HEY can’t magically turn the internet into a place where abuse or attacks don’t happen, but we can be a shield when it comes to your email. We’re here to help.
Let HEY be your shield
The internet can be a pretty dark place. Especially if you’re writing about controversial topics. Or simply if you’re a woman, or part of a minority group. It’s hard to find refuge anywhere from the sludge of hate that can drown a person online. HEY can’t solve all of that, but we can at least provide tools to help you protect your email from attacks.
Block abusive email with The Screener
Our first line of defense is The Screener. All new senders have to get approved by you before they’ll be allowed into your Imbox. You can usually tell just from the subject whether someone is being abusive, and just hit NO, without even reading the full email. They’ll never be able to reach you from that email address again. That’s power.
HEY stops most forms of email surveillance
Our protections against spy pixels foil the vast majority of attempts to surveil your email usage. We will never leak your real IP address to an abuser, just because you opened their email. As long as you don’t click any links, they’ll also be blocked from knowing if you opened the email in virtually all cases.
If you’re the victim of a more sophisticated attack, like an automated mail-bombing campaign, where abusers send hundreds or thousands of automated emails to your address, The Screener will also protect the sanctity of your Imbox. You can continue your work, coordinate help, without getting drowned out.
The shield team, at your service
The HEY shield team is also here to help. We can find the patterns in your mail-bombing campaigns, block and remove those messages, while leaving all the legitimate emails in your Screener intact. If you’re the victim of a mail-bombing campaign, please write shield@hey.com for priority support. We’ll get back to you within two hours.
This is also true if you’ve been hacked. While all paid HEY accounts are required to have two-factor authentication turned on, we’re still here to help in case your password and your second factor device is stolen or exploited. Again, please write shield@hey.com for priority support.
We won’t let people use HEY to abuse others
In addition to protecting HEY from abuse, we refuse to let HEY be a vehicle of abuse as well. Our Use Restrictions policy spell out the activities we prohibit HEY users from engaging in. Like doxing, child abuse, phishing, spamming, threats of violence, and the like. If you encounter any such behavior from a @hey.com account, please use report@37signals.com to file a report. We take this very seriously.
HEY can’t magically turn the internet into a place where abuse or attacks don’t happen, but we can be a shield when it comes to your email. We’re here to help. And most importantly, if you feel you’re in danger of being physically harmed due to a threatening or harassing email message, we urge you to immediately contact local law enforcement.