Hey! Consent is pretty cool.

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We’re always on the lookout for allies in the struggle for true Ownership, Privacy and Security when it comes to data. The new Hey email service has all the markings of a strong ally.

  • They are anti-surveillance (aka pro-privacy): Not only does Hey not surveil their users with faux “free” email that really ends up being hardcore surveillance (looking at you gmail) they even block spy trackers (image pixels) embedded in others’ emails to you. Why? ’cause its your email! Whether or not you opened it is your choice to share with the sender, not a compulsion.
  • They are pro-security: by requiring strong passwords and mandatory two factor authentication (2FA) they help protect you from yourself, and again, if they’re not surveilling you for advertising, there’s a lot lower risk of your information being breached or compromised in a way you wouldn’t want.
  • They are pro-ownership: All of this sums up to believing that you, the email account owner own your own email (and thus all of that data). They simplify the relationship by charging a direct subscription, the old adage “if you aren’t the customer you’re the product” (and its stricter forms) don’t really apply here. Since it’s you that Hey is working for you get to affirmatively consent or deny to receive email from each new sender.

These principles are one we really admire and keep in mind in building our own product. We will help our customers offer similar levels of privacy, security and ownership directly to their own users and customers. And we’ll always do it with a similar philosophy to the one we see in Hey: people own their own data. Always have, the world is just now catching up to it.