How Unico works

What each part of Unico does, for readers who want the details.

Speed

Unico is lightning fast. Your recent mail is on your computer, so nothing waits for a server, and Gmail catches up in the background.

Keyboard

Every command has a key, and the keys follow Gmail's. Gmail's words work in the Command menu too: "archive" finds Mark Done.

Single-key shortcuts can be turned off for screen readers and voice control.

Inbox and triage

• Priority and Other. One fixed rule runs on your computer: mail Gmail files under its category tabs, and bulk mail, goes to Other. Moving a sender to Other sticks.
• Done is Gmail's archive. Press E and the thread leaves the Inbox; Gmail keeps it.
• Snooze. Pick a time or type one ("mon 9", "3d"). A reply brings the thread back early. Snoozed threads return while Unico is running.
• Undo instead of confirmation. Every mail action has an undo, many levels deep. Unico asks first only where nothing can be undone.
• Writing. Undo send for 10 seconds, Send later, and Remind me if no reply.
• Unsubscribe. One command, with 10 seconds to undo it.
• Tabs. Up to nine views open at once, restored when you reopen Unico.
• Offline. Everything on your computer keeps working, and changes wait until you're back online.

Search

Search takes Gmail's syntax and answers from your computer as you type: from:, to:, subject:, label:, has:attachment, before:, after:, older_than:, larger:, list: and account:, with OR, - and quotes. Command-Return searches all of Gmail too.

Your recent mail and everything in your Inbox and Starred is on your computer. Older mail is one Gmail search away.

Privacy

• Your mail, Google tokens and mail metadata never reach any Unico server.
• Unico's servers never receive your mail, and we have no copy of it. The app sends mail data only to Google and to providers you turn on.
• Your mail is stored encrypted on your computer. Attachments you open and your system's notifications and backups can keep copies outside it.
• Remote images are blocked by default.
• Tracking pixels are removed, and the thread says how many: "2 trackers blocked". Unico shows no read receipts.
• Crash reports are off unless you turn them on, contain no message content, and withdrawing consent deletes unsent reports; your IP is received but not stored.
• Updates are signed and published with release notes, and never add a new place your mail is sent without updating the privacy policy first and, where Google requires it, asking for your agreement.
• Unico does not use Google user data to develop, improve or train generalized or non-personalized AI or ML models, and does not transfer it to anyone for that purpose.

Unico's servers handle licenses and update checks. The privacy policy lists everything it receives, and how Unico uses Google data explains the Gmail permission.

Security

Unico assumes some of your mail is hostile.

• Mail can't run code or load anything on its own. A link opens only when you open it, and Unico asks first when the address looks deceptive.
• Remote images load only when you load them or allow the sender, and never for a sender that fails Gmail's authenticity check.
• Attachments you open are marked as downloaded, so macOS checks them before they run.
• Your Google sign-in is kept on your computer and sent only to Google.
• A copy of Unico that falls behind on a security fix shows mail as plain text until it updates.

Found a problem? Write to security@unicomail.app and see the disclosure policy.

AI

AI features are off by default and send data only to the provider you choose, with your key, after you agree for that feature.

• One switch. With AI off, Unico makes no AI calls of any kind, and AI commands don't appear.
• Your key, your provider. Anthropic, OpenAI, or a model on your computer. Calls go straight to the provider, and you pay it for what you use.
• Consent per feature. The first call asks, says what it sends and where, and asks again when you switch providers.
• Only what a feature needs. Each feature sends only the parts of a message it uses, and links and secrets in your mail are masked first.
• Ask AI. Press Tab in the Command menu. It searches your mail, and what it proposes, a label, Done or a draft, waits for your confirmation.
• Rules. A rule tries itself on recent mail and asks before it acts on its own. A model never picks a recipient.

What Unico doesn't do

• No read receipts, and no tracking in the mail you send.
• No team inbox: Unico is one person's mail.
• No AI that acts on its own: proposals wait for you.
• No settings sprawl: one keymap, one density, a short list of settings.
• Snooze and Send later run on your computer, so they fire while Unico is running.
• No Outlook, other mail providers, Windows or Linux yet. They're coming soon.