diff --git a/.env.demo b/.env.demo
index a4a2b2f1..20c6b926 100644
--- a/.env.demo
+++ b/.env.demo
@@ -339,6 +339,12 @@ IMAP2_DELETE_AFTER_PROCESS=false
 # Use for pre-production instances that share a mailbox with production.
 IMAP_READONLY_MODE=false
 
+# Controls which attachment types are ingested from IMAP emails.
+# 'documents_only' (default) – PDFs and office files only; images are skipped.
+# 'all' – all supported file types including images.
+# Per-user IMAP accounts can override this global default.
+IMAP_ATTACHMENT_FILTER=documents_only
+
 # **Storage/Document Services**
 # Amazon S3
 # S3_ENABLED=true  # Set to false to disable S3 uploads without removing credentials
diff --git a/app/api/__init__.py b/app/api/__init__.py
index ca331229..28b9fbba 100644
--- a/app/api/__init__.py
+++ b/app/api/__init__.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ from app.api.files import router as files_router
 from app.api.google_drive import router as google_drive_router
 from app.api.i18n import router as i18n_router
 from app.api.imap_accounts import router as imap_accounts_router
+from app.api.imap_profiles import router as imap_profiles_router
 from app.api.integrations import router as integrations_router
 from app.api.logs import router as logs_router
 from app.api.mobile import router as mobile_router
@@ -83,6 +84,7 @@ router.include_router(onboarding_router)
 router.include_router(billing_router)
 router.include_router(pipelines_router)
 router.include_router(imap_accounts_router)
+router.include_router(imap_profiles_router)
 router.include_router(integrations_router)
 router.include_router(notifications_router)
 router.include_router(scheduled_jobs_router)
diff --git a/app/api/imap_accounts.py b/app/api/imap_accounts.py
index 69b26c72..2aa9b039 100644
--- a/app/api/imap_accounts.py
+++ b/app/api/imap_accounts.py
@@ -110,6 +110,13 @@ class ImapAccountCreate(BaseModel):
     use_ssl: bool = Field(default=True, description="Use SSL/TLS connection")
     delete_after_process: bool = Field(default=False, description="Delete emails from mailbox after processing")
     is_active: bool = Field(default=True, description="Whether to poll this mailbox")
+    profile_id: int | None = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description=(
+            "ID of the ImapIngestionProfile that controls which attachment types to ingest. "
+            "Null inherits the global imap_attachment_filter setting."
+        ),
+    )
 
 
 class ImapAccountUpdate(BaseModel):
@@ -123,6 +130,13 @@ class ImapAccountUpdate(BaseModel):
     use_ssl: bool | None = None
     delete_after_process: bool | None = None
     is_active: bool | None = None
+    profile_id: int | None = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description=(
+            "ID of the ImapIngestionProfile to use.  "
+            "Explicitly sending null clears the override (falls back to global setting)."
+        ),
+    )
 
 
 class ImapTestRequest(BaseModel):
@@ -155,6 +169,7 @@ def _to_response(acct: UserImapAccount) -> dict[str, Any]:
         "use_ssl": acct.use_ssl,
         "delete_after_process": acct.delete_after_process,
         "is_active": acct.is_active,
+        "profile_id": acct.profile_id,
         "last_checked_at": acct.last_checked_at.isoformat() if acct.last_checked_at else None,
         "last_error": acct.last_error,
         "created_at": acct.created_at.isoformat() if acct.created_at else None,
@@ -222,6 +237,7 @@ def create_imap_account(
         use_ssl=body.use_ssl,
         delete_after_process=body.delete_after_process,
         is_active=body.is_active,
+        profile_id=body.profile_id,
     )
     try:
         db.add(acct)
@@ -277,6 +293,10 @@ def update_imap_account(
         acct.delete_after_process = body.delete_after_process
     if body.is_active is not None:
         acct.is_active = body.is_active
+    # profile_id: update whenever the field is explicitly present in the request payload
+    # (including sending null to clear the override).
+    if "profile_id" in body.model_fields_set:
+        acct.profile_id = body.profile_id
 
     # Reset last_error so the next poll gives a fresh result
     acct.last_error = None
diff --git a/app/api/imap_profiles.py b/app/api/imap_profiles.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..90502686
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/api/imap_profiles.py
@@ -0,0 +1,257 @@
+"""API endpoints for managing IMAP ingestion profiles.
+
+Ingestion profiles allow fine-grained control over which attachment types are
+accepted when ingesting emails via IMAP.  Each profile carries a list of enabled
+file-type categories (e.g. ``["pdf", "office", "images"]``) drawn from the
+canonical set defined in :mod:`app.utils.allowed_types`.
+
+Built-in system profiles (``is_builtin=True``) are read-only and cannot be
+deleted or modified.  Users may create their own profiles which are private to
+their ``owner_id``.  System-level global profiles (``owner_id=None``) are visible
+to all users but can only be created by administrators.
+"""
+
+import json
+import logging
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from typing import Annotated, Any
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, Request, status
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
+
+from app.database import get_db
+from app.models import ImapIngestionProfile
+from app.utils.allowed_types import FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES
+from app.utils.user_scope import get_current_owner_id
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+router = APIRouter(prefix="/imap-profiles", tags=["imap-profiles"])
+
+DbSession = Annotated[Session, Depends(get_db)]
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Auth helpers
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _get_owner_id(request: Request) -> str:
+    """Return the current user's owner ID, raising 401 if unauthenticated."""
+    owner_id = get_current_owner_id(request)
+    if owner_id is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Not authenticated")
+    return owner_id
+
+
+CurrentOwner = Annotated[str, Depends(_get_owner_id)]
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Pydantic schemas
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+_VALID_CATEGORIES = set(FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES.keys())
+
+
+class ImapProfileCreate(BaseModel):
+    """Schema for creating a new ingestion profile."""
+
+    name: str = Field(..., min_length=1, max_length=255, description="Human-readable profile name")
+    description: str | None = Field(default=None, description="Optional description")
+    allowed_categories: list[str] = Field(
+        ...,
+        min_length=1,
+        description=(f"List of enabled file-type category keys.  Valid values: {sorted(_VALID_CATEGORIES)}"),
+    )
+
+
+class ImapProfileUpdate(BaseModel):
+    """Schema for updating an existing profile (all fields optional)."""
+
+    name: str | None = Field(default=None, min_length=1, max_length=255)
+    description: str | None = None
+    allowed_categories: list[str] | None = Field(default=None, min_length=1)
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Validation helpers
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _validate_categories(categories: list[str]) -> list[str]:
+    """Raise 422 if any category key is unknown; return the cleaned list."""
+    unknown = [c for c in categories if c not in _VALID_CATEGORIES]
+    if unknown:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_422_UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY,
+            detail=f"Unknown category key(s): {unknown}. Valid keys: {sorted(_VALID_CATEGORIES)}",
+        )
+    # Deduplicate while preserving order
+    seen: set[str] = set()
+    result: list[str] = []
+    for cat in categories:
+        if cat not in seen:
+            seen.add(cat)
+            result.append(cat)
+    return result
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Serialisation
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _to_response(profile: ImapIngestionProfile) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Serialize a profile row to a response dict."""
+    try:
+        categories = json.loads(profile.allowed_categories)
+    except (ValueError, TypeError):
+        categories = []
+
+    # Enrich categories with display metadata
+    categories_detail = [
+        {
+            "key": cat,
+            "label": FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES[cat]["label"] if cat in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES else cat,
+            "description": FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES[cat]["description"] if cat in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES else "",
+        }
+        for cat in categories
+    ]
+
+    return {
+        "id": profile.id,
+        "name": profile.name,
+        "description": profile.description,
+        "owner_id": profile.owner_id,
+        "allowed_categories": categories,
+        "categories_detail": categories_detail,
+        "is_builtin": profile.is_builtin,
+        "created_at": profile.created_at.isoformat() if profile.created_at else None,
+        "updated_at": profile.updated_at.isoformat() if profile.updated_at else None,
+    }
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Endpoints
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+@router.get("/categories", summary="List available file-type categories")
+def list_categories(request: Request, owner_id: CurrentOwner) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Return the full list of file-type categories that can be used in profiles."""
+    return [
+        {
+            "key": key,
+            "label": info["label"],
+            "description": info["description"],
+        }
+        for key, info in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES.items()
+    ]
+
+
+@router.get("/", summary="List ingestion profiles visible to the current user")
+def list_profiles(request: Request, db: DbSession, owner_id: CurrentOwner) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
+    """Return all profiles: system-global (owner_id=NULL) and the user's own profiles."""
+    profiles = (
+        db.query(ImapIngestionProfile)
+        .filter(
+            # SQLAlchemy requires `== None` for IS NULL comparison in ORM filters
+            (ImapIngestionProfile.owner_id == None) | (ImapIngestionProfile.owner_id == owner_id)  # noqa: E711
+        )
+        .order_by(ImapIngestionProfile.is_builtin.desc(), ImapIngestionProfile.id)
+        .all()
+    )
+    return [_to_response(p) for p in profiles]
+
+
+@router.post("/", status_code=status.HTTP_201_CREATED, summary="Create a new ingestion profile")
+def create_profile(request: Request, body: ImapProfileCreate, db: DbSession, owner_id: CurrentOwner) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Create a new ingestion profile owned by the current user."""
+    categories = _validate_categories(body.allowed_categories)
+
+    profile = ImapIngestionProfile(
+        name=body.name,
+        description=body.description,
+        owner_id=owner_id,
+        allowed_categories=json.dumps(categories),
+        is_builtin=False,
+    )
+    try:
+        db.add(profile)
+        db.commit()
+        db.refresh(profile)
+    except Exception:
+        db.rollback()
+        raise
+
+    logger.info("User %s created IMAP ingestion profile %d ('%s')", owner_id, profile.id, body.name)
+    return _to_response(profile)
+
+
+@router.get("/{profile_id}", summary="Get a single ingestion profile")
+def get_profile(profile_id: int, request: Request, db: DbSession, owner_id: CurrentOwner) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Return a single profile by ID.  Only the owner or system profiles are accessible."""
+    profile = db.query(ImapIngestionProfile).filter(ImapIngestionProfile.id == profile_id).first()
+    if not profile or (profile.owner_id is not None and profile.owner_id != owner_id):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Ingestion profile not found")
+    return _to_response(profile)
+
+
+@router.put("/{profile_id}", summary="Update an ingestion profile")
+def update_profile(
+    profile_id: int,
+    request: Request,
+    body: ImapProfileUpdate,
+    db: DbSession,
+    owner_id: CurrentOwner,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Update an existing ingestion profile.  Built-in profiles cannot be modified."""
+    profile = db.query(ImapIngestionProfile).filter(ImapIngestionProfile.id == profile_id).first()
+    if not profile or (profile.owner_id is not None and profile.owner_id != owner_id):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Ingestion profile not found")
+    if profile.is_builtin:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN,
+            detail="Built-in profiles cannot be modified.",
+        )
+
+    if body.name is not None:
+        profile.name = body.name
+    if "description" in body.model_fields_set:
+        profile.description = body.description
+    if body.allowed_categories is not None:
+        categories = _validate_categories(body.allowed_categories)
+        profile.allowed_categories = json.dumps(categories)
+
+    profile.updated_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+
+    try:
+        db.commit()
+        db.refresh(profile)
+    except Exception:
+        db.rollback()
+        raise
+
+    logger.info("User %s updated IMAP ingestion profile %d", owner_id, profile_id)
+    return _to_response(profile)
+
+
+@router.delete("/{profile_id}", status_code=status.HTTP_204_NO_CONTENT, summary="Delete an ingestion profile")
+def delete_profile(profile_id: int, request: Request, db: DbSession, owner_id: CurrentOwner) -> None:
+    """Delete an ingestion profile.  Built-in profiles cannot be deleted."""
+    profile = db.query(ImapIngestionProfile).filter(ImapIngestionProfile.id == profile_id).first()
+    if not profile or (profile.owner_id is not None and profile.owner_id != owner_id):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Ingestion profile not found")
+    if profile.is_builtin:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN,
+            detail="Built-in profiles cannot be deleted.",
+        )
+
+    try:
+        db.delete(profile)
+        db.commit()
+    except Exception:
+        db.rollback()
+        raise
+
+    logger.info("User %s deleted IMAP ingestion profile %d", owner_id, profile_id)
diff --git a/app/config.py b/app/config.py
index 1275dbbc..d3a2080c 100644
--- a/app/config.py
+++ b/app/config.py
@@ -647,6 +647,17 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
         ),
     )
 
