How Inbox Athletics uses your Gmail
Signing up with Google only confirms who the athlete is. Connecting Gmail is a separate step. We read the athlete's mail to find and sort coach email. Nothing is sent without the athlete pressing Send. The athlete can disconnect any time.
Exactly what we ask Google for
There are two separate Google permission screens, and Gmail appears only on the second.
1. Sign in with Google (identity only)
These permissions confirm who the athlete is. They give us no access to Gmail.
| Permission | What it lets us do |
|---|---|
openid | Confirm it's you |
email | See your email address |
profile | See your name and profile picture |
2. Connect Gmail (a separate consent after sign-up)
The athlete chooses to do this after they have an account. Google shows its own consent screen listing these three permissions.
| Permission | What Google's screen says | Why we need it |
|---|---|---|
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.readonly | “View your email messages and settings” | Find coach emails and sort them under each college. |
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.send | “Send email on your behalf” | Send a message only when the athlete presses Send (or schedules one they wrote). |
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.email | “See your primary Google Account email address” | Know which Gmail account is connected. |
What happens after the athlete connects
- We read the last 90 days of the athlete's mail to find coach email and sort it by college.
- New mail syncs as it arrives.
- We store message content (subject, sender and recipients, timestamps and body) so they can read threads and draft replies. That includes messages that turn out not to be about recruiting.
- Anthropic processes content to sort mail and draft replies. It does not train on it.
- We don't sell their data and we don't use it for ads.
Nothing is sent without the athlete pressing Send
- A reply draft is written when the athlete asks for one. The athlete edits it and presses Send.
- Messages go out from the athlete's own Gmail and appear in their Sent folder.
- A scheduled send happens only when the athlete schedules a message they wrote.
- There are no bulk sends.
- Parents can't write or send, and they never see message bodies.
Google Limited Use
Inbox Athletics' use and transfer of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
- We do not use Google account data to develop, improve, or train generalized AI or machine learning models.
- We do not transfer Google account data to third parties except as necessary to provide the features the athlete asked for.
- We do not allow humans to read their Gmail content except with their explicit permission, for security or abuse investigation, or as required by law.
- We do not use Gmail data for any purpose not directly related to their use of Inbox Athletics.
Disconnect in two clicks
- In Inbox Athletics: Settings, then Connected accounts, then Disconnect, then confirm. Open Connected accounts.
- Or at Google: Google Account, Security, Third-party access, Inbox Athletics, Remove access. Open Google Account permissions.
Disconnecting in Inbox Athletics stops all syncing at once. Cached email content is deleted within 30 days, and the account stays. To also remove the permission at Google, use the Google link.
School accounts
School Google Workspace accounts usually block apps like this for students under 18. Use a personal Gmail.
Security and contact
Data is encrypted in transit with TLS. Gmail connection tokens are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM. Questions go to privacy@inboxathletics.com, and security concerns to security@inboxathletics.com. The full details are in our Privacy Policy.