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Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 8, 2026

1. Introduction

Capsulate ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our email intelligence platform.

Scope: This policy covers (a) our marketing website at capsulate.app (which uses Google Analytics), (b) the Capsulate desktop app, and (c) the Capsulate web app, and (d) the Capsulate mobile app. You can connect Gmail via Google OAuth or use profile-only sign-in and forward selected emails.

By using Capsulate, you agree to this policy.

Connected assistants

When you connect an assistant such as ChatGPT or Codex, you authorize that app to access Capsulate through your account. Read access includes your Canvases, structured records, analytics, alerts, and supporting source information associated with selected records. It does not provide general mailbox search or raw email bodies.

Information returned to a connected assistant is processed under that provider’s terms and privacy policy. Additional write permission is required for supported changes to your Capsulate data. You can review and disconnect authorized apps in Settings → Connect AI. Disconnecting prevents further access through that connection; it does not delete information already received by the assistant provider.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

  • Account Information: Email address, name, and authentication credentials
  • Payment Information: Billing details processed through third-party payment processors
  • Communication Data: Messages you send us for support or feedback

2.2 Email Data (Desktop, Web, and Mobile Apps)

When you connect your email account, we collect:

  • Email Messages: Subject lines, sender information, recipients, dates, and message content
  • Email Metadata: Labels, folders, read/unread status, importance markers
  • Attachments: Files attached to emails (only when explicitly enabled)

How We Handle Your Emails

When you connect Gmail, Capsulate reads messages from Google when needed to show them to you or organize information in your Canvases. We do not keep a saved copy of the full Gmail message text. We do save email details such as subject lines, senders, recipients, dates, and short previews, along with summaries and information added to your Canvases. These saved details can include information from your messages.

To provide these features, email content is processed on our servers and by the AI service providers described below. If you choose forwarding instead, you decide which emails to share with Capsulate, without giving us access to your Gmail inbox. We keep the content of emails you forward or upload so you can view and use them in Capsulate.

2.3 Platform Coverage

  • Desktop and Web Parity: Core email client features are available on both platforms.
  • Same Data Rules: Gmail data handling, retention, and sharing rules apply equally to desktop, web, and mobile users.
  • Mode-Based Permissions: OAuth scopes are requested by the connection mode you select (Forwarding Only with profile-only sign-in, or Full Gmail Access). Scopes are not requested for advertising, profiling for ads, or data resale.

2.4 Automatically Collected Information

  • Usage Data: Features used, time spent, interactions with the Service
  • Device Information: Browser type, operating system, device identifiers
  • Log Data: IP address, access times, pages viewed, errors encountered
  • Cookies: Small data files stored on your device (see Section 13 below)

2.5 Google API Services

Capsulate's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Google and Gmail Scopes We Request:

  • Basic Google sign-in and profile scopes - Requested so you can sign in with Google and Capsulate can access your basic account information such as your email address, name, and profile image
  • gmail.modify - Requested only in Full Gmail Access mode. This scope allows Capsulate to read messages and update mailbox state such as labels, read/unread state, archive state, and similar message-management actions
  • drive.file - Requested only when you enable the Google Sheets integration, to create and update the specific Google Drive spreadsheet files Capsulate uses for exports

Onboarding offers Forwarding Only (profile-only sign-in, no Gmail API scopes) and Full Gmail Access (gmail.modify). Integration scopes such as drive.file are requested separately when you connect each integration.

Google API Services Limited Use Disclosure

Capsulate's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

We will NOT:

  • Use your Gmail data for serving advertisements
  • Transfer Gmail data to third parties except as necessary to provide the Service, such as secure hosting, database infrastructure, and request-scoped AI processing
  • Use Gmail data for purposes unrelated to providing email intelligence features
  • Allow humans to read your email data except with your explicit consent or as required by law
  • Sell, rent, or share your Gmail data with advertisers or data brokers
  • Use Gmail data to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes
  • Use Google user data to create, train, or improve generalized, foundational, or frontier AI or machine learning models

Intended Use Case: Capsulate is designed as a productivity enhancement application that uses Gmail data to generate AI summaries, create custom tracking dashboards, and provide email management features. Our use of Google user data is limited to these user-facing features and other functionality described in this policy.

Google API Services Data Practices

This section describes how Capsulate handles Google user data. It applies to Google account profile data, Gmail data, Google OAuth tokens, and Google Sheets/Drive data that Capsulate accesses through Google APIs.