+    imap_attachment_filter: str = Field(
+        default="documents_only",
+        description=(
+            "Controls which attachment types are ingested from IMAP emails. "
+            "Accepted values: "
+            "'documents_only' – ingest only PDFs and office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ODT, etc.); "
+            "'all' – ingest all supported file types including images. "
+            "This is the global default; individual user IMAP accounts can override it."
+        ),
+    )
+
     # Batch processing settings
     processall_throttle_threshold: int = Field(
         default=20,
diff --git a/app/models.py b/app/models.py
index 9b3ea4d1..5ba06e81 100644
--- a/app/models.py
+++ b/app/models.py
@@ -401,6 +401,48 @@ class PipelineStep(Base):
     updated_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), onupdate=func.now())
 
 
+class ImapIngestionProfile(Base):
+    """Named ingestion profile controlling which attachment types are accepted from IMAP emails.
+
+    Profiles group file-type categories (e.g. "pdf", "office", "images") so users
+    can precisely control what gets ingested from each mailbox.
+
+    System-provided built-in profiles (``is_builtin=True``) are seeded by the
+    migration and cannot be deleted or renamed.  Users may create their own profiles
+    (``owner_id`` set to their identifier) or rely on the global system profiles
+    (``owner_id=None``).
+
+    ``allowed_categories`` stores a JSON list of category strings, e.g.::
+
+        '["pdf", "office", "opendocument", "text", "web"]'
+
+    Valid category names are defined in ``app.utils.allowed_types.FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES``.
+    """
+
+    __tablename__ = "imap_ingestion_profiles"
+
+    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True, index=True)
+
+    # Human-readable profile name (e.g. "Documents Only", "Documents + Images")
+    name = Column(String(255), nullable=False)
+
+    # Optional description shown in the UI
+    description = Column(Text, nullable=True)
+
+    # Owner of this profile. NULL = global/system profile available to all users.
+    owner_id = Column(String, nullable=True, index=True)
+
+    # JSON-encoded list of enabled category keys.  Example: '["pdf","office","text"]'
+    # See FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES in app/utils/allowed_types.py for valid values.
+    allowed_categories = Column(Text, nullable=False, default='["pdf","office","opendocument","text","web"]')
+
+    # Built-in system profiles that cannot be deleted or modified via the API.
+    is_builtin = Column(Boolean, nullable=False, default=False)
+
+    created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now())
+    updated_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), onupdate=func.now())
+
+
 class UserImapAccount(Base):
     """Per-user IMAP ingestion account.
 
@@ -439,6 +481,10 @@ class UserImapAccount(Base):
     # When True, emails are deleted from the mailbox after their attachments are processed
     delete_after_process = Column(Boolean, nullable=False, default=False)
 
+    # Optional reference to an ImapIngestionProfile.
+    # NULL means "use the global imap_attachment_filter setting" (system default).
+    profile_id = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("imap_ingestion_profiles.id"), nullable=True)
+
     # When False the account is not polled by the periodic task (but not deleted)
     is_active = Column(Boolean, nullable=False, default=True)
 
diff --git a/app/tasks/imap_tasks.py b/app/tasks/imap_tasks.py
index 064ccf06..d47ab6c2 100644
--- a/app/tasks/imap_tasks.py
+++ b/app/tasks/imap_tasks.py
@@ -13,7 +13,11 @@ from celery import shared_task
 from app.config import settings
 from app.tasks.convert_to_pdf import convert_to_pdf  # new conversion task
 from app.tasks.process_document import process_document  # Updated import
-from app.utils.allowed_types import ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS, ALLOWED_MIME_TYPES
+from app.utils.allowed_types import (
+    ALL_CATEGORIES,
+    DEFAULT_CATEGORIES,
+    get_allowed_types_for_categories,
+)
 
 # Database session for per-user IMAP accounts (imported lazily to avoid circular imports)
 _db_session_factory = None
@@ -50,6 +54,38 @@ def _decrypt_imap_password(password: str | None) -> str | None:
     return decrypt_value(password)
 
 
+def _resolve_categories_for_profile(profile_id: int | None) -> list[str]:
+    """Return the list of allowed categories for a profile ID.
+
+    Loads the profile from the database.  If ``profile_id`` is ``None`` or the
+    profile is not found, falls back to the global ``settings.imap_attachment_filter``
+    string (``'documents_only'`` → default categories; ``'all'`` → all categories).
+    """
+    if profile_id is not None:
+        try:
+            from app.models import ImapIngestionProfile
+
+            db = _get_db_session()
+            try:
+                profile = db.query(ImapIngestionProfile).filter(ImapIngestionProfile.id == profile_id).first()
+                if profile:
+                    return json.loads(profile.allowed_categories)
+            finally:
+                db.close()
+        except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+            logger.warning(
+                "Could not load IMAP ingestion profile %d (%s: %s) — using global default",
+                profile_id,
+                type(exc).__name__,
+                exc,
+            )
+
+    # Fall back to global setting
+    if settings.imap_attachment_filter == "all":
+        return ALL_CATEGORIES
+    return DEFAULT_CATEGORIES
+
+
 LOCK_KEY = "imap_lock"  # Unique key for locking
 LOCK_EXPIRE = 300  # Lock expires in 5 minutes
 
@@ -180,6 +216,7 @@ def _pull_user_imap_accounts() -> None:
                         use_ssl=acct.use_ssl,
                         delete_after_process=acct.delete_after_process,
                         owner_id=acct.owner_id,
+                        allowed_categories=_resolve_categories_for_profile(acct.profile_id),
                     )
                     # Record successful poll
                     acct.last_checked_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
@@ -250,6 +287,9 @@ def _pull_user_integration_imap() -> None:
                     use_ssl = cfg.get("use_ssl", True)
                     delete_after = cfg.get("delete_after_process", False)
                     gmail_labels = cfg.get("gmail_apply_labels", True)
+                    # Integrations can store a profile_id in config; fall back to global default
+                    profile_id = cfg.get("profile_id")
+                    allowed_categories = _resolve_categories_for_profile(profile_id)
 
                     if not (host and username and password):
                         logger.warning(
@@ -269,6 +309,7 @@ def _pull_user_integration_imap() -> None:
                         delete_after_process=delete_after,
                         owner_id=integ.owner_id,
                         gmail_apply_labels=gmail_labels,
+                        allowed_categories=allowed_categories,
                     )
                     integ.last_used_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
                     integ.last_error = None
@@ -329,6 +370,7 @@ def pull_inbox(
     delete_after_process,
     owner_id=None,
     gmail_apply_labels=True,
+    allowed_categories=None,
 ):
     """
     Connects to the IMAP inbox, fetches new unread emails from the last 3 days,
@@ -345,8 +387,22 @@ def pull_inbox(
                   attributed to this user via ``process_document`` / ``convert_to_pdf``.
         gmail_apply_labels: Whether to apply Gmail-specific labels and stars to
                   processed emails. Only relevant for Gmail hosts. Defaults to True.
+        allowed_categories: List of file-type category keys to ingest (e.g.
+                  ``["pdf", "office", "images"]``).  ``None`` falls back to the
+                  global ``settings.imap_attachment_filter`` mapping.
     """
-    logger.info("Connecting to %s at %s:%s (SSL=%s)", mailbox_key, host, port, use_ssl)
+    if allowed_categories is None:
+        allowed_categories = _resolve_categories_for_profile(None)
+
+    effective_mime_types, effective_extensions = get_allowed_types_for_categories(allowed_categories)
+    logger.info(
+        "Connecting to %s at %s:%s (SSL=%s) — categories: %s",
+        mailbox_key,
+        host,
+        port,
+        use_ssl,
+        allowed_categories,
+    )
     processed_emails = load_processed_emails()
 
     try:
@@ -405,9 +461,13 @@ def pull_inbox(
                     logger.info("Skipping email %s in %s, already labeled 'Ingested'.", msg_id, mailbox_key)
                     continue
 
