Serenbox beta guide
Serenbox spots the senders flooding your Gmail inbox with promotions and helps you sort them in a few taps. This guide walks you through it step by step, and explains the feedback we're looking for.
Before you start
Your address must be invited
During the beta, only Google accounts registered as testers can sign in. Sign up with the form on the home page. If you see “Access blocked: only approved testers have access”, your invitation isn't active yet: email us at serenbox@proton.me.
Sign in and start the analysis
- 1
Open serenbox.app
On a computer or phone, tap “Connect my inbox”.
- 2
Choose Gmail, then your invited account
Tap “Continue with Gmail” and select the address registered as a tester.
- 3
Get past the “App not verified” screen
Google shows this warning while Serenbox is in beta and its official verification is in progress. Tap “Advanced”, then “Go to serenbox.app”.
- 4
Keep both Gmail permissions ticked
The first lets Serenbox read headers and organise your emails, the second lets it create filters for future ones. If one is unticked, Serenbox will ask you to start again.
- 5
Wait for the analysis
Your first senders are ready within one or two minutes (the last 14 days). The analysis of the last 6 months then continues in the background, up to half an hour for a very large inbox. You can sort in the meantime.
- 6
Sort your senders
For each sender, choose Spam, Important or Priority, or skip with “Later”. Before anything goes to the trash, Serenbox shows how many emails are involved and asks you to confirm.
- 7
Follow the results on the dashboard
It sums up your choices, the clean-up history and the senders left to sort.
What Serenbox sees, and what it never sees
What Serenbox reads
The sender, date and subject of your emails, to measure the clutter. Only statistics per sender are stored.
What Serenbox never reads
The content of your emails, your attachments and your passwords. Data is hosted in the European Union.
Every choice can be undone
At any time, you can return your inbox to how it was before Serenbox stepped in: the “Undo” button right after a choice, or “Undo this clean-up” in the dashboard history, for 30 days.
Three exceptions
- Unsubscribing: once the request has been sent to the sender, it can't be cancelled. It is always offered as an option, clearly flagged.
- Trash older than 30 days: Gmail permanently deletes emails left there longer.
- Deleting your Serenbox account: the history needed to undo is erased.
Install Serenbox on your phone
Android (Chrome)
Sign in, then tap “Install” on the dashboard. Serenbox then opens full screen from its icon.
iPhone (Safari)
Open serenbox.app in Safari, tap “Share”, then “Add to Home Screen”. Open Serenbox from the icon and sign in.
Reconnect once a week
That's expected during the beta
Until Google verifies Serenbox, access to your inbox expires after 7 days. Serenbox then shows “Reconnection needed”: one click on “Reconnect” is enough. Your choices and history are kept.
We'd love your feedback
Use the “Give feedback” button at the top of the app at any time, or email serenbox@proton.me. We'd especially like to know:
- whether the Spam or Important suggestions seem right, and which ones you corrected;
- how long the analysis took, and whether the wait felt reasonable;
- what reassured or worried you before confirming a move to the trash;
- any confusing screen, unresponsive button or error message.
Stopping the test
In Settings: “Sign out”, or “Delete my account and data” to erase everything. You can also remove Serenbox's access to your Google account at myaccount.google.com/permissions.
Want to take part?
Join the beta