MAC · IPHONE · IPAD
Tern.
A native Gmail app that’s fast, calm and private by design.
Your mail stays on your devices, AI is your choice, and you pay once.
zacherygentry@gmail.com
What Tern does
Tern is a mail app for Gmail and Google Workspace accounts on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
It shows your inbox sorted into Important, People, Updates and Newsletters; lets you read, search, reply, archive, label, snooze and schedule mail; blocks tracking pixels and remote images by default; and offers optional AI summaries and drafting that run on your device or with your own AI provider key.
Tern connects to your Google Account only to provide those features. It reads and changes your mail on your instructions, directly between your device and Google. There’s no Tern account, and no analytics or advertising.
How Tern uses your Google data
Tern asks for gmail.modify plus your email address.
That permission lets Tern show and search your mail, send messages and save drafts, and carry out the actions you take: mark done, trash, labels, star, read or unread, spam and snooze. It can’t change your Gmail settings or permanently delete mail without it going through Trash. Your mail is stored only on your own devices. The full details, including the Google API Services Limited Use disclosure, are in the privacy policy.
Common questions
Why does Google say “Google hasn’t verified this app”?
Tern is in private testing and hasn’t completed Google’s verification for apps that access Gmail. If you’re one of the testers, choose Continue (or Advanced, then Go to Tern) to sign in. Only accounts Tern has invited can sign in while it’s in testing.
Where is my mail stored?
On your devices, in Tern’s private app storage. Tern talks to Google directly from your device. I never receive, store or read your email. Snoozes and scheduled sends sync between your devices through your own iCloud.
How do notifications work?
When your mailbox changes, Google tells a small relay, which wakes your devices through Apple’s push service. Your device then fetches the new message from Google and shows the notification itself. The relay never sees message content, subjects or senders.
What happens with AI?
AI is optional and off until you choose where it runs: on your device with Apple Intelligence, or with your own API key from a provider you pick (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini or an OpenAI-compatible server). With your own key, requests go directly from your device to that provider. Tern never uses your mail to train AI models.
How do I remove an account or revoke Tern’s access?
In Tern, open Settings → Accounts, choose the account and select Remove from This Device. To revoke access everywhere, open your Google Account’s third-party connections, choose Tern and remove its access.
How do I report a problem?
Email zacherygentry@gmail.com with your Tern version, device and OS version, what happened and what you expected. Please don’t forward private mail unless it’s needed to show the problem.
Need a hand?
Questions, bugs or feedback about Tern are welcome.