I love email.

I remember the first time I found an invite to Gmail beta, back in 2004. I remember vividly how excited I was to use the product, how much better the experience of email was such that it divided email firmly into a “before gmail” and “after gmail” era. Threaded replies. Spam blocking which included at least in the early days recipes that used actual spam.

I remember the first time my email address was hacked. This was before the era of 2 factor authentication. The hacker promptly emailed my entire contacts list that I had been mugged in London and needed funds immediately. Being the naive kid I was, I had emailed my principal and guidance counsellor from the same address. Eventually I got the account back, but not without massive headache that I could have saved.

Fast forward more than a decade, and email has become more of a chore than a delight. I spend about 15 mins a day sifting through the new arrivals, looking for the nuggets of importance amidst the backdrop of newsletters, spam, and unsolicited emails like a mad excavator at an archaeological find. I’ve created so many filters to triage my mail it could fill a small book.

Additionally, mail on mobile is a disaster area - I’ve tried in vain almost every email client in existence, trying in vain to find one that fit my workflow without being too demanding. The list of clients I’ve tried and for one reason or another rejected include:

I almost gave up hope, until I heard of the fight between Hey and Apple over App store royalties. Edit: Resolution here.

I read the Hey manifesto. So much of it resonated with me that I immediately began the frantic search for an invite. Two hours and countless tweets later, I secured [email protected], and I’ve never looked back.

I couldn’t bring myself to pay 999$ a year for [email protected], or $10k for b@ or x@. Maybe in the future.