Frequently asked questions

Use a 16-character App Password, not your normal password. Enable 2-Step Verification first, then create one at Google App Passwords.

Open your bot in Telegram and tap Start. Verify bot token from @BotFather and chat ID from @userinfobot.

Enter your number with country code only (e.g. 2348012345678). No API key needed. If the test fails, the MailPulse WhatsApp service may be reconnecting — try again in a few minutes or use Telegram/email meanwhile.

During quiet hours, instant alerts are queued for your daily digest instead of sending immediately.

After a sender matches, the subject must contain at least one keyword — unless the sender is in your priority senders list.

Passwords and tokens are encrypted in the database. Set a strong FLASK_SECRET_KEY and ENCRYPTION_KEY in your .env file. Use HTTPS in production.

Deploy to a VPS (Railway, Render, DigitalOcean). Set WEB_HOST=0.0.0.0 and use a process manager or Docker. See README for details.