SharePoint Online - Update User Profile Properties via CSOM App

Question

I have a console application where I am updating SharePoint Online user profile properties via CSOM. When I do it via the following code below (using a username and password), it works just fine.

private static void UpdateUserProfileProperties()
{
    var userAccountName = "i:0#.f|membership|myAccounName@mySite.com";
    var siteUrl = "https://mySite-admin.sharepoint.com";
    var myUserName = "myUserName";
    var myPassword = "myPassword";
    var secureStringPassword = new SecureString();
    myPassword.ToList().ForEach(c => secureStringPassword.AppendChar(c));

    using (var context = new ClientContext(siteUrl))
    {
        var credentials = new SharePointOnlineCredentials(myUserName, secureStringPassword);
        context.Credentials = credentials;

        var peopleManager = new PeopleManager(context);
        var personProperties = peopleManager.GetPropertiesFor(userAccountName);

        context.Load(personProperties, p => p.AccountName, p => p.UserProfileProperties);
        context.ExecuteQuery();
    }
}

Now, I have created an app in SharePoint (via the AppRegNew.aspx page). I granted the app tenant-level permissions (via the AppInv.aspx page) and the following Permission Request XML:

<AppPermissionRequests AllowAppOnlyPolicy="true">
    <AppPermissionRequest Scope="http://sharepoint/content/tenant" Right="FullControl"/>
</AppPermissionRequests>

Now, I am using the clientID/clientSecret to authenticate instead of a username and password - using this code:

public static void UpdateUserProfileProperties2()
{
    var userAccountName = "i:0#.f|membership|myAccounName@mySite.com";
    var siteUrl = "https://mySite-admin.sharepoint.com";
    var siteUri = new Uri(siteUrl);
    var siteRealm = TokenHelper.GetRealmFromTargetUrl(siteUri);
    var siteToken = TokenHelper.GetAppOnlyAccessToken(TokenHelper.SharePointPrincipal, siteUri.Authority, siteRealm).AccessToken;

    using (var context = TokenHelper.GetClientContextWithAccessToken(siteUri.ToString(), siteToken))
    {
        var peopleManager = new PeopleManager(context);
        var personProperties = peopleManager.GetPropertiesFor(userAccountName);

        context.Load(personProperties, p => p.AccountName, p => p.UserProfileProperties);
        context.ExecuteQuery();
    }
}

I can get the token and the context just fine. When the line context.ExecuteQuery(); executes, I get the following exception:

Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ServerUnauthorizedAccessException: Access denied. You do not have permission to perform this action or access this resource.

The app clientID/clientSecret works for all sorts of other site-based operations. Is it possible to load the user properties in the admin site via a clientID/clientSecret? If so, can you provide an example? How can I grant the app the appropriate permissions?

Answer 1

That code will only run with credentials provided for a tenant administrator. It will not work against App-only policy.

There is a User Profiles scope in the app permissions manifest, but, like the Taxonomy permission scope, it does not seem to actually do anything (in an Office 365 context, anyway).

http://www.vrdmn.com/2014/11/set-another-users-profile-properties.html (see point number 2)