Mail Memories – A desktop app to rescue photos from Gmail
Hey HN, I’m the creator of Mail Memories. Like many of you, I've had my Gmail address for more than 20 years. A few years ago, I got curious and wanted to see what photos were buried deep in my account. I ended up finding lots of "lost" pictures of old friends, family members, and a ridiculous number of vintage memes. I originally built and launched this as a SaaS, but even with code and policies in place that kept users' photos private, I figured everyone would feel more comfortable with a desktop app. So, I threw out the server architecture and completely rewrote it as a 100% local desktop…
In plain words
Mail Memories is a desktop application for Mac and Windows that extracts photos from Gmail accounts. Users connect their Gmail directly to the app, which processes all data locally on their computer and downloads photos to their hard drive. The application runs entirely offline after connecting to Google's servers, storing no data on external servers. Users can download their 50 oldest photos free without requiring a credit card to preview what photos exist in their account.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hey HN, I’m the creator of Mail Memories. Like many of you, I've had my Gmail address for more than 20 years. A few years ago, I got curious and wanted to see what photos were buried deep in my account. I ended up finding lots of "lost" pictures of old friends, family members, and a ridiculous number of vintage memes. I originally built and launched this as a SaaS, but even with code and policies in place that kept users' photos private, I figured everyone would feel more comfortable with a desktop app. So, I threw out the server architecture and completely rewrote it as a 100% local desktop app for Mac and Windows. How it works now: The app connects directly to Google's server from your computer, processes everything entirely on your system, and saves photos straight to your hard drive. You can download your 50 oldest photos for free (no credit card required) just to see what's in there. If you want to download all the pictures in your account, it's a one-time payment of $29. No subscriptions. If you have an old, pre-2010 Gmail account, definitely give it a spin. You'll be surprised at what you find deep in your archive. I'd love to hear your feedback on the layout, scanning performance, or anything else. TL;DR: I turned my SaaS into a local desktop app (Mac/Windows) that recovers decades of forgotten photos from your Gmail. 100% local, no cloud, no subscriptions, no AI.
Does the same job
all alternatives →
- APA personal Gmail2012 · ▲127
Hey guys, so I've been building my own Gmail for the past few weeks and would like your feedback. Find a preview here: http://i.imgur.com/UDz2y.png (Mouse cursor is over the "REPLY" button, to show the hover-effect) The app you see in the screenshot is what I've been using in the past week and it starts to feel better than the gmail interface. Just a quick explanation: - It's conversation-based like Gmail. - Conversations with new emails are on the left. - Conversations may be labeled ... based on predefined filters or manually. - Every conversation stays in the left sidebar until marked…
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