Cleanfox vs ClearInbox

Cleanfox is a free service for removing unwanted email and unsubscribing from newsletters. It identifies recurring senders and lets users decide what to keep before cleaning. For a newsletter, users can remove all its messages, delete received emails while staying subscribed, or keep it. Mail support includes Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, iCloud Mail, and most other providers. Card and list views help sort newsletters, with bulk actions in list view; users can add multiple mailboxes and sort them together. Automatic cleanup rules are available. An initial mailbox scan takes an average of 30 minutes to 3 hours. Deleted messages move to the mailbox trash and remain recoverable until the email provider empties it, typically after 5 to 30 days. Cleanfox says it uses end-to-end encryption, does not read or sell emails, and anonymizes newsletter and commercial-transaction data for market statistics. It says users are not targeted by advertising. Attachment downloading and deletion is marked “Soon.” Cleanfox is available on Android, iOS, and the web.

ClearInbox is a web email-cleanup app that can also be self-hosted with Docker. It groups messages into smart folders such as newsletters, social, shopping, finance, travel, old mail, and large mail, then suggests archiving or deletion. Mailing lists can be unsubscribed individually or in bulk where RFC 8058 one-click support exists. Auto Clean rules move, archive, delete, star, or mute messages on schedules or when new mail arrives. A sender screener holds first-time senders for approval or rejection, and users can block senders or domains. The web client supports composing, replying, forwarding, searching, labeling, starring, and pinning across multiple connected accounts. Supported providers include Gmail, Outlook, Microsoft 365, Yahoo Mail, iCloud Mail, AOL, Fastmail, Exchange, and IMAP services. The maker says cleaning uses headers and metadata, full bodies are not stored, and connections are encrypted.