-            # Process attachments (and convert non-PDF files).
-            # We call the function without assigning its return value since it is not used.
-            fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(email_message, owner_id=owner_id)
+            # Process attachments using the resolved mime types / extensions.
+            fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(
+                email_message,
+                owner_id=owner_id,
+                effective_mime_types=effective_mime_types,
+                effective_extensions=effective_extensions,
+            )
 
             if settings.imap_readonly_mode:
                 logger.info("Readonly mode: skipping mailbox modifications for %s in %s", msg_id, mailbox_key)
@@ -436,27 +496,23 @@ def pull_inbox(
         logger.exception("Error pulling mailbox %s: %s", mailbox_key, e)
 
 
-def fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(email_message, owner_id: str | None = None):
+def fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(
+    email_message,
+    owner_id: str | None = None,
+    effective_mime_types: frozenset[str] | None = None,
+    effective_extensions: frozenset[str] | None = None,
+):
     """
     Extracts attachments from the email and processes only allowed file types.
 
-    Files are accepted if either:
-    1. They have a MIME type from the ALLOWED_MIME_TYPES set, OR
-    2. They have a '.pdf' file extension (regardless of MIME type)
+    The caller is responsible for computing ``effective_mime_types`` and
+    ``effective_extensions`` from the relevant :class:`ImapIngestionProfile` (or
+    the global default) via :func:`app.utils.allowed_types.get_allowed_types_for_categories`
+    before calling this function.  ``pull_inbox`` does this automatically.
 
-    Allowed file types include:
-      - PDF: application/pdf or *.pdf extension
-      - Microsoft Office files:
-          - Word: application/msword,
-            application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
-          - Excel: application/vnd.ms-excel,
-            application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
-          - PowerPoint: application/vnd.ms-powerpoint,
-            application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation
-      - Other meaningful attachments:
-          - Plain text: text/plain
-          - CSV: text/csv
-          - Rich Text Format: application/rtf, text/rtf
+    If either set is ``None`` the function falls back to the default category list
+    so the function still works correctly when called directly in tests or from
+    other contexts.
 
     If the attachment is a PDF (by extension or MIME type), it is enqueued for upload;
     any other allowed file is enqueued for conversion to PDF.
@@ -465,9 +521,14 @@ def fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(email_message, owner_id: str | None = None):
         email_message: The parsed email message to extract attachments from.
         owner_id: Optional user identifier forwarded to ``process_document`` /
                   ``convert_to_pdf`` for multi-tenant attribution.
+        effective_mime_types: Pre-computed frozenset of allowed MIME type strings.
+        effective_extensions: Pre-computed frozenset of allowed file extension strings.
 
     Returns True if at least one allowed attachment was processed.
     """
+    if effective_mime_types is None or effective_extensions is None:
+        effective_mime_types, effective_extensions = get_allowed_types_for_categories(DEFAULT_CATEGORIES)
+
     has_attachment = False
     for part in email_message.walk():
         if part.get_content_maintype() == "multipart":
@@ -482,9 +543,15 @@ def fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(email_message, owner_id: str | None = None):
 
         mime_type = part.get_content_type()
         file_ext = os.path.splitext(filename)[1].lower()
+
         # Accept file if it has an allowed MIME type, an allowed extension, OR is a PDF by extension
-        if mime_type not in ALLOWED_MIME_TYPES and file_ext not in ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS and not is_pdf_by_extension:
-            logger.info("Skipping attachment %s with MIME type %s", filename, mime_type)
+        if mime_type not in effective_mime_types and file_ext not in effective_extensions and not is_pdf_by_extension:
+            logger.info(
+                "Skipping attachment %s (MIME: %s, ext: %s) — not in effective allowed set",
+                filename,
+                mime_type,
+                file_ext,
+            )
             continue
 
         file_path = os.path.join(settings.workdir, filename)
@@ -495,7 +562,7 @@ def fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(email_message, owner_id: str | None = None):
         if mime_type == "application/pdf" or is_pdf_by_extension:
             process_document.delay(file_path, owner_id=owner_id)
             logger.info("Enqueued PDF for upload: %s (MIME: %s)", filename, mime_type)
-        elif mime_type in ALLOWED_MIME_TYPES:
+        elif mime_type in effective_mime_types:
             # Other allowed files are sent for conversion
             convert_to_pdf.delay(file_path, owner_id=owner_id)
             logger.info("Enqueued file for conversion to PDF: %s", filename)
diff --git a/app/utils/allowed_types.py b/app/utils/allowed_types.py
index 733ff10e..eaa37e6e 100644
--- a/app/utils/allowed_types.py
+++ b/app/utils/allowed_types.py
@@ -131,3 +131,157 @@ ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS: set[str] = {
     ".md",
     ".markdown",
 }
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Fine-grained file-type categories used by IMAP ingestion profiles.
+# Each category groups related MIME types and extensions so that users can
+# enable/disable a logical collection of formats (e.g. "images") rather than
+# having to manage individual MIME strings.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES: dict[str, dict] = {
+    "pdf": {
+        "label": "PDF",
+        "description": "PDF documents (.pdf)",
+        "mime_types": frozenset({"application/pdf"}),
+        "extensions": frozenset({".pdf"}),
+    },
+    "office": {
+        "label": "Microsoft Office",
+        "description": "Word, Excel and PowerPoint files (.doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, …)",
+        "mime_types": frozenset(
+            {
+                "application/msword",
+                "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document",
+                "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.template",
+                "application/vnd.ms-word.document.macroEnabled.12",
+                "application/vnd.ms-word.template.macroEnabled.12",
+                "application/vnd.ms-excel",
+                "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet",
+                "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.template",
+                "application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.macroEnabled.12",
+                "application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.binary.macroEnabled.12",
+                "application/vnd.ms-powerpoint",
+                "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation",
+                "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.template",
+                "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.slideshow",
+                "application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.presentation.macroEnabled.12",
+            }
+        ),
+        "extensions": frozenset(
+            {
+                ".doc",
+                ".docx",
+                ".docm",
+                ".dot",
+                ".dotx",
+                ".dotm",
+                ".xls",
+                ".xlsx",
+                ".xlsm",
+                ".xlsb",
+                ".xlt",
+                ".xltx",
+                ".xlw",
+                ".ppt",
+                ".pptx",
+                ".pptm",
+                ".pps",
+                ".ppsx",
+                ".pot",
+                ".potx",
+            }
+        ),
+    },
+    "opendocument": {
+        "label": "OpenDocument (LibreOffice)",
+        "description": "LibreOffice / OpenOffice files (.odt, .ods, .odp, …)",
+        "mime_types": frozenset(
+            {
+                "application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text",
+                "application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet",
+                "application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation",
+                "application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics",
+                "application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula",
+            }
+        ),
+        "extensions": frozenset({".odt", ".ods", ".odp", ".odg", ".odf"}),
+    },
+    "text": {
+        "label": "Text & Data",
+        "description": "Plain text, CSV and RTF files (.txt, .csv, .rtf)",
+        "mime_types": frozenset(
+            {
+                "text/plain",
+                "text/csv",
+                "application/rtf",
+                "text/rtf",
+            }
+        ),
+        "extensions": frozenset({".txt", ".csv", ".rtf"}),
+    },
+    "web": {
+        "label": "Web & Markup",
+        "description": "HTML and Markdown files (.html, .htm, .md, .markdown)",
+        "mime_types": frozenset(
+            {
+                "text/html",
+                "text/markdown",
+                "text/x-markdown",
+            }
+        ),
+        "extensions": frozenset({".html", ".htm", ".md", ".markdown"}),
+    },
+    "images": {
+        "label": "Images",
+        "description": "Image files (.jpg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .tiff, .webp, .svg)",
+        "mime_types": frozenset(
+            {
+                "image/jpeg",
+                "image/jpg",
+                "image/png",
+                "image/gif",
+                "image/bmp",
+                "image/tiff",
+                "image/webp",
+                "image/svg+xml",
+            }
+        ),
+        "extensions": frozenset(
+            {
+                ".jpg",
+                ".jpeg",
+                ".png",
+                ".gif",
+                ".bmp",
+                ".tiff",
+                ".tif",
+                ".webp",
+                ".svg",
+            }
+        ),
+    },
+}
+
+# Default categories for the "documents only" built-in profile (no images)
+DEFAULT_CATEGORIES: list[str] = ["pdf", "office", "opendocument", "text", "web"]
+# All categories including images
+ALL_CATEGORIES: list[str] = ["pdf", "office", "opendocument", "text", "web", "images"]
+
+
+def get_allowed_types_for_categories(
+    categories: list[str],
+) -> tuple[frozenset[str], frozenset[str]]:
+    """Return ``(mime_types, extensions)`` for the given category list.
+
+    Unknown category names are silently ignored so that future categories
+    don't break existing profiles.
+    """
+    mime_types: set[str] = set()
+    extensions: set[str] = set()
+    for cat in categories:
+        info = FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES.get(cat)
+        if info:
+            mime_types |= info["mime_types"]
+            extensions |= info["extensions"]
+    return frozenset(mime_types), frozenset(extensions)
diff --git a/app/utils/settings_service.py b/app/utils/settings_service.py
index 727e4861..dceaa943 100644
--- a/app/utils/settings_service.py
+++ b/app/utils/settings_service.py
@@ -1660,6 +1660,18 @@ SETTING_METADATA = {
         "required": False,
         "restart_required": False,
     },
+    "imap_attachment_filter": {
+        "category": "IMAP",
+        "description": (
+            "Controls which attachment types are ingested from IMAP emails. "
+            "Accepted values: 'documents_only' (PDFs and office files only, default) or 'all' (including images). "
+            "Per-user IMAP accounts can override this global default."
+        ),
+        "type": "string",
+        "sensitive": False,
+        "required": False,
+        "restart_required": False,
+    },
     # Monitoring - Uptime Kuma
     "uptime_kuma_url": {
         "category": "Monitoring",
diff --git a/app/views/imap_accounts.py b/app/views/imap_accounts.py
index 460c83ba..c952a8cd 100644
--- a/app/views/imap_accounts.py
+++ b/app/views/imap_accounts.py
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 """User-facing view for the per-user IMAP ingestion dashboard."""
 
