Hey, a new way to do email
2 min read

Hey, a new way to do email

What email client are you using? Probably Gmail or the Apple default email client. Not hard to guess as these two account for more than 66% of all email apps used by people around the world.

For my part, I used Gmail for 15 years, way back in 2005. Yep, back when you had to have an invite to be able to use it 😎.

I want to let you know about a fairly new email provider I've been using since a couple years, and for which I'm paying $99/year for. Yes, you read that right, I'm paying a hundred bucks for email. Woah, he's crazy to spend $100/year for email when Gmail is great and FREE. Gmail is definitely awesome, but I found something I like even more. It's called Hey, and if you haven't heard about it, it's a webmail service like Gmail or Hotmail, but with a different approach.

There's already a ton of things that have been said about it, so I won't make a full review. Actually, the official website does a fantastic job at showcasing the features better than I ever could. Pay it a visit. They say it best:

Email sucked for years. Not anymore — we fixed it. HEY’s fresh approach transforms email into something you want to use, not something you’re forced to deal with.

All I'm gonna say is that :

  • It's an email provider with a new paradigm: focusing on what matters, letting you taking—and retaining—control of your inbox instead of having others control it.
  • It's made by 37Signals. In other words, it's made for the pragmatical, no-bullshit kind of person.
  • I fucking love the UI.
Here's what the imbox looks like. Yes, "imbox," not a typo.

It doesn't integrate automatically with a calendar. It doesn't have a ton of options. No fancy signature management, filters, or auto-responder. It doesn't even have folders. But that's the point. It's this no-nonsense, stripped-out, lean approach that cuts it for me.

The icing on the cake is if you care about privacy, Hey is super concerned about respecting privacy and protecting you from others spying on you via email.

If I made you curious, give it a real try. This means committing to use it as your main email app for at least several weeks, not playing around with it for a few days. That's the key. If you just dip your toes, you won't get to see and grasp its full potential. Use it completely for several weeks. Only then you'll be able to measure how awesome it is. Or maybe not, but then you'll know if it's not made for you.