What Clean Email asks for when you sign in with Google

Steps

1. Click 'Sign in with Google'

   Start from the Clean Email homepage or app. You are redirected to Google's own sign-in page, not a page controlled by Clean Email.

2. Enter your Google credentials on Google's page

   You type your email and password directly into Google's official login form. Clean Email never sees or receives your password.

3. Review the consent screen

   Google shows a list of permissions Clean Email is requesting: full Gmail access and Gmail settings access.

4. Approve or cancel

   Click Allow to grant access and return to Clean Email, or click Cancel to stop. Canceling does not create a Clean Email account or give it any access.

5. Clean Email scans your mailbox

   Once connected, Clean Email counts how many emails can be cleared and how much storage can be freed. Nothing is deleted at this stage.

6. Revoke access anytime

   You're never locked in — revoke access anytime from your Google account, or disconnect directly inside Clean Email (see below for exact steps).

The permissions Clean Email requests, and why

Google's consent screen groups Clean Email's request into a few plain-language items. Here is what each one actually maps to and why Clean Email needs it.

Why the Gmail scope looks broader than expected

The full Gmail scope (https://mail.google.com/) sounds like it grants everything, and technically it does grant broad API access. Google does not offer a narrower scope that still supports permanent delete, so this is the only scope that covers both Trash and permanent deletion.

What matters is what Clean Email's own code actually does with that access. Reading metadata is enough to do everything Clean Email needs: tally counts, spot attachments, and match senders against your whitelist. There's no step in that process that requires opening a message body, so the code never does.

• Only metadata is read or stored — the subject line and body text are never fetched, in any form.
• Deleted mail goes to Gmail Trash by default, recoverable for 30 days, exactly like a normal Gmail deletion.
• Permanent deletion only happens if you explicitly opt into it, and it is irreversible.

Clean Email never sees your Google password

Google's OAuth 2.0 sign-in flow means your password is typed only into Google's own login page, never into any form owned by Clean Email.

After you approve access, Google gives Clean Email a token, not your password, that authorizes the specific permissions you saw on the consent screen. Clean Email cannot see, request, or store your Google password at any point.

How to review or revoke Clean Email's access

You are always in control of the connection and can end it at any time, from either Google's side or Clean Email's side.

• Go to myaccount.google.com/permissions to see every app connected to your Google account, including Clean Email.
• Click Clean Email in that list to see the exact permissions granted, and click Remove access to revoke them instantly.
• You can also disconnect Clean Email from within the app itself, without leaving the Clean Email interface.
• Revoking access stops all future access immediately. It does not undo cleanups you already ran.

FAQ

What permissions does Clean Email ask for on Google sign-in?

Clean Email's Google consent screen requests two things: full Gmail access (to move mail to Trash or permanently delete it) and Gmail settings access (to create archive filters when you use Stop Ads).

Does Clean Email see my Google password?

No. Google's OAuth sign-in means you type your password only into Google's own login page. Clean Email receives an access token from Google, never your password, and cannot see or store it.

Why does Clean Email need full Gmail access instead of a limited scope?

Clean Email offers optional permanent deletion, and Google does not provide a narrower Gmail scope that supports permanent delete, only the broader https://mail.google.com/ scope does. The narrower gmail.modify scope only allows moving mail to Trash, not permanently deleting it.

Does Clean Email read the content of my emails?

No. Clean Email's code only reads message metadata, sender, labels, size, and thread id, to build counts of how many emails can be cleared. It does not fetch, store, or display the actual content (body) of your emails.

How do I revoke Clean Email's access to my Google account?

Go to myaccount.google.com/permissions, find Clean Email in the list of connected apps, and click Remove access. You can also disconnect Clean Email from inside the Clean Email app itself.

What is the Gmail settings permission used for?

The gmail.settings.basic scope is only used when you turn on the Stop Ads add-on. It lets Clean Email create archive filters so future mail from senders you unsubscribed from is automatically archived instead of hitting your inbox.