Your email stays unchanged.
Nothing is rewritten, summarized, or sent anywhere. Chameleon reads what Gmail already shows you.
For cafes, trains, and open offices
Read your Gmail in public. Everyone nearby sees gibberish.
Chameleon is a privacy screen for Gmail - plus a clean reader mode, bigger text, and a quieter inbox. It all runs in your browser.
Free · No account · No tracking
Selected for Podim 2026 · Top 150 startups in CEE
Also: the eye in the corner, or Shift+P.
Readable for you, scrambled for everyone else - a click or Shift + P toggles it.
The problem
Reading email in public was not part of the plan.
- You're on the train. A message pops up. The person next to you reads every word.
- You just want to read one email. Gmail's toolbars and panes crowd in around every word.
- Small text, dense layout. Thirty emails in and your eyes are done.
- Promotions, receipts, threads you're only CC'd on. The mail that matters is buried.
Viewing modes
Same inbox. Four ways to see it.
Scrambles your inbox text so a glance reveals nothing. The eye button or Shift+P toggles the whole view back to readable; hover a single row - or hold to scan within an open message - to peek at just one. A visual shield for public spaces, not encryption.
Your settings survive page reloads and tab switches - nothing to re-enable.
Use when: You're on public transport, at a cafe, or in an open office.
Q3 board update - please keep internal
Quick heads up before Thursday. Revenue is tracking ahead of plan and we'll walk the board through the numbers in the morning.
Opens any email in a clean, full-screen reading view with book-quality typography. The content is unchanged - just the noise removed. Press Esc to return.
Use when: You're reading a long email or thread and want zero distraction.
Scales email content for easier reading - message body, subject lines, sender names - without touching Gmail's interface. Unlike browser zoom, only the reading content gets bigger.
Use when: Your eyes need a break, you're on a smaller screen, or you read email for hours.
Dims low-signal rows - promotions, no-reply receipts, threads you're only CC'd on - so the mail that actually matters stands out. Nothing is deleted or hidden; just quieted.
Use when: You're scanning a busy inbox and need the signal to surface.
In your browser
How it works
Viewing modes change how you see it.
Pick a viewing mode and your Gmail transforms on screen. It happens in your browser - no server, no data leaving your machine.
Switch back anytime.
Every viewing mode is reversible. Turn it off and Gmail is exactly as it was.
Client-side only
Nothing collected automatically
No account required
Honest limits
What Chameleon is not
- Not themes or skins. Themes change colors. Chameleon changes the structure of how you read.
- Not AI rewriting. Nothing is summarized, rephrased, or filtered. What you see is always the original.
- Not encryption. Encryption protects data in transit. Chameleon protects what is on your screen.
Questions
FAQ
Hardware privacy filters dim your display at an angle and cover one device. Chameleon does it in software: it scrambles the text of your Gmail so a glance shows gibberish, while you keep reading normally - reveal a single message when you need it.
No. Viewing modes only change how emails appear on your screen. The original is always preserved - nothing is rewritten, deleted, or modified.
Privacy scrambles your inbox text against shoulder-surfing. Reader opens an email in a clean, full-screen reading view. Font Size enlarges email text without breaking Gmail's layout. Focus dims low-signal rows so important mail stands out. Use any of them on their own.
No. Encryption protects messages during delivery. Viewing modes change how messages look after they have already arrived in your browser.
Chameleon uses two permissions: local storage for your settings, and access to mail.google.com so it can restyle the page. That is the complete list, and you can verify it on the Chrome Web Store listing before installing. There is no server, no account, and no analytics - nothing leaves your browser.
Always. Turn off any viewing mode and Gmail is exactly as it was.
Nothing is collected automatically. Everything runs in your browser, with no analytics and no tracking, and email content never leaves your machine. The only data we ever receive is what you explicitly submit: optional survey answers, feedback, or your email if you join the waitlist or ask for updates.
Gmail only for now. Outlook and other platforms are on the roadmap.
Try it on your own Gmail.
Free. No account. No tracking. Installs in 10 seconds.
Questions? [email protected]
Chameleon Pro
Coming soonFree is the protection. Pro is making it yours.
No Chameleon
Q3 board update - please keep internal
Anyone nearby reads everything.
Free
D8 obneq hcqngr - cyrnfr xrrc vagreany
Protected. Visibly scrambled.
Pro
Ы8 вюдяц урцдтз - рлздшз кззр иптзяпдл
Protected. Looks like another language, in a cipher only you can read.
Free protects you. Pro makes the protection invisible.
Everything in Free, plus:
- Your Own Cipher A private letter mapping generated just for you. You learn to read it; nobody else ever can, not even someone who knows Chameleon.
- Scramble Styles Choose how the scramble looks to everyone else: another alphabet, an invented script, clean noise. A screen that looks interesting, not hidden.
- Sender Aliases Every sender gets a consistent pseudonym. Your inbox stays fully triageable while names stay hidden - you can tell who is who without showing who is who.
- Safe Capture Make Gmail screenshot-safe. Hide or replace names, addresses, and sensitive details before you capture or share your screen.
$39 - one-time, lifetime.
Everything currently in Chameleon is free and stays free.