Guides
Yahoo Mail
Takes about two minutes on your phone or computer.
AOL Mail
AOL and Yahoo run on the same mail system, so the steps match.
iCloud Mail
Apple calls these app-specific passwords. Two-factor authentication must be on for your Apple Account, which it is for almost everyone.
Gmail
For a personal @gmail.com address. App passwords exist only when 2-Step Verification is on.
Other IMAP
Any mailbox that speaks IMAP over SSL. You need four things from your provider.
Cleaning up, safely
Plain answers to the questions people ask before they clean an inbox: big Yahoo mailboxes, unsubscribing, passwords and privacy.
How to clean up a Yahoo inbox with 10,000 or more emails
Why big Yahoo inboxes are hard to clean, how to do it by hand, and how to clear twenty years of mail without deleting anything you need.
Is it safe to click unsubscribe?
When unsubscribe is safe, when it tells a spammer your address is live, and how to tell the difference before you click.
How to mass unsubscribe without giving away your password
Unsubscribe from hundreds of senders at once without handing a cleanup app your real password or full access to your account.
What an app password is, and why it is safer for cleanup tools
An app password is a separate key for one app that you can revoke any time. Why it is a safer way to connect an email cleanup tool than full sign-in.
Email cleanup that does not sell your data
Some free inbox cleaners have paid their way by selling data from your mail. What to look for, and how a private, one-time cleanup works.
How to organize receipts and bills in your email automatically
File receipts, bills, orders and travel mail into folders on their own, without sharing your mail or losing track of what just arrived.
Why an app password?
It is a separate key for one app that you can revoke any time without changing your real password. We never ask for your real password.
Your app password is stored encrypted (AES-256-GCM) and used only to read mail headers and move mail between folders inside your own mailbox: into Housekeeper hold when you clear a company, and on Yahoo and AOL into Housekeeper keep while a deep clean reaches older mail (that one is always brought back). Delete the app password at your provider and our access ends that instant.