Mail Extract is a tool that connects to your Gmail account, retrieves messages matching your search criteria, and delivers them to you as clean, readable text. Nothing is stored after your session ends. Nothing is shared. There are no third parties involved in the handling of your data.
This policy is written plainly, not to satisfy lawyers, but to tell you the truth about how this application works.
We handle your data only to serve your immediate request. We do not retain it, analyse it, share it, or use it for any purpose other than returning it to you.
What We Access
When you sign in, Mail Extract requests permission to read your Gmail messages. The specific permission requested is gmail.readonly — the narrowest scope available. This grants the ability to read messages. It does not grant the ability to send, modify, delete, or manage your account in any way.
This scope is requested through Google's standard OAuth 2.0 consent flow. You will see exactly what is being requested before granting access, and you can revoke that access at any time.
What We Store
Mail Extract stores the minimum necessary to authenticate you and serve your request. The following explains each piece of data, where it lives, and how long it persists.
We maintain no registry of users. We have no list of who has accessed this application. When your session ends, the only record that you were ever here is gone.
Session data
Mail Extract uses a split-key architecture. Your credentials are encrypted and the encryption key is stored separately from the encrypted data. Neither half is useful without the other.
An HttpOnly, Secure cookie containing your session identifier and encryption key. The cookie cannot be read or modified by browser scripts. The encryption key in this cookie is the only way to decrypt the credentials stored on the server — the server itself does not retain a copy of the key.
Retention: expires on sign-out, on browser close (standard), or after 7 days (stay signed in).
Your app password is encrypted with AES-256-GCM using the key from your browser cookie and a random 12-byte IV. The encrypted blob is stored in a session file on the server. Without the key (which only exists in your cookie), the file is unreadable. The plaintext password is never written to disk and never logged.
Retention: same as session. Deleted on sign-out. Expired files cleaned every 15 minutes.
Your Google OAuth access and refresh tokens are encrypted with AES-256-GCM using the same split-key approach. The encrypted blob is stored in a session file on the server. The tokens are never sent to your browser in plaintext.
Retention: same as session. Deleted on sign-out. Expired files cleaned every 15 minutes.
Your Gmail address is stored alongside the session record for display purposes only — to show you which account is signed in.
Retention: same as session. Deleted on sign-out.
What We Do Not Do
The following is a complete and accurate list of things this application does not do.
No analytics or tracking
Mail Extract contains no analytics code. There are no tracking pixels, no session recording tools, no third-party scripts of any kind. The only cookies present are those required to maintain your authenticated session.
No advertising
This application carries no advertising and is not connected to any advertising infrastructure. Your data is not used to build profiles, infer interests, or serve targeted content.
No data sharing
Your Gmail data — message content, metadata, email addresses — is never shared with third parties. It is never sold, licensed, or disclosed. The only external services involved in handling your data are Google's Gmail API, which retrieves your messages on your behalf using your authorisation, and Hetzner (VPS hosting, EU), where the application runs. Cloudflare provides DNS and DDoS protection at the edge but does not process or store your application data. Neither Hetzner nor Cloudflare has independent access to or use of your data.
No persistent storage of message content
Mail Extract does not build a database of your emails. Message content is retrieved when you request it, held briefly for download, and discarded. There is no archive. There is no log.
Google's Role
Mail Extract uses Google's Gmail API and Google OAuth 2.0 for authentication. Your use of this application is also subject to Google's Privacy Policy. Mail Extract's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
In plain terms: data obtained through the Gmail API is used only to display and deliver your emails to you within this application. It is not used for any other purpose.
Revoking Access
You can revoke Mail Extract's access to your Gmail account at any time, independently of this application, through your Google account security settings.
Visit myaccount.google.com/permissions to see all third-party applications connected to your account. Mail Extract will appear there as long as you have an active authorisation. Removing it from that page immediately invalidates the stored refresh token and ends all access.
Signing out within the application also clears your session and removes the stored tokens from our server immediately.
Infrastructure
Mail Extract runs on a dedicated VPS (Hetzner, EU) behind Caddy (TLS termination) and Cloudflare (DNS, DDoS protection). Encrypted session files are stored on the server's local disk in a restricted directory (owner-only access). Encryption keys exist only in browser cookies — the server holds no decryption keys in memory or on disk. All traffic is served over HTTPS. No application data is written to any external service or system.
