Projects

MailKey

In development — preparing for Chrome Web Store review

MailKey is a Chrome extension that fills email verification codes for you.

The code youjust asked for,one click away.

Apple's SMS autofill, moved to email. MailKey is a Chrome extension that reads only the last hour of your Gmail, finds the verification code that just arrived, and offers to fill it in. Nothing is stored, nothing is sent anywhere, and nothing happens until you click.

Platform
Chrome Extension
Access
Gmail, read-only
Backend
None
How it works

Three moments, and only one of them is yours.

  1. 01

    The code arrives

    You ask a site to email you a verification code. It lands in Gmail like it always does — MailKey changes nothing about that.

  2. 02

    MailKey spots it

    Because a code field is on screen, the extension asks Gmail for mail from the last 60 minutes only, reads it in memory, and pulls out the code.

  3. 03

    You click Fill

    The code appears in a chip beside the field, with the domain it came from. One click puts it in the box. It is never typed for you, and never submitted for you.

What it does

Small surface, stated exactly.

  • Read-only Gmail access, granted through Chrome
  • Only ever asks Google for mail from the last 60 minutes
  • One click to fill — never automatic, never submitted for you
  • Shows the sending domain next to the code
  • The code lives in session memory for 60 seconds, then is wiped
  • Email bodies are parsed in memory and discarded
  • No backend, no analytics, nothing leaves your device
  • Runs on every site, or only the ones you list
Privacy

The honest version.

MailKey exists because verification codes are annoying, not because anyone needs another thing reading their mail. So the constraints are written down — including the one Google cannot enforce for you.

Read the full privacy policy
Read-only
Access is granted through Chrome itself (chrome.identity), scoped to gmail.readonly. There is no password field, no client secret, and no login form inside the extension.
The last hour, self-enforced
Google does not offer a time-limited Gmail permission, so the grant technically covers the whole mailbox. Every request MailKey makes carries an after: filter set to one hour ago — the limit is the extension’s own, kept in one small function, and it is stated plainly rather than implied.
Sixty seconds
A found code lives in session memory only, wiped when you use it, when the tab closes, or within a minute. Message bodies are parsed in memory and discarded — never written to disk.
No servers, no analytics
There is no backend. Requests go straight from your browser to Google. Nothing phones home, nothing is sold or shared, and there is no mechanism by which anyone else could read your mail.
Never automatic
MailKey does not fill without a click and never submits a form for you. The last decision is always yours.

One thing it is not: the domain shown next to a code is there so a mismatch is easy to notice. It is an aid to your own judgement, not phishing protection, and it is not described as protection anywhere in the product.

What guided it
  • Read-only, last hour only
  • Nothing leaves the device
  • The click is always yours
Built with
JavaScriptChrome Extensions (MV3)Gmail APIOAuth 2.0
Availability

Not yet released. MailKey is being prepared for Chrome Web Store submission — it has not been reviewed, approved, or verified by Google, and there is nothing to install yet.

Ask me about it
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