Privacy policy

brmail · last updated 27 August 2026

brmail is a personal tool written and used by one person, Ian Bange, on his own Gmail account. It is not offered to anyone else and has no other users. This policy describes what the software does with data, so that anyone reviewing its access to Google APIs can see exactly what is involved.

What it accesses

brmail requests the gmail.modify scope. It uses that access to read message metadata and to add or remove labels. Metadata means:

• sender address and display name
• subject line
• date received
• the labels Gmail already has on the message
• thread identifiers, and headers indicating bulk or list mail

It requests message bodies and attachments from no Gmail endpoint. Messages are fetched with format=metadata, which returns headers only.

Where data is stored

All data is stored locally, in a SQLite database on the account owner's own computer. Nothing is stored on this website, and this website has no database, no analytics, no cookies, and no tracking of any kind. These pages are static files.

What leaves the machine

One optional feature sends data to a third party. A review pass can ask Anthropic's Claude API to check where the local rules have filed a message. When that runs, it sends only the sender address and subject line, along with the category the local rules chose.

Message bodies, attachments, recipient lists, and Gmail's message snippets are never sent. The feature is off unless explicitly invoked, and can be pointed at a locally-hosted model instead, in which case nothing leaves the machine at all.

No data is sold, shared, or transferred to anyone else, for any purpose. There is no advertising and no profiling.

What it changes in Gmail

• adds labels beginning brmail/
• removes the INBOX label from mail it files
• moves mail to Gmail's Trash after a review period the owner controls

It never deletes permanently — Gmail's own retention governs Trash. It never sends, forwards, or replies to mail. Every change is recorded locally before it is made, so any batch can be reversed.

Retention

The local database holds metadata for as long as the owner keeps it, and is deleted by deleting the file. Access can be withdrawn at any time from Google Account permissions, which immediately and permanently ends brmail's ability to read or change anything.

Limited Use

brmail's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Contact

Ian Bange — ian.bange@gmail.com