MailLocker – Download Your Cloud Email to Your Mac

Mail Locker

Your online email. Backed up locally.

Finally… a solution to online mail storage fees.

Stop paying cloud storage fees to archive your email. MailLocker creates a permanent place on your Mac for email worth keeping.

Beautifully designed for macOS, MailLocker works with your existing Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, or online IMAP email account to store messages, attachments, and familiar folders together as local copies you can revisit even when you’re offline.

Version 0.2 · Development build for testing. Not yet a public release.

For macOS 14 or later. Built for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

[Replace with a real MailLocker screenshot: the main window with folder sidebar, message list and reader, showing fictional sample mail.]

Product in action

Your backup, organized the way you already work

Keep using your preferred email app for everyday mail. Open MailLocker when you need the conversations, records, and documents worth keeping.

[Screenshot: folder sidebar]

Folders and labels

Browse account folders and Gmail labels in a familiar sidebar.

[Screenshot: message list]

Message list

Scan archived conversations by sender, subject, and date.

[Screenshot: formatted email reader]

Formatted reader

Read archived messages with their attachments kept alongside.

[Screenshot: search and filter controls]

Search and filters

Search message text, then narrow by sender, date, size, folder, or attachments.

Why MailLocker

Stop paying for space to store your email. Keep a local copy instead.

Keep an independent copy

Your archived email stays with you, even after the server copy is removed.

Find the important details

Search message text and narrow results by sender, date, size, folder, or attachments.

Keep familiar organization

Browse account folders and Gmail labels, including the places you already file important mail.

Attachments stay with their messages

Save original emails and attachments locally, with options to export them when needed.

Choose what you keep

Identify newsletters and apply exclusion rules to reduce clutter. Recognized spam and junk can be skipped.

Make archiving a habit

Schedule automatic checks while MailLocker is running, with menu-bar controls and adaptive deferral.

How it works

Three steps to a searchable archive

1

Connect an account

Add Gmail, iCloud Mail, or a supported IMAP account. MailLocker retrieves mail directly from your provider, without touching your Apple Mail app.

2

Archive your email

Save backup copies of email messages and attachments on your Mac in the folder organization you recognize. Turn on automatic checks to keep it current.

3

Search and revisit it locally

Find email conversations, receipts, and key documents from any email account on your in MailLocker or Siri AI, even when you’re offline.

Before you connect (version 0.2)

  • Gmail: requires your own Google Desktop OAuth client configuration in this build.
  • iCloud Mail: requires an app-specific password.
  • Other IMAP accounts: must support implicit TLS (usually port 993) with password or app-password sign-in.

Read the account setup guide →

Privacy and ownership

Your archive lives on your Mac

Direct provider connections

Mail is retrieved directly from Gmail, iCloud Mail, or your IMAP provider.

Stored locally

Messages and attachments are saved to an archive on your Mac that you can browse offline.

Credentials in Keychain

Passwords and OAuth credentials are stored in macOS Keychain.

Copies you keep

Deleting a message from the server doesn’t automatically delete a copy you’ve already archived.

MailLocker doesn’t currently encrypt the archive itself. To protect it at rest, use FileVault or store the archive on an encrypted volume.

Download and support

Try the development build

Version 0.2 · Development build for testing. Not yet a public release.

  • Version: 0.2 (build [BUILD NUMBER])
  • Released: [RELEASE DATE]
  • Requires: macOS 14 or later
  • Runs on: Apple silicon and Intel Macs
  • File: MailLocker-0.2.app.zip · [FILE SIZE]
  • SHA-256: [CHECKSUM]

Installing the development build

  1. Download the zip file and confirm its SHA-256 checksum.
  2. Unzip it and move MailLocker to your Applications folder.
  3. Open MailLocker. This testing build isn’t notarized by Apple, so macOS may block it the first time. If so, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway.
  4. Connect your first account using the setup guide.

FAQ

Common questions

Which email accounts work?

Gmail, iCloud Mail, and IMAP accounts that use implicit TLS (usually port 993) with password or app-password sign-in. Gmail currently requires your own Google Desktop OAuth client configuration, and iCloud requires an app-specific password. Not every provider is supported yet.

Does it back up Apple Mail?

MailLocker connects directly to supported email providers. You can also import exported email files. Mail.app’s local-only “On My Mac” folders require an export/import workflow.

Can I read archived email offline?

Yes. Saved message content and attachments are available locally. In the current build, remote images and styles that weren’t embedded in the email are blocked and may be missing.

Will it change my mailbox?

MailLocker uses read-only retrieval. It’s designed to archive messages without marking them read, moving them, sending mail, or deleting server copies.

Does it run automatically?

Automatic checks run while MailLocker remains open, including when its main window is closed. Launch at login is optional. Checks stop when the app quits, and a sleeping Mac can’t capture new mail until it wakes.

Is the archive encrypted?

MailLocker doesn’t currently encrypt the archive itself. Passwords and OAuth credentials are stored in macOS Keychain. Disk encryption is a separate setting in macOS (FileVault) or on your storage volume.