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Help › Connecting an email account

Connecting an Email Account

Gmail, Office 365, or any IMAP/SMTP provider.

Gmail (recommended)

  1. In Stringer, go to Settings › Email accounts › Add account › Gmail.
  2. Sign in on Google's consent screen. We only request the scopes needed to read flagged messages and send replies — nothing else.
  3. Google sends you back to Stringer with an OAuth token. We encrypt it with AES-256-GCM and store it on our side.

You can revoke access any time from your Google account permissions page or by deleting the account in Stringer.

Office 365 / Outlook.com

  1. Go to Settings › Email accounts › Add account › Office 365.
  2. Sign in with your Microsoft account and approve the requested scopes (Mail.Read, Mail.Send).
  3. You're redirected back to Stringer. Same encryption as Gmail.

IMAP / SMTP (Fastmail, Proton Bridge, Zoho, custom)

  1. Go to Settings › Email accounts › Add account › IMAP/SMTP.
  2. Enter your IMAP host, port (usually 993 for TLS), username, and password. Most providers require an app password, not your main password — check your provider's docs.
  3. Enter your SMTP host, port (587 for STARTTLS, 465 for TLS), and SMTP credentials. We reuse the IMAP credentials by default.
  4. Click Test connection. Stringer opens an IMAP and SMTP session to verify before saving.

Passwords are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM. We never log them.

Yahoo / AOL / iCloud

All three support IMAP with an app-specific password. Use the IMAP/SMTP flow above. Yahoo OAuth is also supported — see Help for the Yahoo-specific guide (coming soon).

Troubleshooting

  • "Authentication failed" — almost always wrong password or missing app password. Double-check your provider's docs.
  • "Connection timed out" — firewall blocking outbound IMAP/SMTP, or wrong port. Try 993 (IMAP) and 587 (SMTP).
  • "SSL handshake failed" — toggle between TLS and STARTTLS in the advanced settings.
  • Still stuck? Email support@the-stringer.lol.

Related: Getting started · Flagging spam