+import json
 import logging
 
 from fastapi import Request
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
-from app.models import UserImapAccount
+from app.models import ImapIngestionProfile, UserImapAccount
+from app.utils.allowed_types import DEFAULT_CATEGORIES, FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES
 from app.utils.subscription import get_tier, get_user_tier_id
 from app.utils.user_scope import get_current_owner_id
 from app.views.base import APIRouter, Depends, get_db, require_login, templates
@@ -25,6 +27,22 @@ def _get_max_mailboxes(tier: dict) -> int | None:
     return max_mb
 
 
+def _serialize_profile(profile: ImapIngestionProfile) -> dict:
+    """Serialize a profile for JSON embedding in the template."""
+    try:
+        categories = json.loads(profile.allowed_categories)
+    except (ValueError, TypeError):
+        categories = []
+    return {
+        "id": profile.id,
+        "name": profile.name,
+        "description": profile.description,
+        "owner_id": profile.owner_id,
+        "allowed_categories": categories,
+        "is_builtin": profile.is_builtin,
+    }
+
+
 @router.get("/imap-accounts")
 @require_login
 async def imap_accounts_page(request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
@@ -49,11 +67,35 @@ async def imap_accounts_page(request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
         max_mailboxes = _get_max_mailboxes(tier)
         can_add = max_mailboxes is None or (max_mailboxes > 0 and current_count < max_mailboxes)
 
+    # Load ingestion profiles: system-global + user's own
+    profiles = (
+        db.query(ImapIngestionProfile)
+        .filter(
+            # SQLAlchemy requires `== None` for IS NULL comparison in ORM filters
+            (ImapIngestionProfile.owner_id == None) | (ImapIngestionProfile.owner_id == owner_id)  # noqa: E711
+        )
+        .order_by(ImapIngestionProfile.is_builtin.desc(), ImapIngestionProfile.id)
+        .all()
+    )
+
+    # Category definitions for the UI checkbox builder
+    categories = [
+        {
+            "key": key,
+            "label": info["label"],
+            "description": info["description"],
+        }
+        for key, info in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES.items()
+    ]
+
     return templates.TemplateResponse(
         "imap_accounts.html",
         {
             "request": request,
             "accounts": accounts,
+            "profiles": [_serialize_profile(p) for p in profiles],
+            "categories": categories,
+            "default_categories": DEFAULT_CATEGORIES,
             "current_count": current_count,
             "max_mailboxes": max_mailboxes,
             "can_add": can_add,
diff --git a/docs/ConfigurationGuide.md b/docs/ConfigurationGuide.md
index 6d23b197..643ac930 100644
--- a/docs/ConfigurationGuide.md
+++ b/docs/ConfigurationGuide.md
@@ -304,6 +304,42 @@ DocuElevate can automatically pull document attachments from IMAP mailboxes —
 | `IMAP1_SSL`                   | Use SSL (`true`/`false`).                                   | `true`            |
 | `IMAP1_POLL_INTERVAL_MINUTES` | Frequency in minutes to poll for new mail.                  | `5`               |
 | `IMAP_READONLY_MODE`          | When `true`, fetches and processes attachments but does **not** modify the mailbox (no starring, labeling, deleting, or flag changes). Use for pre-production instances sharing a mailbox with production. Default: `false`. | `false` |
+| `IMAP_ATTACHMENT_FILTER`      | System-wide fallback for which attachment types are ingested when no ingestion profile is assigned to a mailbox. `documents_only` (default) ingests PDFs and office files only — images are skipped. `all` ingests every supported file type including images. Individual IMAP accounts can override this using ingestion profiles. | `documents_only` |
+
+#### IMAP Ingestion Profiles
+
+For fine-grained control, DocuElevate supports **Ingestion Profiles** — named configurations that let you choose exactly which file-type categories to accept from each mailbox.
+
+Each profile contains a list of enabled **categories**:
+
+| Category | Description |
+|----------|-------------|
+| `pdf` | PDF documents (`.pdf`) |
+| `office` | Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint — `.docx`, `.xlsx`, `.pptx`, …) |
+| `opendocument` | LibreOffice/OpenOffice files (`.odt`, `.ods`, `.odp`, …) |
+| `text` | Plain text, CSV and RTF files (`.txt`, `.csv`, `.rtf`) |
+| `web` | HTML and Markdown files (`.html`, `.htm`, `.md`, `.markdown`) |
+| `images` | Image files (`.jpg`, `.png`, `.gif`, `.bmp`, `.tiff`, `.webp`, `.svg`) |
+
+Two built-in system profiles are seeded automatically:
+
+| Profile | Categories |
+|---------|------------|
+| **Documents Only** | pdf, office, opendocument, text, web (no images) |
+| **All Files** | All categories, including images |
+
+Users can create their own custom profiles via the **Email Ingestion** dashboard (`/imap-accounts`) by clicking the **Manage profiles** link or the **+** button next to the profile dropdown. Custom profiles are private to the creating user and can be freely edited or deleted.
+
+**API endpoints for ingestion profiles:**
+
+| Method | Endpoint | Description |
+|--------|----------|-------------|
+| `GET` | `/api/imap-profiles/` | List all visible profiles (system + user's own) |
+| `POST` | `/api/imap-profiles/` | Create a new profile |
+| `GET` | `/api/imap-profiles/categories` | List available file-type categories |
+| `GET` | `/api/imap-profiles/{id}` | Get a single profile |
+| `PUT` | `/api/imap-profiles/{id}` | Update a profile (not built-in) |
+| `DELETE` | `/api/imap-profiles/{id}` | Delete a profile (not built-in) |
 
 #### Per-User IMAP Integrations
 
diff --git a/docs/howto/EmailIngestion.md b/docs/howto/EmailIngestion.md
index 1a911f6f..bfb6b735 100644
--- a/docs/howto/EmailIngestion.md
+++ b/docs/howto/EmailIngestion.md
@@ -63,6 +63,54 @@ DocuElevate will process the following attachment types from emails:
 | TIFF | `.tif`, `.tiff` | Common format from older scanners/fax |
 | Multi-page TIFF | `.tif` | Full multi-page support |
 
+### Controlling Which Attachment Types Are Ingested
+
+By default, DocuElevate only ingests **document** attachments (PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OpenDocument, RTF, TXT, CSV, HTML, Markdown). Images are **not** ingested by default — this prevents cluttering your document archive with inline images or unrelated photo attachments.
+
+#### Global Default (Admin Setting)
+
+Set the `IMAP_ATTACHMENT_FILTER` environment variable to control the system-wide fallback when no ingestion profile is assigned to a mailbox:
+
+| Value | Behaviour |
+|-------|-----------|
+| `documents_only` | **(Default)** Only PDFs and office/document files. Images are skipped. |
+| `all` | All supported file types, including images. |
+
+```env
+IMAP_ATTACHMENT_FILTER=documents_only
+```
+
+#### Ingestion Profiles (Fine-Grained Per-Mailbox Control)
+
+For precise control, you can create **Ingestion Profiles** that let you pick exactly which file-type categories to accept from each mailbox. This is more powerful than the binary global toggle and works independently per mailbox.
+
+**Available categories:**
+
+| Category | File types included |
+|----------|---------------------|
+| PDF | `.pdf` |
+| Microsoft Office | `.doc`, `.docx`, `.xls`, `.xlsx`, `.ppt`, `.pptx`, and macro-enabled variants |
+| OpenDocument | `.odt`, `.ods`, `.odp`, `.odg`, `.odf` (LibreOffice / OpenOffice) |
+| Text & Data | `.txt`, `.csv`, `.rtf` |
+| Web & Markup | `.html`, `.htm`, `.md`, `.markdown` |
+| Images | `.jpg`, `.png`, `.gif`, `.bmp`, `.tiff`, `.webp`, `.svg` |
+
+**Managing profiles:**
+
+1. Go to **Email Ingestion** (`/imap-accounts`)
+2. Click **Manage profiles** (or the **+** icon next to the profile dropdown)
+3. Create a new profile, give it a name, and tick the categories you want
+4. When adding or editing a mailbox, select your profile from the dropdown
+
+Two built-in profiles are always available and cannot be deleted:
+
+- **Documents Only** — PDF, Office, OpenDocument, Text, Web (no images)
+- **All Files** — all categories including images
+
+Users can also create unlimited **custom profiles** to mix and match exactly the categories they need per mailbox (e.g. a scanner mailbox that only accepts PDFs, or a finance mailbox that accepts Office and CSV but not images).
+
+Custom profiles are created via the UI or the `/api/imap-profiles/` API.
+
 ---
 
