Support

Email support@heraldemail.com and a person will get back to you. Please never send us a password or app password; we don't need it to help, and we never see your mail.

Herald was previously called Tidings. Same app, new name: your accounts, settings and any subscription carry on as they were.

Adding your accounts

Open Herald, choose your provider and follow the steps on screen. You can add one inbox for free, or up to 12 with Herald Pro. Each provider's setup screen has a button that opens the right page.

What's an app password? Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and iCloud ask mail apps for an app password instead of your normal password. It's a separate code made just for one app. You can delete it any time on your provider's security page, which disconnects only that app.

Gmail and Google Workspace

Herald connects to Gmail with a Google app password. Google only offers app passwords when 2-Step Verification is turned on.

  1. Turn on 2-Step Verification for your Google account if it isn't on yet. Go to myaccount.google.com/security, then 2-Step Verification, and follow Google's steps.
  2. Open the App passwords page at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords (Herald has a button that opens it) and sign in.
  3. Type "Herald" as the app name and tap Create.
  4. Copy the 16-letter password Google shows you.
  5. In Herald, enter your Gmail address and paste the app password. Spaces don't matter.

Don't see App passwords? Google hides the page when 2-Step Verification is off, when your account uses only security keys or Advanced Protection, or when a Google Workspace admin has turned app passwords off. For a work or school account, ask your admin.

"Google refused the sign-in"? Check the email address, and make sure you pasted the 16-letter app password, not your Google password.

Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live and Microsoft 365

Choose Outlook in Herald and sign in on Microsoft's own page with "Sign in with Microsoft". Microsoft no longer accepts passwords or app passwords from mail apps for Outlook.com accounts, so there's nothing else to set up.

Work or school account asking for admin approval? Some workplaces require an IT admin to approve new apps before anyone can sign in with them. If Microsoft says you need admin approval, ask your IT admin to approve Herald for your organization. They only need to do it once.

"Microsoft refused the mail connection"? Your organization may have turned off IMAP for your mailbox. An admin can turn it on in the Microsoft 365 admin center: Users, Active users, your name, Mail, Manage email apps, then IMAP.

Yahoo

  1. Open Yahoo's Account Security page at login.yahoo.com/myaccount/security (Herald has a button that opens it) and sign in.
  2. Under External connections, tap Create app password (or Generate and manage app passwords).
  3. Type "Herald" as the app name and tap Generate password.
  4. Copy the password and paste it in Herald. Yahoo shows it only once.

AOL

  1. Open AOL's Account Security page at login.aol.com/myaccount/security (Herald has a button that opens it) and sign in.
  2. Tap Generate app password (or Generate and manage app passwords), then Get started.
  3. Type "Herald" as the app name and tap Generate password.
  4. Copy the password and paste it in Herald.

For Yahoo or AOL, if you see "refused the sign-in", make sure you used an app password from the security page, not your normal password.

iCloud

  1. Open account.apple.com (Herald has a button that opens it), sign in, and go to Sign-In and Security.
  2. Tap App-Specific Passwords, then the + button.
  3. Name it "Herald" and copy the password it shows.
  4. Paste it in Herald, and use your @icloud.com address as the email.

Other providers (IMAP and SMTP)

Choose Other and enter your email address and password. Herald detects the settings for many providers automatically from the address, including GoDaddy, Fastmail, Zoho and many company servers. If it can't, ask your provider for its IMAP (incoming) and SMTP (outgoing) server names, ports and security type, and enter them yourself. Some providers also require an app password; check your provider's security settings.

Why notifications may be delayed

iOS doesn't let apps keep a mail connection open in the background. Instead, iOS decides how often Herald may check for new mail, based on things like battery level, Low Power Mode and how often you use the app. So a notification can arrive minutes after the email does. If notifications seem slow or missing:

  • Make sure notifications are allowed in iPhone Settings, Notifications, Herald, and that a Focus isn't silencing them.
  • Turn on Background App Refresh in Settings, General, Background App Refresh, both overall and for Herald.
  • Turn off Low Power Mode if it's on; it pauses background checks.
  • Avoid swiping Herald away in the app switcher. iOS usually won't wake an app you've closed that way until you open it again.
  • Check that the chat isn't muted.

Restoring purchases

On a new or reset iPhone, sign in to the App Store with the same Apple Account you subscribed with, open Herald and go to Me > Plan > Restore Purchases.

Canceling Herald Pro

Open iPhone Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, choose Herald and tap Cancel Subscription. Cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date to avoid the next charge. You keep Pro until the end of the period you've paid for. Apple handles refunds; you can request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription.

Deleting your data

Herald keeps your data only on your iPhone, never with us, so you're in control:

  • Remove one account: in Me, choose the account and tap Remove Account. Its mail, settings and saved password are removed from your iPhone.
  • Remove everything: remove each account in Me, then delete the app. (iOS can keep saved passwords in the Keychain after an app is deleted, which is why removing accounts first is the thorough way.)

Your mail stays with your provider either way. If you used an app password, you can also delete it on your provider's security page, and for Microsoft sign-in you can remove Herald from your account's connected apps.

More questions

Does Herald have servers? No. The app talks directly to your mail providers. See the Privacy Policy.

If I delete an email in Herald, is it gone for good? No. Deleting an email or a whole chat moves it to that account's Trash, where it can be recovered.

Why do some chats show a company logo? Herald fetches logos by the sender's domain from DuckDuckGo's icon service. Turn off Show company logos in Me if you'd rather it didn't.

Where are my folders? In the Folders tab: every folder from every account, including Gmail labels.

Is there an iPad, Mac or Android app? Not yet. Herald runs on iPhone with iOS 26 or later.

Can I sign in to Gmail with Google instead of an app password? Not yet. Sign in with Google is coming after Google finishes reviewing the app. Until then, Gmail uses an app password (see Gmail above).

Still stuck? Email support@heraldemail.com with your provider, what you tried and any error message you saw.