Family Sentinel
Trust & permissions

You're evaluating two risks.
Here's our answer to the second one.

The scammer in the inbox is one risk. Granting us access is the other — and you should judge it just as hard. This page shows exactly what we request, what those permissions can and cannot do, what we keep, when a human sees anything, and how to cut us off in one click.

Who you're dealing with

Company identity.

Family Sentinel LLC, a Texas limited liability company, family-owned and run by a working security analyst. Reach a person at security@familysentinel.org or (940) 343-5183 — calls are returned the same business day. Service status is public at status.familysentinel.org.

The exact permissions

What we request, what it allows, what it can never do.

These are the actual permission names from your provider's consent screen — not a summary. You will see them yourself, on your own screen, when you authorize.

PermissionWhy we need itWhat it allowsWhat it does NOT allow
Read email
gmail.readonly
Analyze senders, links, attachments, and message content for malware, ransomware, phishing, impersonation, and scam intent Read messages and their technical headers Send, delete, edit, forward, or reply to anything. Move a message. Touch a folder.
Read mail settings
gmail.settings.basic
Detect the fingerprints of a hijacked account — hidden auto-forwarding rules and filters that quietly delete bank & security alerts View forwarding rules, filters, and aliases Create, change, or delete any rule, filter, or setting.
Microsoft Mail.Read
(Outlook — coming)
The same read-only analysis for Outlook & Hotmail inboxes Read messages and headers Send, delete, or modify anything.
What we never have: your password. Authorization happens on Google's or Microsoft's own pages — credentials go to them, never to us. We receive a revocable token, and revoking it (below) shuts us out instantly.
Data handling

What we keep — and what we refuse to keep.

Ordinary mail: nothing

Messages that analyze as safe are not stored. Not archived, not indexed, not "retained for quality purposes." Analyzed and released.

Flagged threats: 14 days

When something is flagged we keep the verdict (sender, subject, why) plus an encrypted copy of the evidence for 14 days — your proof if you need it for a bank or police report — then it purges automatically.

Never, under any plan

No selling data. No advertising. No AI training on your mail — our AI provider processes under terms that exclude training. No sharing beyond the subprocessors that run the service.

When does a human see anything? Automated analysis handles the reading. A human security analyst looks at a specific message in exactly two cases: a serious threat is being verified before your family is alerted, or you forwarded it to us yourself (Ask Sentinel). Access is purposeful and logged — never browsing.
The exit

Revoking access takes one click. You don't need our permission.

i.

From your Google account

Open myaccount.google.com/connections, find Family Sentinel, click Remove access. Our token dies instantly — no call, no email, no waiting period.

ii.

Or just ask us

Email security@familysentinel.org or call (940) 343-5183. We disconnect, delete your data, and confirm in writing.

iii.

Found a security issue?

We want to hear it — that's not lip service; the founder does this for a living. Write security@familysentinel.org with "vulnerability" in the subject and you'll get a human response, fast.

One honest limitation, stated plainly: Family Sentinel reduces risk by detecting and alerting — no security system catches every threat, and an alert is not a substitute for verifying any request for money or personal information through a channel you already trust.

Questions this page didn't answer?

Ask them before you connect anything — that's the right order. A security analyst answers every message, and the free 20-minute assessment requires no inbox access at all.

Ask a question

Call or text (940) 343-5183 · security@familysentinel.org