 ## Setting Up Your Scanner/Device
diff --git a/frontend/templates/imap_accounts.html b/frontend/templates/imap_accounts.html
index e22614e6..226bb190 100644
--- a/frontend/templates/imap_accounts.html
+++ b/frontend/templates/imap_accounts.html
@@ -172,6 +172,11 @@
                       <i class="fas fa-trash-alt mr-1" aria-hidden="true"></i>Delete after process
                     </span>
                   </template>
+                  <template x-if="acct.profile_id">
+                    <span class="inline-flex items-center px-2 py-0.5 rounded bg-blue-50 text-blue-700">
+                      <i class="fas fa-filter mr-1" aria-hidden="true"></i><span x-text="profileName(acct.profile_id)"></span>
+                    </span>
+                  </template>
                   <template x-if="acct.last_checked_at">
                     <span class="text-gray-400" :title="acct.last_checked_at">
                       <i class="fas fa-clock mr-1" aria-hidden="true"></i>Last polled: <span x-text="formatDate(acct.last_checked_at)"></span>
@@ -386,6 +391,49 @@
         </label>
       </div>
 
+      <!-- Attachment filter -->
+      <div>
+        <label for="acct-profile" class="block text-sm font-medium text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 mb-1">
+          Ingestion Profile
+        </label>
+        <div class="flex gap-2 items-center">
+          <select
+            id="acct-profile"
+            x-model.number="form.profile_id"
+            class="flex-1 px-3 py-2 border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 rounded-md shadow-sm focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 dark:bg-gray-700 dark:text-white text-sm"
+            aria-describedby="acct-profile-hint"
+          >
+            <option :value="null">Use global default</option>
+            <template x-for="profile in profiles" :key="profile.id">
+              <option :value="profile.id" x-text="profile.name + (profile.is_builtin ? '' : ' (custom)')"></option>
+            </template>
+          </select>
+          <button
+            type="button"
+            @click="openProfileModal(null)"
+            class="inline-flex items-center px-3 py-2 text-sm font-medium rounded border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500"
+            style="min-height:40px;"
+            title="Create new profile"
+            aria-label="Create new ingestion profile"
+          >
+            <i class="fas fa-plus" aria-hidden="true"></i>
+          </button>
+        </div>
+        <p id="acct-profile-hint" class="mt-1 text-xs text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-500">
+          Controls which attachment types are ingested. Leave blank to use the global default (documents only).
+          <button type="button" @click="showProfilesSection = !showProfilesSection" class="underline hover:text-blue-600 focus:outline-none">
+            Manage profiles
+          </button>
+        </p>
+        <!-- Inline selected profile summary -->
+        <template x-if="form.profile_id">
+          <div class="mt-2 text-xs bg-blue-50 dark:bg-blue-900/20 rounded px-2 py-1.5 text-blue-800 dark:text-blue-200">
+            <strong x-text="profileName(form.profile_id)"></strong>:
+            <span x-text="profileCategorySummary(form.profile_id)"></span>
+          </div>
+        </template>
+      </div>
+
       <!-- Test connection result -->
       <template x-if="testResult">
         <div
@@ -494,10 +542,277 @@
 
 </div>
 
+<!-- ── Ingestion Profiles panel ─────────────────────────────────────────────── -->
+<div
+  x-show="showProfilesSection"
+  x-transition
+  class="fixed inset-0 z-50 flex items-center justify-center bg-black/50 px-4"
+  role="dialog"
+  aria-modal="true"
+  aria-labelledby="profiles-panel-title"
+  @keydown.escape.window="showProfilesSection = false"
+  style="display:none;"
+>
+  <div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg shadow-xl w-full max-w-2xl overflow-y-auto max-h-[90vh]" @click.stop>
+    <div class="px-6 pt-6 pb-2 flex items-center justify-between">
+      <h2 id="profiles-panel-title" class="text-lg font-semibold text-gray-900 dark:text-white flex items-center gap-2">
+        <i class="fas fa-filter text-blue-500" aria-hidden="true"></i>
+        Ingestion Profiles
+      </h2>
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        @click="showProfilesSection = false"
+        class="text-gray-400 hover:text-gray-600 dark:hover:text-gray-200 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 rounded"
+        aria-label="Close profiles panel"
+      >
+        <i class="fas fa-times text-xl" aria-hidden="true"></i>
+      </button>
+    </div>
+    <div class="px-6 pb-6 pt-2">
+      <p class="text-sm text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 mb-4">
+        Profiles define which attachment types are ingested from emails. Assign a profile to each IMAP account for fine-grained control.
+      </p>
+
+      <!-- Profile list -->
+      <div class="space-y-3 mb-4">
+        <template x-for="profile in profiles" :key="profile.id">
+          <div class="border border-gray-100 dark:border-gray-700 rounded-lg p-4 flex items-start gap-3">
+            <div class="flex-1 min-w-0">
+              <div class="flex items-center gap-2 flex-wrap">
+                <span class="font-medium text-sm text-gray-900 dark:text-white" x-text="profile.name"></span>
+                <template x-if="profile.is_builtin">
+                  <span class="text-xs px-1.5 py-0.5 rounded bg-gray-100 dark:bg-gray-700 text-gray-500">built-in</span>
+                </template>
+              </div>
+              <p class="text-xs text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400 mt-0.5" x-text="profile.description || ''"></p>
+              <!-- Category badges -->
+              <div class="flex flex-wrap gap-1 mt-2">
+                <template x-for="cat in profile.allowed_categories" :key="cat">
+                  <span class="inline-flex items-center px-2 py-0.5 rounded text-xs font-medium bg-blue-50 dark:bg-blue-900/30 text-blue-700 dark:text-blue-300">
+                    <span x-text="categoryLabel(cat)"></span>
+                  </span>
+                </template>
+              </div>
+            </div>
+            <div class="flex gap-1 shrink-0">
+              <button
+                type="button"
+                @click="openProfileModal(profile)"
+                :disabled="profile.is_builtin"
+                :class="profile.is_builtin ? 'opacity-40 cursor-not-allowed' : ''"
+                class="p-1.5 text-gray-400 hover:text-blue-600 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 rounded"
+                :aria-label="`Edit profile ${profile.name}`"
+                :title="profile.is_builtin ? 'Built-in profiles cannot be edited' : 'Edit profile'"
+              >
+                <i class="fas fa-edit text-sm" aria-hidden="true"></i>
+              </button>
+              <button
+                type="button"
+                @click="confirmDeleteProfile(profile)"
+                :disabled="profile.is_builtin"
+                :class="profile.is_builtin ? 'opacity-40 cursor-not-allowed' : ''"
+                class="p-1.5 text-gray-400 hover:text-red-600 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-red-500 rounded"
+                :aria-label="`Delete profile ${profile.name}`"
+                :title="profile.is_builtin ? 'Built-in profiles cannot be deleted' : 'Delete profile'"
+              >
+                <i class="fas fa-trash-alt text-sm" aria-hidden="true"></i>
+              </button>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </template>
+      </div>
+
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        @click="openProfileModal(null)"
+        class="inline-flex items-center px-4 py-2 text-sm font-medium rounded bg-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-offset-2 focus:ring-blue-500"
+        style="min-height:40px;"
+      >
+        <i class="fas fa-plus mr-2" aria-hidden="true"></i> New Profile
+      </button>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<!-- ── Profile create / edit modal ────────────────────────────────────────────── -->
+<div
+  x-show="profileModalOpen"
+  x-transition:enter="ease-out duration-200"
+  x-transition:enter-start="opacity-0"
+  x-transition:enter-end="opacity-100"
+  x-transition:leave="ease-in duration-150"
+  x-transition:leave-start="opacity-100"
+  x-transition:leave-end="opacity-0"
+  class="fixed inset-0 z-[60] flex items-center justify-center bg-black/50 px-4"
+  role="dialog"
+  aria-modal="true"
+  :aria-labelledby="editingProfile ? 'profile-modal-title-edit' : 'profile-modal-title-create'"
+  @keydown.escape.window="closeProfileModal()"
+  style="display:none;"
+>
+  <div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg shadow-xl w-full max-w-lg overflow-y-auto max-h-[90vh]" @click.stop>
+    <div class="px-6 pt-6 pb-2 flex items-center justify-between">
+      <h2
+        :id="editingProfile ? 'profile-modal-title-edit' : 'profile-modal-title-create'"
+        class="text-lg font-semibold text-gray-900 dark:text-white"
+        x-text="editingProfile ? 'Edit Profile' : 'New Ingestion Profile'"
+      ></h2>
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        @click="closeProfileModal()"
+        class="text-gray-400 hover:text-gray-600 dark:hover:text-gray-200 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 rounded"
+        aria-label="Close modal"
+      >
+        <i class="fas fa-times text-xl" aria-hidden="true"></i>
+      </button>
+    </div>
+
+    <form @submit.prevent="saveProfile()" class="px-6 pb-6 pt-4 space-y-4">
+
+      <!-- Profile name -->
+      <div>
+        <label for="profile-name" class="block text-sm font-medium text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 mb-1">
+          Profile Name <span class="text-red-500" aria-hidden="true">*</span>
+        </label>
+        <input
+          id="profile-name"
+          type="text"
+          x-model="profileForm.name"
+          placeholder="e.g. Scanner Inbox, Finance Documents"
+          required
+          maxlength="255"
+          class="w-full px-3 py-2 border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 rounded-md shadow-sm focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 dark:bg-gray-700 dark:text-white text-sm"
+          aria-required="true"
+        />
+      </div>
+
+      <!-- Description -->
+      <div>
+        <label for="profile-description" class="block text-sm font-medium text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 mb-1">
+          Description
+        </label>
+        <input
+          id="profile-description"
+          type="text"
+          x-model="profileForm.description"
+          placeholder="Optional description"
+          maxlength="500"
+          class="w-full px-3 py-2 border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 rounded-md shadow-sm focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 dark:bg-gray-700 dark:text-white text-sm"
+        />
+      </div>
+
+      <!-- Category checkboxes -->
+      <div>
+        <fieldset>
+          <legend class="block text-sm font-medium text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 mb-2">
+            File Type Categories <span class="text-red-500" aria-hidden="true">*</span>
+          </legend>
+          <div class="space-y-2">
+            <template x-for="cat in categories" :key="cat.key">
+              <label class="flex items-start gap-3 cursor-pointer group">
+                <input
+                  type="checkbox"
+                  :value="cat.key"
+                  :checked="profileForm.allowed_categories.includes(cat.key)"
+                  @change="toggleCategory(cat.key)"
+                  class="mt-0.5 h-4 w-4 rounded border-gray-300 text-blue-600 focus:ring-blue-500"
+                />
+                <span class="flex-1">
+                  <span class="text-sm font-medium text-gray-800 dark:text-gray-100" x-text="cat.label"></span>
+                  <span class="block text-xs text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400" x-text="cat.description"></span>
+                </span>
+              </label>
+            </template>
+          </div>
+          <p x-show="profileForm.allowed_categories.length === 0" class="mt-2 text-xs text-red-600" role="alert">
+            Select at least one category.
+          </p>
+        </fieldset>
+      </div>
+
+      <!-- Form error -->
+      <template x-if="profileFormError">
+        <p class="text-sm text-red-600" role="alert" x-text="profileFormError"></p>
+      </template>
+
+      <!-- Actions -->
+      <div class="flex justify-end gap-2 pt-2 border-t border-gray-100 dark:border-gray-700">
+        <button
+          type="button"
+          @click="closeProfileModal()"
+          class="px-4 py-2 text-sm font-medium rounded border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500"
+          style="min-height:40px;"
+        >
+          Cancel
+        </button>
+        <button
+          type="submit"
+          :disabled="savingProfile || profileForm.allowed_categories.length === 0"
+          class="inline-flex items-center px-4 py-2 text-sm font-medium rounded bg-blue-600 hover:bg-blue-700 text-white focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-offset-2 focus:ring-blue-500 disabled:opacity-50"
+          style="min-height:40px;"
+        >
+          <template x-if="savingProfile">
+            <i class="fas fa-spinner fa-spin mr-2" aria-hidden="true"></i>
+          </template>
+          <span x-text="editingProfile ? 'Save Changes' : 'Create Profile'"></span>
+        </button>
+      </div>
+    </form>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<!-- ── Delete profile confirmation modal ────────────────────────────────────── -->
+<div
+  x-show="deleteProfileModalOpen"
+  x-transition
+  class="fixed inset-0 z-[60] flex items-center justify-center bg-black/50 px-4"
+  role="dialog"
+  aria-modal="true"
+  aria-labelledby="delete-profile-modal-title"
+  @keydown.escape.window="deleteProfileModalOpen = false"
+  style="display:none;"
+>
+  <div class="bg-white dark:bg-gray-800 rounded-lg shadow-xl w-full max-w-sm p-6" @click.stop>
+    <h2 id="delete-profile-modal-title" class="text-lg font-semibold text-gray-900 dark:text-white mb-2">
+      Delete Profile?
+    </h2>
+    <p class="text-sm text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-300 mb-4">
+      Are you sure you want to delete the profile
+      <strong x-text="profileToDelete ? profileToDelete.name : ''"></strong>?
+      IMAP accounts using this profile will fall back to the global default.
+    </p>
+    <div class="flex justify-end gap-2">
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        @click="deleteProfileModalOpen = false; profileToDelete = null"
+        class="px-4 py-2 text-sm font-medium rounded border border-gray-300 dark:border-gray-600 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 hover:bg-gray-50 dark:hover:bg-gray-700 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-gray-500"
+        style="min-height:40px;"
+      >
+        Cancel
+      </button>
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        @click="deleteProfile()"
+        :disabled="deletingProfile"
+        class="inline-flex items-center px-4 py-2 text-sm font-medium rounded bg-red-600 hover:bg-red-700 text-white focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-red-500 disabled:opacity-50"
+        style="min-height:40px;"
+      >
+        <template x-if="deletingProfile">
+          <i class="fas fa-spinner fa-spin mr-2" aria-hidden="true"></i>
+        </template>
+        Delete
+      </button>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
 <script>
 function imapAccountsApp() {
   return {
     accounts: {{ accounts | tojson }},
+    profiles: {{ profiles | tojson }},
+    categories: {{ categories | tojson }},
+    defaultCategories: {{ default_categories | tojson }},
     quota: {
       current_count: {{ current_count }},
       max_mailboxes: {{ max_mailboxes | tojson }},
@@ -508,17 +823,17 @@ function imapAccountsApp() {
     loading: false,
     alert: { show: false, type: '', title: '', message: '' },
 
