What this means for Clean Email users
When Clean Email passes Google’s annual verification, it proves that the app meets the highest standards for data privacy and security. It means:
- Your Gmail data is never sold or shared for ads or tracking
- All personal information is handled securely and responsibly
- In Clean Email, no human can access your data
- The app undergoes independent testing and audits to prevent breaches
- You’re using a service trusted by Google to safely access your inbox
In short: Clean Email’s verification gives you peace of mind that your inbox is protected — now and in the future.
More info on what we store, scan, and when we delete your data is available here: Connecting Your Email Account.
Clean Email’s Gmail API verification timeline (2015–2025)
Clean Email has consistently maintained full compliance with Google’s privacy standards since its introduction.
| Year | Status |
|---|---|
| 2025 | ✅ Successfully Passed |
| 2024 | ✅ Successfully Passed |
| 2023 | ✅ Successfully Passed |
| 2022 | ✅ Successfully Passed |
| 2021 | ✅ Successfully Passed |
| 2020 | ✅ Successfully Passed |
| 2019 | ✅ Successfully Passed |
| 2018 | 🔒 Not Required (Pre-policy) |
| 2017 | 🔒 Not Required (Pre-policy) |
| 2016 | 🔒 Not Required (Pre-policy) |
| 2015 | 🔒 Not Required (Pre-policy) |
Clean Email is reviewed annually by a third-party audit company approved by Google and has passed every check since 2019 — including the 2025 assessment.
More technical details
Effective January 2019, new Gmail API policies significantly limited permitted Application Types which are allowed access to Gmail. Google’s primary concern is how private user data is used and handled by 3rd-party apps and how it must be secured.
Per Google:
How data may not be used
"3rd-party apps accessing these APIs must use the data to provide user-facing features and may not transfer or sell the data for other purposes such as targeting ads, market research, email campaign tracking, and other unrelated purposes. (Note: Gmail users' email content is not used for ad personalization.)
💡 Attention: We have also clarified that human review of email data must be strictly limited."
How data must be secured
"3rd-party apps handling Gmail data must meet minimum security standards to minimize the risk of data breach. Apps will be asked to demonstrate secure data handling with assessments that include: application penetration testing, external network penetration testing, account deletion verification, reviews of incident response plans, vulnerability disclosure programs, and information security policies."
Before this change, it was very common for email cleaning applications to provide their services for free by monetizing data from emails.
Here at Clean Email, we are committed to your security and privacy. We don't keep, sell, or analyze your data for purposes beyond our public features. Instead of relying on data from emails to sustain our business, we’ve chosen to charge a reasonable fee in exchange for our services.