The source code for this application is publicly available. You are welcome to read it.
Your Rights and GDPR
If you are located in the European Union or European Economic Area, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to the processing of your personal data. This section sets out the required disclosures under that regulation.
Data controller
The data controller for this application is the project operator, reachable via the GitHub repository at github.com/jedbjorn/Emergence_Project_Public. There is no separate legal entity — this is an individually operated project.
Legal basis for processing
Personal data is processed on the basis of performance of a service — specifically, to authenticate you and fulfil your request to retrieve and deliver your own email content. No data is processed for any other purpose. Processing stops when your session ends.
Data minimisation
Only the data strictly necessary to provide the service is processed. This is not a policy aspiration — it is a technical constraint. The application has no mechanism to store, index, or retain data beyond what is described in the "What We Store" section above.
International data transfers
Mail Extract is deployed on a Hetzner VPS located in the European Union. Your session and token data is processed and stored exclusively on this server. No application data leaves the EU at the infrastructure level.
Cloudflare provides DNS resolution and edge-level DDoS protection. Cloudflare is headquartered in the United States, and DNS traffic may transit Cloudflare's network. However, Cloudflare does not process, store, or have access to your session data, credentials, or email content. For Cloudflare's data handling commitments, see cloudflare.com/cloudflare-customer-dpa.
Email content is retrieved from Google's servers using your own authorisation and returned to your browser via the Hetzner-hosted application. It does not pass through any third-party infrastructure beyond Google and the VPS.
Your rights
Under GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:
You may request confirmation of what personal data we hold about you and receive a copy of it.
You may request deletion of your personal data. Signing out of the application immediately deletes all stored session and token data. Revoking access via Google account settings achieves the same effect independently.
The only personal data held server-side is your email address and session tokens. You may request this at any time via the project contact above.
You may request that processing be restricted while a complaint or query is being resolved.
You may object to processing at any time. The practical effect is immediate: sign out and revoke access via Google, and no further processing occurs.
Mail Extract performs no automated decision-making or profiling.
To exercise any of these rights, contact the project via GitHub or sign out and revoke access directly through your Google account. Given the minimal and transient nature of the data held, most requests can be self-served immediately.
UK users — UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018
If you are located in the United Kingdom, your data is protected under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. These instruments mirror the EU GDPR in all substantive respects relevant to this application. All rights described in this section apply equally to UK users.
Application data is processed on a Hetzner VPS within the EU. Cloudflare provides DNS and edge protection only and does not process application data. For Cloudflare's data handling commitments applicable to UK users, Cloudflare operates under an International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) as required under the UK GDPR, covered by their publicly available Data Processing Addendum.
UK users who wish to lodge a complaint about the handling of their personal data may contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority, at ico.org.uk.
Supervisory authority
If you are located in France and believe your data has been handled in breach of GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), the French data protection authority, at cnil.fr. If you are located elsewhere in the EU, you may contact your national supervisory authority.
Changes to This Policy
If this policy changes materially, the effective date above will be updated. We will not retroactively alter our handling of data that was processed under a prior version of this policy.
Contact
Questions about this policy or the handling of your data can be directed to the project via the GitHub repository.
Last updated: 25 March 2026
1. Acceptance
By using aimail-extract ("the Service"), you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
2. What the Service Does
aimail-extract allows you to connect your Gmail account via Google OAuth, extract email addresses from your messages, and download the results. No email content is stored by the Service.
3. Your Responsibilities
You are responsible for how you use extracted data. You must comply with applicable laws, including anti-spam regulations (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CASL). You must not use the Service to harvest addresses for unsolicited contact.
4. Google Account Access
The Service requests read-only access to your Gmail account. You can revoke this access at any time via your Google Account settings. We do not store your emails or credentials.
5. No Warranty
The Service is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not guarantee uptime, accuracy, or fitness for any particular purpose.
6. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any damages arising from your use of the Service.
7. Changes
We may update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance.
8. Contact
For questions, contact us via the GitHub repository at github.com/jedbjorn/Emergence_Project_Public.