-    // Modal state
+    // Account modal state
     modalOpen: false,
     editingAccount: null,
-    form: { name: '', host: '', port: 993, username: '', password: '', use_ssl: true, delete_after_process: false, is_active: true },
+    form: { name: '', host: '', port: 993, username: '', password: '', use_ssl: true, delete_after_process: false, is_active: true, profile_id: null },
     showPassword: false,
     saving: false,
     testing: false,
     testResult: null,
     formError: null,
 
-    // Delete state
+    // Account delete state
     deleteModalOpen: false,
     accountToDelete: null,
     deleting: false,
@@ -526,6 +841,17 @@ function imapAccountsApp() {
     // Test (saved account) state
     testingId: null,
 
+    // Profiles panel & modal state
+    showProfilesSection: false,
+    profileModalOpen: false,
+    editingProfile: null,
+    profileForm: { name: '', description: '', allowed_categories: [] },
+    savingProfile: false,
+    profileFormError: null,
+    deleteProfileModalOpen: false,
+    profileToDelete: null,
+    deletingProfile: false,
+
     get canAdd() {
       return this.quota.can_add;
     },
@@ -549,9 +875,33 @@ function imapAccountsApp() {
       setTimeout(() => { this.alert.show = false; }, 5000);
     },
 
+    // ── Profile helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    profileById(id) {
+      return this.profiles.find(p => p.id === id) || null;
+    },
+
+    profileName(id) {
+      const p = this.profileById(id);
+      return p ? p.name : 'Unknown profile';
+    },
+
+    profileCategorySummary(id) {
+      const p = this.profileById(id);
+      if (!p) return '';
+      return p.allowed_categories.map(k => this.categoryLabel(k)).join(', ');
+    },
+
+    categoryLabel(key) {
+      const cat = this.categories.find(c => c.key === key);
+      return cat ? cat.label : key;
+    },
+
+    // ── Account modal ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
     openCreateModal() {
       this.editingAccount = null;
-      this.form = { name: '', host: '', port: 993, username: '', password: '', use_ssl: true, delete_after_process: false, is_active: true };
+      this.form = { name: '', host: '', port: 993, username: '', password: '', use_ssl: true, delete_after_process: false, is_active: true, profile_id: null };
       this.showPassword = false;
       this.testResult = null;
       this.formError = null;
@@ -569,6 +919,7 @@ function imapAccountsApp() {
         use_ssl: acct.use_ssl,
         delete_after_process: acct.delete_after_process,
         is_active: acct.is_active,
+        profile_id: acct.profile_id || null,
       };
       this.showPassword = false;
       this.testResult = null;
@@ -592,6 +943,8 @@ function imapAccountsApp() {
         if (this.editingAccount && payload.password === '') {
           delete payload.password;
         }
+        // Normalise profile_id: empty string → null
+        if (payload.profile_id === '' || payload.profile_id === 0) payload.profile_id = null;
         let resp;
         if (this.editingAccount) {
           resp = await fetch(`/api/imap-accounts/${this.editingAccount.id}`, {
@@ -719,6 +1072,126 @@ function imapAccountsApp() {
         this.deleting = false;
       }
     },
+
+    // ── Profile CRUD ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    openProfileModal(profile) {
+      this.editingProfile = profile;
+      if (profile) {
+        this.profileForm = {
+          name: profile.name,
+          description: profile.description || '',
+          allowed_categories: [...profile.allowed_categories],
+        };
+      } else {
+        this.profileForm = { name: '', description: '', allowed_categories: [...this.defaultCategories] };
+      }
+      this.profileFormError = null;
+      this.profileModalOpen = true;
+    },
+
+    closeProfileModal() {
+      this.profileModalOpen = false;
+      this.editingProfile = null;
+      this.profileFormError = null;
+    },
+
+    toggleCategory(key) {
+      const idx = this.profileForm.allowed_categories.indexOf(key);
+      if (idx === -1) {
+        this.profileForm.allowed_categories.push(key);
+      } else {
+        this.profileForm.allowed_categories.splice(idx, 1);
+      }
+    },
+
+    async saveProfile() {
+      if (this.profileForm.allowed_categories.length === 0) {
+        this.profileFormError = 'Select at least one category.';
+        return;
+      }
+      this.profileFormError = null;
+      this.savingProfile = true;
+      try {
+        const payload = {
+          name: this.profileForm.name,
+          description: this.profileForm.description || null,
+          allowed_categories: this.profileForm.allowed_categories,
+        };
+        let resp;
+        if (this.editingProfile) {
+          resp = await fetch(`/api/imap-profiles/${this.editingProfile.id}`, {
+            method: 'PUT',
+            headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'X-CSRF-Token': getCsrfToken() },
+            body: JSON.stringify(payload),
+          });
+        } else {
+          resp = await fetch('/api/imap-profiles/', {
+            method: 'POST',
+            headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'X-CSRF-Token': getCsrfToken() },
+            body: JSON.stringify(payload),
+          });
+        }
+        const data = await resp.json();
+        if (!resp.ok) {
+          this.profileFormError = data.detail || 'Failed to save profile.';
+          return;
+        }
+        // Flatten response into the same shape used locally
+        const normalized = {
+          id: data.id,
+          name: data.name,
+          description: data.description,
+          owner_id: data.owner_id,
+          allowed_categories: data.allowed_categories,
+          is_builtin: data.is_builtin,
+        };
+        if (this.editingProfile) {
+          const idx = this.profiles.findIndex(p => p.id === normalized.id);
+          if (idx !== -1) this.profiles.splice(idx, 1, normalized);
+        } else {
+          this.profiles.push(normalized);
+        }
+        this.closeProfileModal();
+        this.showAlert('success', 'Saved', this.editingProfile ? 'Profile updated.' : 'Profile created.');
+      } catch (err) {
+        this.profileFormError = `Network error: ${err.message || 'Unknown error'}. Please try again.`;
+      } finally {
+        this.savingProfile = false;
+      }
+    },
+
+    confirmDeleteProfile(profile) {
+      this.profileToDelete = profile;
+      this.deleteProfileModalOpen = true;
+    },
+
+    async deleteProfile() {
+      if (!this.profileToDelete) return;
+      this.deletingProfile = true;
+      try {
+        const resp = await fetch(`/api/imap-profiles/${this.profileToDelete.id}`, {
+          method: 'DELETE',
+          headers: { 'X-CSRF-Token': getCsrfToken() },
+        });
+        if (resp.ok || resp.status === 204) {
+          const deletedId = this.profileToDelete.id;
+          this.profiles = this.profiles.filter(p => p.id !== deletedId);
+          // Clear profile_id on accounts that referenced this profile
+          this.accounts.forEach(a => { if (a.profile_id === deletedId) a.profile_id = null; });
+          this.showAlert('success', 'Deleted', `Profile "${this.profileToDelete.name}" removed.`);
+          this.deleteProfileModalOpen = false;
+          this.profileToDelete = null;
+        } else {
+          const data = await resp.json();
+          this.showAlert('error', 'Delete Failed', data.detail || 'Could not delete profile.');
+        }
+      } catch (err) {
+        this.showAlert('error', 'Delete Failed', `Network error: ${err.message || 'Unknown error'}`);
+      } finally {
+        this.deletingProfile = false;
+      }
+    },
   };
 }
 
