MailAutomation Privacy Policy

Effective date: 1 September 2026 · Applies to: MailAutomation for Windows

This policy explains how the MailAutomation desktop application ("MailAutomation", "the app"), published by MMS Design, South Africa ("we", "us"), handles your information — in particular your Google user data. It supplements the general MMS Design Privacy Policy. Where the two differ regarding the app, this policy applies.

The short version

Your email is stored only on your own computer. We operate no servers that receive, store or process your Gmail data, and we cannot read your email.
We do not sell your data, show you advertising, or use your data for advertising or analytics of any kind.
The app contacts Google only on your behalf, and an AI provider only if you set one up yourself and only for text you explicitly ask it to process.

1. What Google user data the app accesses

MailAutomation connects to your Gmail account using Google's official Gmail API, with your consent, using two permissions ("scopes"):

Read, organise and label your mail (gmail.modify) — used to show your inbox in the app, apply and remove the workflow labels you manage, mark mail read/unread, archive, and move messages between labels/folders. The app never permanently deletes mail on its own and never alters the content of received messages.
Send mail (gmail.send) — used to send messages that you compose and choose to send (including scheduled "Send Later" messages you created).

2. Where your data is stored

All mail content, attachments, settings and workflow state handled by the app are stored locally on your Windows computer (under your user profile's application data folder). Nothing is uploaded to MMS Design.
Your Google sign-in token is stored on your computer, encrypted with Windows Data Protection (DPAPI) tied to your Windows user account. The app never sees or stores your Google password — sign-in happens in your own browser with Google.
Your mail itself remains in your Gmail account, exactly as Google stores it. The app keeps a local working copy (cache) so it can work quickly and offline.

3. How your data is used

Google user data is used only to provide the app's user-facing features to you: displaying and organising your mailbox, running the rules you configure, saving attachments where you tell it to, scheduling and sending your mail, and reminding you to follow up.

MailAutomation's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Specifically, we do not:

transfer Google user data to others, except as needed to provide features you actively use (described in section 4), for security purposes, or to comply with the law;
use Google user data for advertising;
allow humans at MMS Design to read your data — we technically cannot, as it never reaches us — except where you explicitly share it with us (e.g. you email us a diagnostics file), where it is necessary for security purposes, or where required by law;
use or transfer Google user data to train or improve generalised artificial-intelligence or machine-learning models.

4. When data leaves your computer

Only in these user-directed cases:

Google — the app talks to the Gmail API to read and send your mail, as above.
Mail you send — goes to the recipients you chose, via Gmail.
Optional AI features — off by default. If you choose an AI provider (such as OpenAI, Google Gemini, Groq or Anthropic) and enter your own API key for it, then text you explicitly ask the app to process (for example "translate this draft" or "suggest a reply") is sent to that provider under your account and their privacy terms. You choose the provider, you can use the built-in offline mode instead, and no AI request is ever made without a direct action from you.
Diagnostics you export — the app can create a diagnostics file on your request for troubleshooting. It contains app logs and settings with API keys and sign-in tokens removed, and it is only saved to a location you choose — it is transmitted to us only if you decide to send it.
Update check — the app periodically checks a version file to offer you updates. This request contains no personal data and no mail data.

5. Retention and deletion

Local app data remains on your computer until you remove it. Uninstalling the app and deleting the MailAutomation folder in your user application data removes all locally stored mail cache, tokens and settings.
Your mail in Gmail is untouched by uninstalling — workflow labels the app created can be removed in Gmail itself at any time.
To revoke the app's access to your Google account entirely, visit Google Account → Security → Third-party access and remove MailAutomation. Revocation takes effect immediately.

6. Security

Sign-in uses Google's OAuth 2.0 in your own browser; the app never handles your password.
Tokens and API keys are encrypted at rest with Windows DPAPI, bound to your Windows account.
All communication with Google occurs over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS).
The app contains no advertising or analytics components and does not "phone home".

7. Your rights (POPIA)

We process personal information in accordance with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Because your mail data never reaches us, most requests (access, correction, deletion) are actions you can perform yourself as described above. For any privacy question or complaint about the app, contact us and we will respond promptly.

8. Changes to this policy

If we materially change how the app handles Google user data, we will update this page and its effective date, and material changes will be highlighted in the app's release notes before or at the time the change takes effect.