Privilege scope is the set of data and actions a login, account, or access token is permitted to use. A narrowly scoped token might allow an app to view balances but not transfer money; a broad login may expose every action available to the account holder.
In cybersecurity, limiting privilege scope reduces the damage an attacker or compromised service can cause. Real attacks may exploit stolen credentials or tokens to reach everything their permissions allow. Defenses include granting only necessary access, separating read-only and transaction permissions, logging activity, and promptly revoking access that is no longer needed. Purpose-built APIs often make these controls clearer than sharing a customer’s full login credentials.