diff --git a/migrations/env.py b/migrations/env.py
index 74952a09..5bd09c43 100644
--- a/migrations/env.py
+++ b/migrations/env.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ from app.models import (  # noqa: F401
     DocumentMetadata,
     FileProcessingStep,
     FileRecord,
+    ImapIngestionProfile,
     InAppNotification,
     LocalUser,
     MobileDevice,
diff --git a/migrations/versions/032_add_imap_attachment_filter.py b/migrations/versions/032_add_imap_attachment_filter.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a3279c56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/versions/032_add_imap_attachment_filter.py
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+"""Add attachment_filter column to user_imap_accounts table.
+
+Revision ID: 032_add_imap_attachment_filter
+Revises: 031_add_compliance_templates
+Create Date: 2026-03-12
+"""
+
+from typing import Union
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "032_add_imap_attachment_filter"
+down_revision: Union[str, None] = "031_add_compliance_templates"
+depends_on: Union[str, None] = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    """Add attachment_filter column to user_imap_accounts."""
+    op.add_column(
+        "user_imap_accounts",
+        sa.Column("attachment_filter", sa.String(50), nullable=True),
+    )
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    """Remove attachment_filter column from user_imap_accounts."""
+    op.drop_column("user_imap_accounts", "attachment_filter")
diff --git a/migrations/versions/033_add_imap_ingestion_profiles.py b/migrations/versions/033_add_imap_ingestion_profiles.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a4c14333
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/versions/033_add_imap_ingestion_profiles.py
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+"""Add imap_ingestion_profiles table and migrate user_imap_accounts.
+
+Creates the ``imap_ingestion_profiles`` table, seeds the two built-in profiles
+("Documents Only" and "All Files"), and replaces the ``attachment_filter``
+string column on ``user_imap_accounts`` with a ``profile_id`` FK that references
+the new table.
+
+Revision ID: 033_add_imap_ingestion_profiles
+Revises: 032_add_imap_attachment_filter
+Create Date: 2026-03-12
+"""
+
+from typing import Union
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "033_add_imap_ingestion_profiles"
+down_revision: Union[str, None] = "032_add_imap_attachment_filter"
+depends_on: Union[str, None] = None
+
+# Fixed IDs for the built-in profiles so that the FK migration is reproducible.
+_BUILTIN_DOCUMENTS_ONLY_ID = 1
+_BUILTIN_ALL_FILES_ID = 2
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    """Create profiles table, seed built-ins, migrate accounts column."""
+    # 1 — Create the imap_ingestion_profiles table
+    op.create_table(
+        "imap_ingestion_profiles",
+        sa.Column("id", sa.Integer(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("name", sa.String(255), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("description", sa.Text(), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column("owner_id", sa.String(), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column(
+            "allowed_categories",
+            sa.Text(),
+            nullable=False,
+            server_default='["pdf","office","opendocument","text","web"]',
+        ),
+        sa.Column("is_builtin", sa.Boolean(), nullable=False, server_default="0"),
+        sa.Column("created_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now()),
+        sa.Column("updated_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now()),
+        sa.PrimaryKeyConstraint("id"),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_imap_ingestion_profiles_id", "imap_ingestion_profiles", ["id"])
+    op.create_index("ix_imap_ingestion_profiles_owner_id", "imap_ingestion_profiles", ["owner_id"])
+
+    # 2 — Seed the two built-in profiles
+    bind = op.get_bind()
+    bind.execute(
+        sa.text(
+            "INSERT INTO imap_ingestion_profiles "
+            "(id, name, description, owner_id, allowed_categories, is_builtin) "
+            "VALUES (:id, :name, :desc, NULL, :cats, 1)"
+        ),
+        [
+            {
+                "id": _BUILTIN_DOCUMENTS_ONLY_ID,
+                "name": "Documents Only",
+                "desc": (
+                    "Ingest PDFs, Microsoft Office files, OpenDocument files, "
+                    "plain text, CSV, RTF, HTML and Markdown. Images are excluded."
+                ),
+                "cats": '["pdf","office","opendocument","text","web"]',
+            },
+            {
+                "id": _BUILTIN_ALL_FILES_ID,
+                "name": "All Files",
+                "desc": "Ingest all supported file types, including images.",
+                "cats": '["pdf","office","opendocument","text","web","images"]',
+            },
+        ],
+    )
+
+    # 3 — Add profile_id column to user_imap_accounts
+    op.add_column(
+        "user_imap_accounts",
+        sa.Column("profile_id", sa.Integer(), nullable=True),
+    )
+
+    # 4 — Migrate existing attachment_filter values to profile_id
+    bind.execute(
+        sa.text(
+            "UPDATE user_imap_accounts SET profile_id = :pid "
+            "WHERE attachment_filter = 'all'"
+        ),
+        {"pid": _BUILTIN_ALL_FILES_ID},
+    )
+    bind.execute(
+        sa.text(
+            "UPDATE user_imap_accounts SET profile_id = :pid "
+            "WHERE attachment_filter = 'documents_only'"
+        ),
+        {"pid": _BUILTIN_DOCUMENTS_ONLY_ID},
+    )
+    # Rows with NULL attachment_filter keep profile_id = NULL (use global default)
+
+    # 5 — Add FK constraint (skip for SQLite which does not enforce FKs at DDL time)
+    # We use batch_alter_table so this works across SQLite and PostgreSQL
+    with op.batch_alter_table("user_imap_accounts") as batch_op:
+        batch_op.create_foreign_key(
+            "fk_user_imap_accounts_profile_id",
+            "imap_ingestion_profiles",
+            ["profile_id"],
+            ["id"],
+        )
+
+    # 6 — Drop the now-redundant attachment_filter column
+    with op.batch_alter_table("user_imap_accounts") as batch_op:
+        batch_op.drop_column("attachment_filter")
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    """Reverse the migration: restore attachment_filter, drop profiles table."""
+    # 1 — Re-add attachment_filter column
+    with op.batch_alter_table("user_imap_accounts") as batch_op:
+        batch_op.add_column(sa.Column("attachment_filter", sa.String(50), nullable=True))
+
+    # 2 — Restore string values from profile_id
+    bind = op.get_bind()
+    bind.execute(
+        sa.text(
+            "UPDATE user_imap_accounts SET attachment_filter = 'all' "
+            "WHERE profile_id = :pid"
+        ),
+        {"pid": _BUILTIN_ALL_FILES_ID},
+    )
+    bind.execute(
+        sa.text(
+            "UPDATE user_imap_accounts SET attachment_filter = 'documents_only' "
+            "WHERE profile_id = :pid"
+        ),
+        {"pid": _BUILTIN_DOCUMENTS_ONLY_ID},
+    )
+
+    # 3 — Drop the FK and profile_id column
+    with op.batch_alter_table("user_imap_accounts") as batch_op:
+        batch_op.drop_constraint("fk_user_imap_accounts_profile_id", type_="foreignkey")
+        batch_op.drop_column("profile_id")
+
+    # 4 — Drop the profiles table
+    op.drop_index("ix_imap_ingestion_profiles_owner_id", "imap_ingestion_profiles")
+    op.drop_index("ix_imap_ingestion_profiles_id", "imap_ingestion_profiles")
+    op.drop_table("imap_ingestion_profiles")
diff --git a/tests/test_imap_profiles.py b/tests/test_imap_profiles.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bfc2fb2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_imap_profiles.py
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+"""Tests for app/api/imap_profiles.py and app/utils/allowed_types category helpers."""
+
+
+import pytest
+
+from app.utils.allowed_types import (
+    ALL_CATEGORIES,
+    DEFAULT_CATEGORIES,
+    FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES,
+    get_allowed_types_for_categories,
+)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.unit
+class TestFileTypeCategories:
+    """Tests for FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES and get_allowed_types_for_categories."""
+
+    def test_all_category_keys_present(self):
+        """Test that the six expected categories exist."""
+        assert set(FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES.keys()) == {"pdf", "office", "opendocument", "text", "web", "images"}
+
+    def test_each_category_has_required_fields(self):
+        """Test that every category entry has label, description, mime_types, extensions."""
+        for key, info in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES.items():
+            assert "label" in info, f"Category '{key}' missing 'label'"
+            assert "description" in info, f"Category '{key}' missing 'description'"
+            assert "mime_types" in info, f"Category '{key}' missing 'mime_types'"
+            assert "extensions" in info, f"Category '{key}' missing 'extensions'"
+
+    def test_pdf_category_contains_pdf_mime(self):
+        """Test that the pdf category includes application/pdf."""
+        assert "application/pdf" in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES["pdf"]["mime_types"]
+        assert ".pdf" in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES["pdf"]["extensions"]
+
+    def test_images_category_contains_jpeg(self):
+        """Test that the images category includes image/jpeg."""
+        assert "image/jpeg" in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES["images"]["mime_types"]
+        assert ".jpg" in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES["images"]["extensions"]
+        assert ".png" in FILE_TYPE_CATEGORIES["images"]["extensions"]
+
+    def test_get_allowed_types_for_default_categories(self):
+        """Test that DEFAULT_CATEGORIES excludes image MIME types."""
+        mime_types, extensions = get_allowed_types_for_categories(DEFAULT_CATEGORIES)
+        assert "application/pdf" in mime_types
+        assert "application/msword" in mime_types
+        # images should NOT be in the default
+        assert "image/jpeg" not in mime_types
+        assert ".jpg" not in extensions
+
+    def test_get_allowed_types_for_all_categories(self):
+        """Test that ALL_CATEGORIES includes image MIME types."""
+        mime_types, extensions = get_allowed_types_for_categories(ALL_CATEGORIES)
+        assert "image/jpeg" in mime_types
+        assert ".jpg" in extensions
+        assert "application/pdf" in mime_types
+
+    def test_get_allowed_types_returns_frozensets(self):
+        """Test that returned sets are frozensets."""
+        mime_types, extensions = get_allowed_types_for_categories(["pdf"])
+        assert isinstance(mime_types, frozenset)
+        assert isinstance(extensions, frozenset)
+
+    def test_get_allowed_types_unknown_category_ignored(self):
+        """Test that unknown category keys are silently ignored."""
+        mime_types, extensions = get_allowed_types_for_categories(["pdf", "nonexistent_category"])
+        assert "application/pdf" in mime_types  # 'pdf' still works
+        # No crash for unknown key
+
+    def test_get_allowed_types_empty_list(self):
+        """Test empty category list returns empty sets."""
+        mime_types, extensions = get_allowed_types_for_categories([])
+        assert mime_types == frozenset()
+        assert extensions == frozenset()
+
+    def test_default_categories_excludes_images(self):
+        """Test that DEFAULT_CATEGORIES does not include 'images'."""
+        assert "images" not in DEFAULT_CATEGORIES
+
+    def test_all_categories_includes_images(self):
+        """Test that ALL_CATEGORIES includes 'images'."""
+        assert "images" in ALL_CATEGORIES
+
+    def test_all_categories_is_superset_of_default(self):
+        """Test that ALL_CATEGORIES contains all DEFAULT_CATEGORIES."""
+        for cat in DEFAULT_CATEGORIES:
+            assert cat in ALL_CATEGORIES
+
+
+@pytest.mark.unit
+class TestImapProfilesApiLogic:
+    """Tests for ingestion profile validation helpers."""
+
+    def test_validate_categories_accepts_valid_keys(self):
+        """Test that valid category keys pass validation."""
+        from app.api.imap_profiles import _validate_categories
+
+        result = _validate_categories(["pdf", "office", "images"])
+        assert set(result) == {"pdf", "office", "images"}
+
+    def test_validate_categories_rejects_unknown_key(self):
+        """Test that unknown category keys raise 422."""
+        from fastapi import HTTPException
+
+        from app.api.imap_profiles import _validate_categories
+
+        with pytest.raises(HTTPException) as exc_info:
+            _validate_categories(["pdf", "nonexistent"])
+        assert exc_info.value.status_code == 422
+        assert "nonexistent" in str(exc_info.value.detail)
+
+    def test_validate_categories_deduplicates(self):
+        """Test that duplicate category keys are de-duplicated while preserving order."""
+        from app.api.imap_profiles import _validate_categories
+
+        result = _validate_categories(["pdf", "pdf", "office", "pdf"])
+        assert result == ["pdf", "office"]
+
+    def test_to_response_serializes_profile(self, tmp_path):
+        """Test _to_response produces expected dict shape."""
+        from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+        from app.api.imap_profiles import _to_response
+
+        profile = MagicMock()
+        profile.id = 42
+        profile.name = "My Profile"
+        profile.description = "Test description"
+        profile.owner_id = "user@example.com"
+        profile.allowed_categories = '["pdf","office"]'
+        profile.is_builtin = False
+        profile.created_at = None
+        profile.updated_at = None
+
+        result = _to_response(profile)
+        assert result["id"] == 42
+        assert result["name"] == "My Profile"
+        assert result["allowed_categories"] == ["pdf", "office"]
+        assert len(result["categories_detail"]) == 2
+        assert result["categories_detail"][0]["key"] == "pdf"
+        assert result["is_builtin"] is False
+
+    def test_to_response_handles_invalid_categories_json(self):
+        """Test _to_response gracefully handles invalid JSON in allowed_categories."""
+        from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+        from app.api.imap_profiles import _to_response
+
+        profile = MagicMock()
+        profile.id = 1
+        profile.name = "Broken"
+        profile.description = None
+        profile.owner_id = None
+        profile.allowed_categories = "this is not valid json {"
+        profile.is_builtin = True
+        profile.created_at = None
+        profile.updated_at = None
+
+        result = _to_response(profile)
+        assert result["allowed_categories"] == []
diff --git a/tests/test_imap_tasks.py b/tests/test_imap_tasks.py
index b35363bc..0a946739 100644
--- a/tests/test_imap_tasks.py
+++ b/tests/test_imap_tasks.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ from app.tasks.imap_tasks import (
     release_lock,
     save_processed_emails,
 )
+from app.utils.allowed_types import ALL_CATEGORIES, DEFAULT_CATEGORIES, get_allowed_types_for_categories
 
