SaneBox is an 🏷️#email_management service that filters an inbox by learned priority, founded in 2010 by Stuart Roseman and Dmitri Leonov. It connects to an existing account over IMAP rather than replacing the mail client, so it operates inside Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, or any other provider without changing where mail is read. It is sold on subscription in feature-based tiers with a free trial.
The core mechanic is folder-based triage: low-priority mail is moved out of the inbox into a separate folder and surfaced in a periodic digest, and the filter adjusts to which senders the user actually opens and answers. Companion folders extend the same pattern to deferred mail, one-click unsubscribes, attachment offloading, and reply tracking, so the entire interface is folders the user already knows how to drag between. Because it operates at the mail-server layer rather than as a client plugin, its behavior persists across every device and app touching the account — the distinction it draws against client-side tools and against triage features built into a single provider.
SaneBox cuts hundreds of emails down to the handful that actually need me. The rest are distractions, batched once a week, or handled by my assistant.
Key Features
- SaneLater — Low-priority mail is diverted out of the inbox into a separate folder and surfaced in a periodic digest.
- Training by folder — Dragging a message between folders teaches the filter; there are no rules to write or maintain.
- SaneReminders — Deferred messages return to the inbox at a chosen time, with alerts when a reply never arrives.
- SaneBlackHole — Moving a message into the folder unsubscribes from and permanently silences that sender.
- SaneAttachments — Attachments offload automatically to a connected cloud store such as Dropbox or Google Drive.