  • Data accessed: Depending on the connection mode and integrations you enable, Capsulate may access your Google account email address, name, profile image, Gmail message IDs, thread IDs, labels, headers, sender and recipient fields, subject lines, snippets, message bodies, attachments when explicitly enabled, read/unread and archive state, OAuth access and refresh tokens, and Google Drive file metadata for the spreadsheets Capsulate creates or manages.
  • Data usage: Capsulate uses Google user data only to authenticate you, connect your Gmail account, display and search your mailbox, generate summaries and dashboards you request, extract structured data into your canvases, sync mailbox state when you choose Full Gmail Access, export configured canvas data to Google Sheets, provide support and security, and maintain the reliability of those user-facing features.
  • Data sharing: Google user data is not sold, rented, shared with advertisers, shared with data brokers, used for interest-based advertising, or transferred for surveillance, credit-worthiness, or lending purposes. We share it only with service providers that are necessary to operate Capsulate, such as cloud hosting, database/authentication infrastructure, request-scoped AI processing, error monitoring, logging, payment processing, and optional integrations you connect. These providers may process Google user data only for Capsulate's user-facing features, security, legal compliance, or other purposes allowed by the Google API Services User Data Policy.
  • Storage and protection: We store Google user data in secure cloud infrastructure and, where applicable, in local app storage on your device. We use TLS for data in transit, encryption at rest, OAuth-based authorization, encrypted token storage, access controls, logging, monitoring, and security reviews to protect Google user data. Human access to Gmail content is restricted and allowed only with your explicit consent, for security or abuse investigation, to comply with law, or for aggregated internal operations as permitted by policy.
  • Retention and deletion: Stored Gmail data and derived Capsulate records are retained while your account is active or until you delete them or close your account. Revoking access stops future Gmail access; it does not delete previously stored data. You can revoke Google access in Capsulate or at Google Third-Party Access. You can request deletion through account settings or by emailing legal@capsulate.app. After account deletion, we remove or anonymize Google user data within 30 days, except for limited backups, security logs, billing records, or legal records we must retain.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information for the following purposes:

3.1 Service Provision

  • Analyze email content to extract relevant data
  • Generate AI-powered summaries and insights
  • Create and update dashboards based on your configuration
  • Provide search and filtering capabilities
  • Sync data across your devices

3.2 AI and Machine Learning

We use third-party AI/LLM services to process your email content:

Processing may include subject, body, snippet, sender metadata, recipients, and dates only as needed to deliver user-requested features such as classification, summarization, extraction, and search.

  • Categorize and tag emails automatically
  • Extract structured data from unstructured text
  • Generate summaries of email threads
  • Identify important information and action items
  • Create vector embeddings for semantic search

Email Content Protection: We do not use your email content for advertising and we do not use Google user data to train or improve generalized, foundational, or frontier AI models. Email content is processed solely to provide features like extraction, search, and dashboards. Where an external AI provider is used, processing is limited to the user-facing feature you invoked.

Ephemeral Processing: Email content sent to third-party AI providers is processed in real time via API calls and is not retained by those providers beyond the duration of the request. We select providers whose API terms prohibit using customer inputs for model training.

3.3 Marketing Website Analytics

On capsulate.app, we use Google Analytics to understand website usage and improve the site. We configure IP anonymization and do not enable advertising features. You can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on and your browser settings.

3.4 Service Improvement

We may use product telemetry, error reports, aggregated usage patterns, and your feedback to improve Capsulate. We do not use Gmail content, Gmail metadata, or other Google user data to train or improve generalized, foundational, or frontier AI models.

  • Monitor and analyze usage patterns
  • Identify and fix technical issues
  • Develop new features and functionality
  • Improve reliability, ranking, and extraction quality for Capsulate features

3.5 Communication

  • Send service updates and announcements
  • Respond to your inquiries and support requests
  • Send billing and account notifications
  • Provide product tips and best practices (opt-out available)

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your data in the following circumstances:

4.1 Service Providers

We work with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf:

  • Cloud and Hosting: Fly.io (application hosting), Supabase (database and authentication)
  • AI Services: Google Vertex AI / Gemini (primary text analysis and embeddings), OpenRouter (fallback LLM routing when configured), and OpenAI (embedding fallback when configured)
  • Payment Processing: Stripe (payment and billing)
  • Email Services: Gmail API (for email access)
  • Error Monitoring and Logging: Sentry (error tracking), Betterstack (centralized log aggregation)
  • Enrichment: BrandFetch (company logos), Firecrawl (web content extraction for action URLs)
  • Optional Integrations: Google Sheets, Notion, and webhook delivery via Svix — enabled only when you connect them
  • Analytics: Google Analytics (marketing site only)

These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and use it only for the services they provide to us. When these providers process Google user data, they may do so only to operate Capsulate's user-facing features and not for advertising, resale, or generalized model training.

