Last updated: October 27, 2026
Beacon is a private application operated by an individual for personal use. It has one user, its owner. This page explains what the application does with Google user data.
When its owner connects a Google account, Beacon requests the Gmail read-only scope
(https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.readonly). With it, Beacon reads message metadata (sender,
subject, date, labels) and, when needed to decide whether a message needs attention, the message text. It
never sends, deletes or changes mail.
Mail is used only to show its owner the messages that need attention (for example a message that needs a reply, a deadline or an appointment) inside Beacon. The owner's mail text may be processed by a language model to make that decision. Beacon does not use Google user data for advertising, and does not use it to train generalized models.
The refresh token that keeps Beacon connected is stored on the owner's own server, in a file readable only by the application. Mail content is processed on that server and held only as long as needed to produce a notification. Beacon does not sell Google user data and does not share it with anyone else, except with the language model provider that processes the text on the owner's behalf under its API terms.
The owner can disconnect Gmail at any time inside Beacon, which deletes the stored token, and can revoke access at myaccount.google.com/permissions.
Beacon's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.