diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 519e0d0..276cb3b 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 - Groups: include required label filters in transitive group searches so `groups list` doesn’t 400 on Cloud Identity. (#315) — thanks @salmonumbrella.
 - Gmail: fall back to `MimeType` charset hints when `Content-Type` headers are missing so GBK/GB2312 message bodies decode correctly. (#428) — thanks @WinnCook.
 - Auth: preserve scope-shaping flags in the remote step-2 replay guidance for `auth add --remote`. (#427) — thanks @doodaaatimmy-creator.
+- Auth: allow pure service-account mode when the configured subject matches the service account itself, instead of forcing domain-wide delegation impersonation. (#399) — thanks @carrotRakko.
 - Calendar: preserve full RRULE values and recurring-event timezones during updates so recurrence edits don’t lose BYDAY lists or hit missing-timezone API errors. (#392) — thanks @salmonumbrella.
 - Gmail: add a fetch delay in `watch serve` so History API reads don't race message indexing. (#397) — thanks @salmonumbrella.
 - Gmail: allow Workspace-managed send-as aliases with empty verification status in `send` and `drafts create`. (#407) — thanks @salmonumbrella.
diff --git a/internal/googleapi/service_account.go b/internal/googleapi/service_account.go
index be01871..d26fb58 100644
--- a/internal/googleapi/service_account.go
+++ b/internal/googleapi/service_account.go
@@ -12,12 +12,23 @@ import (
 	"github.com/steipete/gogcli/internal/config"
 )
 
+func serviceAccountSubject(subject string, serviceAccountEmail string) string {
+	if subject == "" || subject == serviceAccountEmail {
+		return ""
+	}
+
+	return subject
+}
+
 var newServiceAccountTokenSource = func(ctx context.Context, keyJSON []byte, subject string, scopes []string) (oauth2.TokenSource, error) {
 	cfg, err := google.JWTConfigFromJSON(keyJSON, scopes...)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("parse service account: %w", err)
 	}
-	cfg.Subject = subject
+	// Only set Subject (impersonation) when the caller requests a different
+	// identity than the service account itself. When subject matches the
+	// SA's client_email we run in pure SA mode: no Domain-Wide Delegation.
+	cfg.Subject = serviceAccountSubject(subject, cfg.Email)
 
 	// Ensure token exchanges don't hang forever.
 	ctx = context.WithValue(ctx, oauth2.HTTPClient, &http.Client{Timeout: tokenExchangeTimeout})
diff --git a/internal/googleapi/service_account_test.go b/internal/googleapi/service_account_test.go
index c73014d..6cdcfe8 100644
--- a/internal/googleapi/service_account_test.go
+++ b/internal/googleapi/service_account_test.go
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+<<<<<<< HEAD
 package googleapi
 
 import (
@@ -11,6 +12,47 @@ import (
 	"github.com/steipete/gogcli/internal/config"
 )
 
+func TestServiceAccountSubject(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name                string
+		subject             string
+		serviceAccountEmail string
+		want                string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:                "empty subject stays empty",
+			subject:             "",
+			serviceAccountEmail: "sa@test-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com",
+			want:                "",
+		},
+		{
+			name:                "same subject becomes pure service account mode",
+			subject:             "sa@test-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com",
+			serviceAccountEmail: "sa@test-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com",
+			want:                "",
+		},
+		{
+			name:                "different subject keeps impersonation target",
+			subject:             "user@example.com",
+			serviceAccountEmail: "sa@test-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com",
+			want:                "user@example.com",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			got := serviceAccountSubject(tt.subject, tt.serviceAccountEmail)
+			if got != tt.want {
+				t.Fatalf("serviceAccountSubject(%q, %q) = %q, want %q", tt.subject, tt.serviceAccountEmail, got, tt.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestTokenSourceForServiceAccountScopes_NonKeepIgnoresKeepFallback(t *testing.T) {
 	home := t.TempDir()
 	t.Setenv("HOME", home)