F-HEY-Qs

Frequently asked questions about HEY.

Questions about HEY for Domains? Read the HEY for Domains FAQs.


Can it? Will it? Does it?

Can I use my own custom domain with HEY?

Yes, and you have two options; 1. You can sign up for HEY for Domains and host your domain with us, or 2. Set up your personal account to send from an external address using SMTP.

Is there a wait list for specific email addresses?

There is not a wait list for specific addresses, primarily for privacy reasons. If you want something@hey.com, and it’s taken, you can try again another time. If someone’s on a trial, and they don’t end up paying, that address will be released back into the pool of available addresses approximately 90 days after their trial expires. But if someone is already using that address, and they’ve paid for a full year of HEY, it’s theirs forever and it’ll never be available again.

Can my company host all our email on HEY?

Yes. HEY for Domains includes custom domains, centralized user management, and tools that let you collaborate on email together.

Does HEY have a calendar?

Yes, and an incredibly innovative one. It’s all new for 2024. Check it out, it’s included for free with your HEY account.

Can I set up multiple @hey.com addresses?

Yes. You can link up multiple HEY accounts, and view them together without having to log in and out. If you want to view one account at a time, you can do that too. Learn more about linking accounts.

Will HEY work on my Android device?

HEY requires Android 10 or above. You’ll also need two more things 1) the latest version of Google Play Services and 2) Android System WebView 89+ or Chrome 89+ (depending on your device). Unfortunately, if your device’s manufacturer didn’t include these, you’ll likely run into technical difficulties that we won’t be able to support.

Privacy & Security

How’s HEY’s security?

Strong. Two-factor authentication is required for all paying customers. To enable two-factor, click your initials in the top right corner and select Login & Security. We even support hardware security tokens like USB Keys, fingerprint readers, etc. See our security page for all the details.

Does HEY serve ads or sell my personal data?

Absolutely not. HEY is, and will always be, 100% ad-free. We never look at your email (unless we have your permission to troubleshoot an issue). We don’t mine your data, we don’t sell your data, we don’t have any interest in your data. Our business model is simple; we make the best email service we can, and we charge our customers to use that service. That’s the only way we make money.

Why should I trust you with my email?

Great question. We’ve been in business for 24 years, have a widely-respected reputation for building great products, our uptime record is exceptional, we’re completely independent and don’t answer to the whims of investors or corporate overlords, and we’ve been profitable for more than two straight decades. If you have any other questions about us, please get in touch.

Can you read my emails?

Technically, yes, but practically, everything is locked down tight. We hold the encryption keys to be able to send and display your email, but we have strong and strict access protocols, policies, and auditing in place to prevent misuse. Every instance of data decryption by our team is logged, and that log is reviewed on a weekly basis by a separate team. Read more about our security approach.

What about encryption?

HEY’s database (which holds your email) is encrypted both at rest and at work, which means our technical team can access the database for service, support, tuning, and forensics, without giving them access to people’s actual emails. HEY is not end-to-end encrypted (we still hold the keys), but otherwise it’s as locked down as can be.

What if I forget my password?

Don’t worry, it happens. First, head to the Forgot your password screen and enter your @hey.com email address. Next, HEY will send a message to your backup email (you provided a backup email address when you signed-up for HEY—it might be your work email or a Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or iCloud account). Look there for a message from support@hey.com, “Reset your HEY password”, and hit the link inside. That will take you back to HEY where you can enter a new password and get back in to your account.

Why does it say my backup email address isn’t verified?

If you forget your password, HEY sends reset instructions to the backup email address you provided when you signed-up. But before we can send the reset instructions, you need to verify the backup email address is really yours. To verify, look in your backup email account (it might be your work email or a Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or iCloud account) for a message from support@hey.com with the subject “Verify your HEY backup email”. Hit the link inside that email to confirm it’s your backup email address. Now you’ll be able to reset your password.

Import & Transition

Do I need Gmail, Outlook, Apple, etc. to use HEY?

No. HEY is an email provider, it’s not an app you use to check your existing Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc. HEY is a replacement for those services. HEY is all you need to send, receive, and organize email. You can forward your current email to HEY, but when you sign up for HEY you’ll get a brand new @hey.com email address.

Can I import my Gmail, Outlook, Apple email into HEY?

You can forward new email from any service into HEY, but HEY does not import your existing email from Gmail, Outlook, iCloud. HEY is a fresh start moving forward. Your old email will remain wherever it was, so you can go back there when you need to reference something from the past. Read our complete guide on moving from Gmail to HEY for details.

Can I send-as Gmail if I have advanced protection on?

Not at this time. Google accounts that are part of the Advanced Protection Program are limited to only use Google apps, Apple Mail, and Thunderbird.

Can I check my HEY email with my existing email app?

In order to use HEY, you’ll need to use one of our custom Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android apps (you can grab them right here. HEY treats email in all sorts of special ways, so off-the-shelf 3rd party email apps won’t work with HEY.

Can I use HEY to check my other email accounts?

You can forward email from other accounts to your HEY account, but you can’t log in and check other email accounts from the HEY apps. HEY doesn’t support IMAP or POP.

Can I import my contacts into HEY?

Yes, in vCard format. Once logged in, click the HEY menu at the top of the screen, then select Contacts.

Trial, Cancellation, Export

If I don’t like HEY, can I export my email and contacts?

Absolutely. You can export an MBOX file with all your email and attachments any time. You can import that file into Apple Mail, Gmail, Outlook, and other services. You can also export all your contacts into a single vCard.

If I cancel, can I forward my @hey.com address elsewhere?

Yes. As long as you’ve paid for your first year of service, you can forward any email you receive while your account is open, or after it’s closed, to any other email address you’d like. Trial accounts don’t include forever-forwarding either.

If I cancel, does someone else get my @hey.com address?

It depends. As long as you’ve paid for your first year of service, your @hey.com address is yours forever, even if you stop using HEY and don’t pay for HEY in subsequent years. That means no one else will ever be able to claim your email address, or receive password or security resets at your original @hey.com address. If you don’t pay for your first year, or you cancel and request a refund within the first year, or you never go beyond the free trial, your @hey.com email address will be recycled after 90 days and made available to someone else.