Help

Stuck? Let's fix that.

Quick answers to the things people bump into most. If yours isn't here, email hello@sweep.software and we'll help.

Opening Sweep

Mac: “Sweep Not Opened” or “Apple could not verify Sweep”

This early version isn't signed by Apple yet (that's coming before Sweep's full launch). To open it:

  1. Click Done on the message.
  2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll down.
  3. Next to the line about Sweep, click Open Anyway, then confirm with your Mac password or Touch ID.
  4. Open Sweep again. From now on it opens normally.

You'll need to do this once after each new download, until Sweep is signed by Apple.

Mac: Sweep wants to use something in your Keychain

That's your saved sign-in, if you ticked “Stay signed in”. Enter your Mac password and click Always Allow. It asks once after each update, again until Sweep is signed by Apple.

Windows: “Windows protected your PC”

Click More info, then Run anyway. Windows asks this about new apps it doesn't know yet. It goes away once the Windows version is signed.

Remember to unzip Sweep first: right-click the zip, choose Extract All…, then open Sweep in the new folder.

Updating to a new version

Your history, totals, trophies and saved sign-ins stay put: they're kept separately from the app.

Signing in

Gmail: “Google hasn't verified this app”

Expected for now: Google is still reviewing Sweep. Click Advanced, then Go to Sweep (unsafe). On the next screen, tick the box that lets Sweep reach your Gmail and click Continue.

You sign in on Google's own page, so Sweep never sees your password. Your emails go straight from Google to your computer, nowhere else.

Gmail: why does Google say Sweep can “permanently delete” my email?

That's Google's fixed wording for full access to a Gmail mailbox, the kind every email app gets, including Apple Mail and Outlook. Sweep never deletes anything: swept emails go to your Bin, and Undo brings them back.

Gmail: “Access blocked” on a work or school account

Some organisations only allow apps Google has finished verifying. Until it has, ask your IT team to allow Sweep, or sign in with an app password instead (if your organisation allows them):

  1. Turn on 2-Step Verification at myaccount.google.com/security, if it isn't already.
  2. Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords, make a password called “Sweep”, and paste it into Sweep's password box.

Outlook or Hotmail: “Microsoft signed you in, but Outlook wouldn't open that mailbox”

Microsoft's sign-in worked, but Outlook's mail server didn't let Sweep in. Try these in order:

  1. On outlook.com, open Settings → Mail → Forwarding and IMAP, turn on Let devices and apps use IMAP and save. Reload the page and check it's still on, as it can switch itself back off.
  2. Check the address in Sweep's message is your Outlook or Hotmail address. If it isn't, sign in again and choose Use another account on Microsoft's page.
  3. Made your Outlook account in the last day? Wait a day and try again. Brand-new mailboxes can take a while before apps can connect.
  4. Visit account.live.com/activity and, if you see a blocked sign-in, click This was me.

Outlook work or school account: “needs an administrator to approve Sweep”

Your organisation's IT team has to approve Sweep first, so send them a link to this page. Personal Outlook and Hotmail accounts don't need this.

AOL, Yahoo or iCloud: “wrong password”

These need an app password: a separate password just for Sweep, not your normal one. Sweep's sign-in screen links to the right page, or:

You can delete the app password at any time to cut Sweep off.

Using Sweep

Where did my emails go?

Into your mailbox's Trash (Gmail calls it Bin), or Junk if you chose that. Nothing is deleted for good: click Undo, or find the sweep in Sweep's History tab and undo it there. Your email provider empties Trash after a while (30 days for Gmail), so bring back anything you need before then.

I unsubscribed, but they're still sending

Some senders take a few days to process an unsubscribe. Sweep's History → Unsubscribes shows anyone still sending, with a button to sweep what's arrived since.

The “% lighter” never reaches 100%

It's how much of your inbox you've cleared since Sweep opened, so it only hits 100% with an empty inbox. It starts again each time you open Sweep. Your all-time totals and trophies are in the Trophies tab.

Quick Sweep's “to go” doesn't match my unread count

Quick Sweep leaves out real people, senders who've emailed you just once (offered at the end), senders you kept and subjects you protected. The Detailed list shows everyone.

Still stuck?

Email hello@sweep.software and tell us what you see. A screenshot helps a lot. On Windows, please also attach Sweep's log: press Windows + R, paste %APPDATA%\Sweep, press Enter and send the file called sweep.log. It never contains passwords or what your emails say.