Your key.
Your device.
On Private, the EmailOwl app runs the triage itself, on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, calling the Anthropic API with your own key. There are no Claude connectors, no routine and no prompt to copy. Setup is a few taps in the app.
This is the Private setup
Get your Anthropic billing and key ready, then: read where your mail goes, connect your email, choose Private, add your key, and build your memory.
You want the other page
Connected runs as a routine in your own Claude account, with connectors. Connected setup
Get your Anthropic account ready first
EmailOwl asks for your key after your mailboxes and plan, then your first Full Scan runs on it. With no billing or credit on the account, that scan can’t run.
Not yet? Open console.anthropic.com → Billing, add a payment method and buy credit, then create the key.
From download to your first Full Scan
In the exact order EmailOwl shows them. Each screen appears only once the one before it is done.
Read where your mail goes
EmailOwl is free to download; nothing is paid or chosen in the App Store. The first screen, Before your first email, explains where your mail goes. Read it and acknowledge it.
Connect your email
Sign in to Gmail and/or Microsoft 365. One mailbox is enough; add more later in Settings → Connect a mailbox. Continue unlocks once one is connected.
- No Claude connectors on Private. EmailOwl reads mail with its own sign-in on this device.
- No plan, no payment and no API key yet.
Choose Private and start your trial
Pick Private, monthly or annual, and tap Start 7-day free trial. This is the App Store subscription step. Not eligible for a trial? The button reads Subscribe instead.
Add your Anthropic key
Paste the key you created in Before you start and tap Save & verify key. You’ll see Key verified. No key yet? Open Anthropic Console takes you there.
- The key runs your triage, and your draft replies when you choose the Anthropic API (step 07). It’s held in this device’s Keychain, and you pay Anthropic directly for what it uses.
Build your memory: your first Full Scan
Tap Build my memory. This tap starts your first Full Scan. It runs on this device with your key, learns your contacts, projects and noise, and fills your board. The button spins while it runs, then shows a line like “Built your memory: 212 contacts, 18 projects, 41 muted.” Tap Finish.
- Nothing scans on its own on Private, so this tap is what starts it. There’s no separate scan screen; it all happens on this button.
- If it says the credit balance is too low, top up in the console’s Billing and tap it again.
You can skip steps 04 and 05 and come back. Skip the key and the build asks you to add it in Settings first; skip the build and you land on an empty board, with the same button in Settings.
Your triage is private by design
A short card explains how Private keeps your triage on your device and your key. Tap Got it, and your board opens with the tasks from the scan.
Choose who writes your draft replies
Each device chooses its own. Private starts on the Anthropic API.
Claude, on your own key. Takes in more of the conversation and writes fuller replies; the one for anything longer or more involved. Metered on your key.
Written on this device by Apple Intelligence. No extra cost. Best for confirmations, quick questions and quick follow-ups.
You can also switch on the Draft Reply screen, for any task.
Your other iPhones, iPads and Macs
At Connect your email or the plan screen, tap Already set up on another device? Restore with code. Your plan, board and memory come across, and that device skips the plan screen and setup. Then:
- Sign in to your mailboxes again on that device.
- The API key: paste it on that device. Setting up a Windows PC? Pair it from your phone and the key can go with it, encrypted end to end. EmailOwl keeps no copy of your key. Give each device its own key and you can revoke any one of them in the Anthropic Console without touching the rest.
- Draft replies: each device chooses its own, as in step 07.
Moving to Connected
Connected runs the triage as a routine in your own Claude account, so you’ll set up connectors and the routine on the Connected page.