Recommended: This method gives you automated email processing with readonly access. It's more flexible and easier to manage than Gmail auto-forwarding.
Once you've connected Gmail to TLDR Parents (with readonly access), you can automate email processing by creating Gmail filters that apply the "tldrparents" label. You'll:
Before creating filters, you need to:
Click the funnel icon in the Gmail search bar to open the search dropdown and set your filter criteria.
To target common school senders, use a query like:
from:(newton.k12.ma.us OR parentsquare.com)Click Search first to preview matching messages and verify your filter is catching the right emails.
Once you've confirmed the search results, click Create filter (bottom-right of the search panel).
Check Apply the label and select "tldrparents" from the dropdown. This is the critical action that tells TLDR Parents to process these emails.
⚠️ Important: Only check "Mark as read" if you're absolutely certain your filter only catches emails that never require a response (like newsletters from smore.com or parentsquare.com).
Why? If your filter is too broad and marks emails as read, you might miss important correspondence that needs your attention - like a teacher asking a direct question or a team coordinator requesting an RSVP via email.
Safe scenarios for "Mark as read":
When to leave emails unread:
Based on your preferences, you might also:
Important: Leave "Also apply filter to matching conversations" unchecked. This ensures only new messages get labeled, not your historical emails.
Click Create filter to finish. TLDR Parents will now automatically sync and process emails with the "tldrparents" label every 1-2 minutes!
Send yourself a test email that matches your filter criteria. Confirm it:
After a few days, check the "tldrparents" label in Gmail to see what's being caught. If you see:
from:(@parentsquare.com OR @smore.com OR @remind.com OR @teamsnap.com)Safe to mark as read? Yes - these platforms typically send only broadcasts.
from:(@newton.k12.ma.us)Safe to mark as read? No - school domains include both newsletters AND teacher correspondence.
from:(@smore.com OR @parentsquare.com OR noreply@)Safe to mark as read? Yes - highly confident these are broadcast-only.
from:(@leagueathletics.com OR @teamsnap.com OR @signupgenius.com)Safe to mark as read? Maybe - test carefully, as coaches sometimes send direct emails from these platforms.
subject:(newsletter OR "weekly update" OR "upcoming events")Safe to mark as read? No - subject keywords can catch both broadcasts and correspondence.
Tip: Start with narrow filters (specific platforms only) and expand gradually. It's better to manually label a few emails than to accidentally hide correspondence you need to respond to.
Go to Settings → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses → find your tldrparents filter → click Edit.
You can create multiple filters for different purposes:
Go to Settings → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses → find your filter → click Delete → confirm.
Contact TLDR Parents Support at support@tldrparents.com