Can AI replace HEY?
NOT REALLY · don't botherYou can build an email client, but replacing HEY means running a trustworthy email service: deliverability, spam filtering, abuse handling, storage, mobile apps, and reputation.
Build me an email client with HEY's screening and bundling ideas, running on top of a mailbox I already pay for (Fastmail, Gmail, anything with IMAP). Requirements: - A local web app: Node + Express + better-sqlite3, binds to localhost; imapflow for reading, nodemailer for sending, creds in .env. - The screener: mail from first-time senders lands in a screening view where I approve or block; decisions persist in SQLite and apply to all future mail. - Bundles: approved senders get a category; newsletters render in a batched feed view, receipts in a paper-trail list; only approved humans hit the inbox. - Reply-later: mark a thread and it sits in a persistent to-answer stack until cleared. - Write decisions back as IMAP folders and labels so my phone's mail app roughly mirrors the sorting. - Strip remote images in the reading pane by default. - No accounts of its own, no telemetry; mail stays at my provider. - Out of scope: running an SMTP server, custom domains, and mobile apps. Do not replace the mail service itself; deliverability and spam reputation are the product and cannot be rebuilt solo. - README: per-provider app-password setup, and a warning that Gmail OAuth is a project of its own, use an app password or Fastmail to keep this a weekend.
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They pay because email is infrastructure; deliverability and trust are the product.
xemail deliverability
xspam/abuse systems
xstorage reliability
xmobile apps
xidentity/reputation
xsupport
Can AI replace HEY?
Not really. HEY's value is not the code — . See the honest breakdown above.
How much does HEY cost?
HEY costs about $8.25/month (Personal address, checked 2026-07-30), which is $99 per year.
What do I lose by replacing HEY?
Honestly: email deliverability; spam/abuse systems; storage reliability; mobile apps; identity/reputation; support. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to HEY?
Yes — Mail-in-a-Box (Open-source personal mail server stack; useful prior art but deliverability remains the mo). Using prior art is also a valid exit; the prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.