> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alfera.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Approval Gates: Stay in Control of Every Sensitive Action

> Alfera pauses before sending to a customer or changing important data, and waits for your one-tap approval. Set what runs automatically and what needs review.

Approval gates are Alfera's built-in safety check. Before any action that could affect a customer or alter important data, Alfera pauses and asks you to confirm. You decide with a single tap whether it proceeds.

## How approvals work

By default, Alfera pauses on anything customer-facing or destructive. That includes:

* Sending an email or message to a customer
* Updating a deal stage, contact record, or order
* Processing a refund or payment
* Changing inventory, pricing, or policy settings
* Posting publicly on social channels

When Alfera reaches one of these checkpoints, it sends you a message in Slack (and in the app dashboard) with a clear summary of the proposed action. You tap **Approve** to continue or **Reject** to stop it. Alfera explains what happens next in plain English.

## How to approve or reject

<Steps>
  <Step title="Receive the pause notification">
    Alfera sends you a Slack message or app notification when it reaches a gate.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review the summary">
    Read the plain-English explanation of what Alfera wants to do, why, and which tool it targets.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tap once">
    Click **Approve** to let it continue, or **Reject** to cancel that specific step and move on.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Configure what requires approval

You can customize which types of actions need your explicit sign-off. Go to **Settings > Approvals** in the Alfera app and toggle categories on or off.

| Category                  | Default behavior   |
| ------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Send to customer          | Approval required  |
| Update CRM record         | Approval required  |
| Process payment or refund | Approval required  |
| Draft email or message    | Runs automatically |
| Read and summarize data   | Runs automatically |
| Enrich lead data          | Runs automatically |

<Note>
  Routine work, like reading data, drafting internal notes, or enriching a lead profile, runs without interruption so Alfera can stay fast.
</Note>

## Next steps

* [Audit Trail](/control/audit-trail) for a readable record of every approved action
* [Security](/control/security) for how your data is protected end to end