Email in Storyden is optional and intentionally minimal.
Storyden can run with email, or with no email at all.
That second option is unusual, but it is useful for communities that want to avoid collecting personal data like email addresses.
What Email Is Used For
Storyden currently sends email for authentication flows only:
- Email verification codes for email-based sign-in/sign-up flows.
- Password reset links for password-based accounts.
There are currently no email notifications for replies, mentions, reactions, digests, or marketing.
Running Storyden With No Email
If you do not want to use email:
- Leave
EMAIL_PROVIDERunset in Configuration. - Keep authentication mode on username/handle in Settings.
- Use non-email auth methods where needed, such as OAuth providers.
This only happens in a narrow misconfiguration path: first enable an email provider, then switch auth mode to email, then later remove email provider config. In that case, Storyden falls back to handle mode so members are not locked out.
Privacy Note
Running without email is a solid fit for anonymous or pseudonymous communities.
If you enable login methods that return an email address (for example some OAuth providers), Storyden may still store that address for account linking. See the OAuth provider docs for that flow.
Email Providers
SMTP
Use your own SMTP server or a hosted SMTP relay.
SendGrid
Use SendGrid as a managed email delivery provider.
For all environment variables and defaults, use the Configuration reference.