Your inbox is overflowing. Newsletters, spam, promotions, and somewhere in between is that one important email. Hey throws out the traditional email system and introduces a completely new way of working: with a Screener that determines who can even reach you, an Imbox instead of an inbox, and automatic blocking of all tracking pixels. Developed by the makers of Basecamp, this isn’t an email client but a completely new email system.
Who is behind Hey?
Hey comes from 37signals LLC, the company founded in 1999 by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson in Chicago. You might know them from Basecamp, the project management tool, or from Ruby on Rails, the web framework that Hansson developed. They’re not your average tech entrepreneurs: they have strong opinions about how software should work and have always shunned the Silicon Valley mentality of endless growth and venture capital.
The original idea behind Hey came from pure frustration. Email was broken, they believed. Stressful, full of tracking pixels that monitor when you open something, and anyone could just land in your inbox. They wanted to give users control again. That’s why they introduced The Screener: a system where you must explicitly give permission before someone can email you. Instead of a traditional inbox, they built a three-way system: the Imbox for important mail, The Feed for newsletters, and The Paper Trail for receipts and transactions.
The company has investors including Jeff Bezos, but remains deliberately small and independent. They haven’t gone public and haven’t been acquired. More than 100,000 people now use Hey, which sounds modest compared to Gmail or Outlook, but that fits their philosophy: they’re building for a specific group of people who consciously choose a different way of emailing, not for the masses.
Who is Hey for?
Hey is made for people who take privacy seriously and want to protect their inbox from unwanted intruders. If you’re regularly overwhelmed by newsletters, promotions, and spam, and you’re willing to learn a new way of working, then Hey can be a breath of fresh air. Freelancers who want control over who reaches them often find what they’re looking for here. People who want to consciously distance themselves from the data-selling models of free email services also feel at home here.
But Hey isn’t for everyone. Do you need full Outlook or Exchange integration for work? Then you should look elsewhere. Also, if you don’t want to spend money on email, you’re in the wrong place: there’s no free version. And because Hey is a completely proprietary system without IMAP or SMTP, you can’t keep your existing email address. You get a new @hey.com address, which for some is a dealbreaker.
What can Hey do?
Hey revolves around a radically different workflow than you’re used to. The core of the system consists of a number of unique features that you won’t find anywhere else:
- The Screener: The first time someone emails you, you must explicitly give permission. Do you want to receive messages from this person? Yes or no. No more spam from strangers just barging into your inbox.
- Imbox instead of inbox: Only email from people you’ve approved lands here. This is your important mail, without clutter. The difference from an inbox? Only what really matters comes here.
- Spy Pixel Blocking: Hey automatically blocks all tracking pixels in emails. Companies can no longer see when you open their email or how often. Your privacy stays intact.
- The Feed: Newsletters and updates are collected here and presented as a timeline. You read them when you want, without them cluttering your Imbox.
- The Paper Trail: Receipts, confirmations, and transactions get their own place. No more hassle searching for that one order confirmation among all your other email.
- Reply Later: See an email you want to respond to later? Set it aside and it appears at the top when you’re ready. No more forgotten follow-ups.
- Set Aside: Email you want to keep but don’t need to actively see anymore can be set aside. It remains available but no longer clutters your Imbox.
- Merge threads: Multiple conversations about the same topic? Combine them into one thread. Handy when a discussion spreads across different email exchanges.
- Built-in calendar: Hey has a fully integrated calendar that works together with your email workflows. You don’t have to switch between different apps.
The system works on all platforms: web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux. Because it’s its own ecosystem, everything works exactly the same on every device. No hassle with different interfaces or missing features on mobile.
What does Hey cost?
Hey doesn’t have a free version, but you can try it for 30 days before you pay. That’s important because this isn’t a cheap service and the workflow differs enormously from what you’re used to.
For personal use, you pay $1 per year, which comes out to $1.25 per month. That’s the HEY for You plan. Want to use Hey with your whole family? Then there’s HEY for Families for up to 5 users, which costs $1 per year ($1.92 per month). For businesses that want to use their own domain name, there’s HEY for Domains, which costs $1 per user per month and is billed monthly.
Compared to free alternatives like Gmail, this is obviously pricey. But here you’re paying for privacy, no ads, no data selling, and a completely different way of working that’s specifically designed to make your inbox calmer. Whether that’s worth the price depends on how much value you place on those aspects.
What should you watch out for?
Hey sounds great on paper, but there are definitely drawbacks you need to consider. First of all, it’s a closed system. There’s no IMAP or SMTP, no API, no Zapier integration. If you’re used to connecting your email to other tools or services, you’ll be disappointed. You can only use Hey through their own apps and website.
The search function is a commonly heard pain point. Users complain that it’s slow and doesn’t work intuitively. If you regularly need to look up old emails, this can be frustrating. The learning curve is also steep. Hey works so differently from traditional email that you really need to invest time to master the new workflow. Some people find that refreshing, others find it unnecessarily complicated.
The interface itself is also a point of contention. Some reviewers describe it as childish, with large buttons and lots of color. If you like sleek, minimalist interfaces, this might rub you the wrong way. And then there’s the price: $1 per year is not nothing for just email, especially if you’re used to free services.
Finally, there’s no going back. Once you switch to Hey and later decide to return to Gmail or Outlook, you have to inform all your contacts about your new (old) address. You can set up forwarding, but your @hey.com address remains and people may continue to email you there.
Hey alternatives
Hey isn’t the only player trying to reinvent email. Depending on what you’re looking for, there are alternatives that might fit you better:
- Proton Mail: Choose this if maximum security and end-to-end encryption are your priority. Proton Mail focuses more on cryptography than workflow innovation, but if privacy is your most important concern, this is a stronger choice.
- Superhuman: If speed is the most important thing and you want to keep your Gmail address, Superhuman is interesting. It focuses on keyboard shortcuts and lightning-fast email processing, but doesn’t have Hey’s screening philosophy.
- Gmail: Just free email without hassle. You pay with your data instead of money, and you get ads, but it works with everything and everyone knows it. If you don’t want to spend money on email, you’ll probably stick with this.
Frequently asked questions
People considering Hey often have similar questions. Here are the most frequently asked:
Can I keep my existing email address?
No, that’s not possible. You get a new @hey.com address. You can forward email from your old address to Hey, but your old address doesn’t become your primary Hey address. This is an important consideration for many people because it means you have to inform all your contacts about your new address.
Does Hey work with other email apps?
No, Hey only works through their own app and website. The unique features like The Screener and the three-way division into Imbox, Feed, and Paper Trail don’t work in standard email apps. So you’re completely dependent on the Hey software on all your devices.
Is there a calendar included?
Yes, Hey has a fully integrated calendar that’s specifically designed to work together with your email workflows. You don’t need to use a separate calendar app, everything is in the same system.
Conclusion
Hey isn’t a small improvement on existing email, it’s a complete reimagining. If you’re frustrated by spam, tracking, and an overflowing inbox, and you’re willing to pay and learn a new way of working, Hey might be exactly what you’re looking for. The Screener alone can drastically change your email experience. But it’s not for everyone: the price is high, there are no integrations, and you have to accept your @hey.com address. For privacy-conscious people who want control over their communication, it’s a serious option. For people who just want to check email without hassle, it’s probably overkill.
