authentication for the declared route
Set up a Workspace ↗
Customer application authentication for the declared route · Checked 2026-10-16
Continuity
15% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Refresh mechanism 7.5/10
Documented updated-since filters or webhooks
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Search conversations; updated_at and cursor pagination
Search conversations ↗
Search conversations; updated_at and cursor pagination · Checked 2026-10-16
Limit visibility 10.0/10
Published numeric quotas and recovery instructions
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Published numeric limits, rate-limit errors and recovery information
Rate limiting ↗
Published numeric limits, rate-limit errors and recovery information · Checked 2026-10-16
CDC and deletion capture -
-
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Merged contacts are excluded from searches; complete deletion identities for both scoped resource types not established
Search contacts ↗
Merged contacts are excluded from searches; complete deletion identities for both scoped resource types not established · Checked 2026-10-16
Replay and gap recovery 5.0/10
Bounded redelivery or overlapping queries; no durable consumer checkpoint
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Handling webhook notifications; bounded retry, throttle and drop behavior
Webhook topics and delivery handling ↗
Handling webhook notifications; bounded retry, throttle and drop behavior · Checked 2026-10-16
Data exit
20% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Export custody 7.5/10
Customer-held structured files or API records
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Customer-held API records are documented; no whole-product custody claim is made.
Search contacts ↗
Search contacts; structured results · Checked 2026-10-16
Post-cancellation access Disclosure
-
Disclosure only; does not reduce planned-exit credit.
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Post-cancellation retrieval remains unresolved.
Set up a Workspace ↗
Reviewed technical route; applicable customer termination clause not established · Checked 2026-10-16
Planned migration fidelity 7.5/10
Portable structured records on documented routes; whole-product completeness unverified
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Portable records within the declared API scope; complete attachments, history and service configuration are unverified.
Search contacts ↗
Search contacts; structured results · Checked 2026-10-16
Business logic and customization
5% of the overall score before applicability adjustment.
Scored answers and evidence
Logic authoring 2.5/10
External integration code; native business logic portability not established
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Create a private application and call the API
Set up a Workspace ↗
Create a private application and call the API · Checked 2026-10-16
Rights to custom logic -
-
Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties.
Rights to native workflow definitions remain unresolved.
Set up a Workspace ↗
Reviewed technical route; native artifact ownership and export rights not established · Checked 2026-10-16
Scores are out of 10. * Incomplete evidence discounts verified capabilities (unknown answers stay unknown). Planned migration drives data exit. Scoring method ↗
CUSTOMER CHOICE
Third-party accessibility
Private apps use access tokens only for their own workspace; Intercom says never to give those tokens to third parties. Third-party apps use OAuth and must pass review whether listed in the App Store or distributed through their own website.
Confirm who can connect, who owns the credentials and which uses are permitted. Customer consent and provider approval can be separate requirements; the selected plan and contract still matter.
READ / INTEGRATE
API and export routes
Contact search accepts attribute filters and cursor pagination. New contacts may take minutes to appear, and merged source contacts disappear from searches. Conversation search also supports filters; conversation parts require their own retrieval.
| Access route | Authentication | Credential owner | Provider approval | Access requirement | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer-owned private workspace app | API key | Customer | No | Customer-supplied credentials | 2026-10-16 |
| Reviewed OAuth app, listed or unlisted | OAuth 2.0 | Integration provider | Yes | App review | 2026-10-16 |
Availability depends on your product, plan and agreement. See the documentation below for the requirements of each route.
ECONOMIC ACCESS
Cost, authentication and limits
Intercom publishes per-app and workspace REST quotas, with rate-limit response headers. The reviewed developer pages do not establish lowest-plan entitlement or a complete schedule of fixed API access fees.
Check API entitlement, credential ownership and rate limits for the route you intend to use. Include review fees, customer-plan upgrades and ongoing access charges in the total.
ACT FROM OUTSIDE
External action
Contact create/update and conversation reply endpoints document external writes under granted permissions. Customer-owned private apps can use fixed APIs for their workspace; third-party distribution requires approved OAuth, including unlisted apps.
Validate the supported operation, acting identity and permission scope (read access does not imply write permission). Ambiguous retries and revoked credentials also affect whether an external workflow can run safely.
KEEP ACCESS USEFUL
Continuity
Webhooks provide supported event notifications with a five-second response deadline and limited retries. Continued 429 responses can cause notification loss after two hours; a webhook subscription is not a durable customer checkpoint.
CDC, deletions and recovery
| Question | Answer / applicable route | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Can ongoing extraction identify updates and deleted records on the declared route? | -Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Merged contacts are excluded from searches; complete deletion identities for both scoped resource types not established | Search contacts ↗Merged contacts are excluded from searches; complete deletion identities for both scoped resource types not establishedChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How can extraction recover after missed events or an interrupted consumer? | Bounded redelivery or overlapping queries; no durable consumer checkpointIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Handling webhook notifications; bounded retry, throttle and drop behavior | Webhook topics and delivery handling ↗Handling webhook notifications; bounded retry, throttle and drop behaviorChecked 2026-10-16 |
Useful ongoing access includes corrections and deletions, not only the first export. A failed request, changed filter or lost resource permission should not be interpreted as a deleted record.
