What can an AI agent do with
Read private channel messages?
Lets the agent read messages and threads in private channels. With a bot token, only private channels it was invited to. With a user token, the private channels you are in.
How to spot it
On a Slack connection or settings screen, this is groups:history.
With it, an agent can
- Read past messages and thread replies in private channels
- Receive new messages as they are posted
It cannot, on its own
- Read private channels it (or you, with a user token) is not a member of
- Post messages
What a bad day looks like
A tricked agent pulls messages from a private management or HR channel and includes them in a reply to someone outside it.
Set it up safer
- Approve it as a bot and invite it only to the private channels it truly needs
- Do not grant this if it only works in public channels
Ask the company selling the agent
- Which private channels does it need, and why?
- Is this a bot token or a user token?
- Who at your company can see what it reads?
Source
Checked against Slack documentation on 2026-09-28. All Slack permissions →
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This page explains what a permission allows. It does not describe, test or rate any product. Permission details are summarized in our own words from the provider's documentation, linked on the page; providers change their documentation, so check the source before you rely on a detail.