Why Google shows a warning
The first time you open Donor Sync in your copy, Google shows "Google hasn't verified this app". Here is what that means, plainly.
What you will see
- Authorization required. "A script attached to this document needs your permission to run." Click Continue and choose your Google account.
- Google hasn't verified this app. Click Advanced at the bottom left, then Go to Tidyfield Donor Sync (unsafe).
- The permissions. Google lists what the script may do (see below). Click Allow.
- Open Extensions > Tidyfield Donor Sync > Open sidebar again.
The exact words and buttons can vary a little between accounts and languages.
Why it appears
When you make a copy, Google also copies the spreadsheet's script, and that copy belongs to you. It runs in your Google account, not on a Tidyfield server. Google reviews apps that many people install, such as Marketplace add-ons. A script you own has not been through that review, so Google shows this warning before it first runs. The warning may even name your own email as the developer, because the copy is yours.
Donor Sync is sold this way so that your data and the code stay in your account. A Google Workspace Marketplace version may come later.
What each permission is for
| Google asks to | Why Donor Sync needs it |
|---|---|
| View and manage spreadsheets that this application has been installed in | To write your gifts and reports into this spreadsheet. It cannot open your other files. |
| Connect to an external service | To read gifts from Zeffy, Givebutter and Donorbox with your keys, to check your license with Lemon Squeezy, and to read the version number on this website once a day. The script can only contact the addresses listed in its manifest. |
| Allow this application to run when you are not present | For automatic sync, if you turn it on. |
| Send email as you | Only to email you if automatic sync fails 3 times in a row. You can turn that off in Settings. |
| Display and run third-party web content in prompts and sidebars | To show the sidebar and the CSV import window. |
| See your primary Google Account email address | To show who set up automatic sync and where the failure email goes. |
Check it yourself
- Open Extensions > Apps Script in your copy to read every file of the code.
- The file
appsscript.jsonlists the permissions (oauthScopes) and the only web addresses the script may contact (urlFetchWhitelist). - Your API keys are saved in the script's private storage for this spreadsheet. They are sent only to the platform they belong to.
If your organization uses Google Workspace
Some Workspace accounts do not show the warning at all. If your administrator blocks scripts that are not approved, ask them to allow it, or use a personal Google account for the donor spreadsheet.
Tidyfield never receives your donor data. The only Tidyfield address your copy contacts is donors.tidyfieldapps.com/version.json, to tell you when a newer version exists; that request carries nothing about you. Privacy policy