LEAVE WITH YOUR DATA
Data exit and portability
Contact and conversation APIs deliver structured records before cancellation. Search indexing delays, merges and separate conversation-part retrieval limit what a single extraction proves. Whole-workspace recovery and cancellation retrieval remain unverified.
Test the output against the destination’s required fields and history. Check stable identifiers, relationships, attachments and extraction time; a sample file proves only the coverage of that sample.
BUILD / INSPECT / REUSE
Business logic and customization
Customers can build private external applications against REST. The assessed documentation does not establish portable ownership of native workflows, Fin configurations or app definitions (external client code is a separate artifact).
Custom API access, ownership of workflows and the right to export their definitions are separate questions. A custom-app capability alone does not establish that business rules can move to another system.
AGREEMENTS / API DOCS / PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Documented conditions
Answers below come from public provider materials. Every answer retains its source check date, scope (a partner agreement does not describe every customer route). Customer contracts and live behavior still need verification.
| Question | Answer / applicable route | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| What structured read interface is documented? | Structured API for the declared product scopeIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Structured records are available for the declared product scope. | Search contacts ↗Search contacts; structured resultsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How can customers retrieve data in bulk? | Batched or iterable API requestsIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Iterable record queries provide bulk retrieval within endpoint limits; complete account recovery is unverified. | Search contacts ↗Search contacts; structured resultsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What queries can a customer issue outside the provider UI? | Documented structured API filtersIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Query object, nested filters and cursor pagination | Search contacts ↗Query object, nested filters and cursor paginationChecked 2026-10-16 |
| Who decides whether a chosen third party may connect? | Open registration under published review criteriaIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. All third-party public apps, listed or unlisted, need Intercom review under published submission requirements. Private workspace tokens cannot be handed to a chosen third party. | App Review and Publishing ↗Which apps require a review?; Review required for all public appsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What extra commercial condition applies to the routes supplying the assessed read capability, relative to the lowest paid plan? | -Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Paid workspace is documented; lowest eligible plan and fixed API fees not established | Set up a Workspace ↗Reviewed route entitlement and plan conditionsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What permission is needed for the documented downstream use? | -Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Downstream processing, AI and redistribution permission require a separate applicable-terms review. | Set up a Workspace ↗Authentication documentation reviewed; applicable downstream contractual clause not establishedChecked 2026-10-16 |
| Which external write operations are documented? | Create and update in one business domainIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Documented contact creation and updates plus conversation replies, within granted app permissions. | Create contact ↗Create contact; POST /contactsChecked 2026-10-16 Update a contact ↗Update a contact; PUT /contacts/{contact_id}Checked 2026-10-16 Reply to a conversation ↗Reply to a conversation; POST /conversations/{conversation_id}/replyChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How can customers connect an application they build or choose? | Customer applications using fixed APIs without provider selectionIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Customer application authentication for the declared route | Set up a Workspace ↗Customer application authentication for the declared routeChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What mechanism supports repeatable extraction of changes? | Documented updated-since filters or webhooksIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Search conversations; updated_at and cursor pagination | Search conversations ↗Search conversations; updated_at and cursor paginationChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How are integration limits disclosed? | Published numeric quotas and recovery instructionsIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Published numeric limits, rate-limit errors and recovery information | Rate limiting ↗Published numeric limits, rate-limit errors and recovery informationChecked 2026-10-16 |
| Where can a usable data copy be delivered? | Customer-held structured files or API recordsIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Customer-held API records are documented; no whole-product custody claim is made. | Search contacts ↗Search contacts; structured resultsChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What retrieval rights are documented at cancellation? | -Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Post-cancellation retrieval remains unresolved. | Set up a Workspace ↗Reviewed technical route; applicable customer termination clause not establishedChecked 2026-10-16 |
| How can customers define their own business logic? | External integration code; native business logic portability not establishedIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Create a private application and call the API | Set up a Workspace ↗Create a private application and call the APIChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What rights or portability are documented for custom workflow artifacts? | -Intercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Rights to native workflow definitions remain unresolved. | Set up a Workspace ↗Reviewed technical route; native artifact ownership and export rights not establishedChecked 2026-10-16 |
| What usable data or native definitions can leave before cancellation? | Portable structured records on documented routes; whole-product completeness unverifiedIntercom / customer-owned private apps for their own workspace and approved third-party OAuth apps for contacts, conversations and webhooks. Listed and unlisted third-party apps both require provider review; private tokens must not be handed to third parties. Portable records within the declared API scope; complete attachments, history and service configuration are unverified. | Search contacts ↗Search contacts; structured resultsChecked 2026-10-16 |
SOURCES / SCOPE / HISTORY
Sources and open questions
This review is based on the documentation below. Live account behavior and customer-specific agreements haven’t been tested.
Still to confirm
- Applicable minimum plan and fixed access charges
- Downstream processing and cancellation terms
- Complete deletion coverage across contacts and conversations
- Native workflow ownership and independent execution
Documentation
Assessment checked 2026-10-16. Each answer retains its source and applicable route; the check date does not establish live account behavior.