We do not transfer Google user data to third parties except to provide or improve the user-facing Capsulate features you request, for security purposes, to comply with applicable law, or as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets after any consent required by the Google API Services User Data Policy.

4.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to:

  • Valid legal processes (subpoenas, court orders)
  • Governmental or regulatory requests
  • Protection of our legal rights
  • Prevention of fraud or illegal activity
  • Protection of user safety

4.3 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity. You will be notified of any such change.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:

  • Encryption in Transit: All data transmitted using TLS 1.2+ (HTTPS)
  • Encryption at Rest: Database encryption using AES-256
  • Access Controls: Role-based access and authentication
  • OAuth Security: Secure token-based email authorization
  • Regular Audits: Security assessments and penetration testing
  • Monitoring: Continuous monitoring for suspicious activity

However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. Specifically:

  • Email Data: Retained until you delete it or close your account. Revoking Gmail access does not delete previously stored data
  • Account Information: Retained until account deletion
  • Backup Data: Retained for up to 30 days after deletion
  • Website Analytics Data: Retained by Google Analytics per their default retention settings
  • Usage Logs: Retained for up to 12 months
  • Legal Records: Retained as required by law

After account deletion, we will remove or anonymize your data within 30 days, except where required by law.

To request deletion, use the account deletion controls in Capsulate settings or email legal@capsulate.app from the email address associated with your account. We may ask you to verify account ownership before processing the request.

6.1 Gmail Access Revocation

If you revoke Gmail access (without deleting your Capsulate account), we immediately stop fetching new email data and revoke your OAuth tokens with Google. Previously synced data — including messages, summaries, and extracted entities — remains available in your account. Email bodies that are fetched from Gmail on demand require an active Gmail connection to view. To permanently delete all email data, you can delete your Capsulate account (see Section 7). You can also revoke access at any time via Google's Third-Party Access settings.

7. Your Rights and Choices

7.1 Access and Control

You have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of your personal data
  • Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your data
  • Export: Download your data in a portable format
  • Restriction: Request limitation of data processing
  • Objection: Object to certain types of processing

7.2 Email Access Revocation

You can revoke email access at any time through:

  • Account settings in Capsulate
  • Your Google Account security settings (Third‑party access): https://myaccount.google.com/permissions

7.3 Marketing Communications

You can opt out of marketing emails by clicking "Unsubscribe" in any marketing email or updating your preferences in account settings.

8. Regional Privacy Rights

8.1 GDPR (European Union)

If you are in the EU, you have additional rights under GDPR:

  • Right to data portability
  • Right to be forgotten
  • Right to restrict processing
  • Right to object to automated decision-making
  • Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

8.2 CCPA (California)

If you are a California resident, you have rights under CCPA:

  • Right to know what personal information is collected
  • Right to know if personal information is sold or disclosed
  • Right to opt-out of sale (we do not sell data)
  • Right to deletion
  • Right to non-discrimination

9. Children's Privacy

Capsulate is not intended for users under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child, we will delete it promptly.

10. International Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place through:

  • Standard contractual clauses
  • Appropriate contractual safeguards with processors
  • Adequacy decisions by relevant authorities

11. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

11.1 Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the Service to function and cannot be disabled:

  • capsulate_app_session: Maintains your signed-in session. HTTP-only, secure, expires after 30 days or when you sign out.
  • capsulate_google_refresh_token: Stores your encrypted Google OAuth refresh token for Gmail access. HTTP-only, secure, restricted to authentication endpoints.

11.2 Analytics Cookies (Marketing Site Only)

On capsulate.app we use Google Analytics, which sets cookies such as _ga (up to 2 years) and _ga_* (up to 2 years) to distinguish visitors and track page views. We configure IP anonymization and do not enable advertising features. You can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on or your browser's cookie settings.

11.3 Third-Party Cookies

Stripe may set cookies when you interact with payment forms. These are governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy.

11.4 Local and Session Storage

We use browser local storage to save UI preferences and cache data for better performance. Session storage is used for temporary data that is automatically cleared when you close your browser. This data remains on your device and is not transmitted to our servers.

11.5 How to Control Cookies

Most browsers let you block or delete cookies through their settings. Blocking essential cookies may prevent the Service from functioning properly. We do not currently respond to "Do Not Track" browser signals.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by:

  • Email notification
  • Notice in the Service
  • Updating the "Last updated" date

Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your rights, contact us at:

Email: legal@capsulate.app

Support: support@capsulate.app

For EU users, our Data Protection Officer can be reached at: legal@capsulate.app