 _TEST_CREDENTIAL = "pass"  # noqa: S105
 
@@ -179,6 +180,81 @@ class TestFetchAttachmentsAndEnqueue:
         assert result is True
         mock_convert.delay.assert_called_once()
 
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.process_document")
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.convert_to_pdf")
+    def test_skips_image_when_documents_only(self, mock_convert, mock_process):
+        """Test that image attachments are skipped with the default (documents-only) categories."""
+        msg = EmailMessage()
+        msg["Subject"] = "Photo"
+        msg.add_attachment(b"\xff\xd8\xff", maintype="image", subtype="jpeg", filename="photo.jpg")
+
+        doc_mime, doc_ext = get_allowed_types_for_categories(DEFAULT_CATEGORIES)
+        result = fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(msg, effective_mime_types=doc_mime, effective_extensions=doc_ext)
+        assert result is False
+        mock_process.delay.assert_not_called()
+        mock_convert.delay.assert_not_called()
+
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.process_document")
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.convert_to_pdf")
+    def test_processes_image_when_all_categories(self, mock_convert, mock_process, tmp_path):
+        """Test that image attachments are processed when images category is included."""
+        msg = EmailMessage()
+        msg["Subject"] = "Photo"
+        msg.add_attachment(b"\xff\xd8\xff", maintype="image", subtype="jpeg", filename="photo.jpg")
+
+        all_mime, all_ext = get_allowed_types_for_categories(ALL_CATEGORIES)
+        with patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.settings") as mock_settings:
+            mock_settings.workdir = str(tmp_path)
+            result = fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(msg, effective_mime_types=all_mime, effective_extensions=all_ext)
+
+        assert result is True
+        mock_convert.delay.assert_called_once()
+
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.process_document")
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.convert_to_pdf")
+    def test_skips_image_with_image_extension_documents_only(self, mock_convert, mock_process):
+        """Test image files identified by extension are skipped with documents-only categories."""
+        msg = EmailMessage()
+        msg["Subject"] = "Screenshot"
+        msg.add_attachment(b"\x89PNG", maintype="application", subtype="octet-stream", filename="screenshot.png")
+
+        doc_mime, doc_ext = get_allowed_types_for_categories(DEFAULT_CATEGORIES)
+        result = fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(msg, effective_mime_types=doc_mime, effective_extensions=doc_ext)
+        assert result is False
+        mock_process.delay.assert_not_called()
+        mock_convert.delay.assert_not_called()
+
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.process_document")
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.convert_to_pdf")
+    def test_processes_pdf_regardless_of_categories(self, mock_convert, mock_process, tmp_path):
+        """Test that PDFs are always processed (pdf category always included in DEFAULT_CATEGORIES)."""
+        msg = EmailMessage()
+        msg["Subject"] = "Invoice"
+        msg.add_attachment(b"%PDF-1.4", maintype="application", subtype="pdf", filename="invoice.pdf")
+
+        doc_mime, doc_ext = get_allowed_types_for_categories(DEFAULT_CATEGORIES)
+        with patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.settings") as mock_settings:
+            mock_settings.workdir = str(tmp_path)
+            result = fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(msg, effective_mime_types=doc_mime, effective_extensions=doc_ext)
+
+        assert result is True
+        mock_process.delay.assert_called_once()
+
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.process_document")
+    @patch("app.tasks.imap_tasks.convert_to_pdf")
+    def test_uses_default_categories_when_no_types_provided(self, mock_convert, mock_process):
+        """Test that images are skipped when no effective_mime_types / extensions are passed (defaults to DEFAULT_CATEGORIES)."""
+        msg = EmailMessage()
+        msg["Subject"] = "Photo"
+        msg.add_attachment(b"\xff\xd8\xff", maintype="image", subtype="jpeg", filename="photo.jpg")
+
+        # No effective_mime_types passed → function defaults to DEFAULT_CATEGORIES (no images)
+        result = fetch_attachments_and_enqueue(msg)
+
+        assert result is False
+        mock_process.delay.assert_not_called()
+        mock_convert.delay.assert_not_called()
+
 
 @pytest.mark.unit
 class TestEmailAlreadyHasLabel: