Typical mail app
Your login and mail pass through their cloud—often for instant push.
SamtheCat Mail for iPhone
Lock your private emails,
not your whole inbox.
Some threads aren’t for the lock screen, a borrowed phone, or someone glancing over your shoulder. SamtheCat Mail hides them one at a time — you open each with Face ID or your passcode — while the rest of your inbox stays normal. We don’t host your mail; it stays between you and Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud.
One account free · up to five protected messages · one-time unlock, no subscription · iPhone only
Email that fits real life
Four reasons it fits real life—when “show me your Mail app” isn’t an option, without giving your inbox to our servers.
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Protect
Lock one thread at a time with Face ID or your passcode. In the list it shows as “Protected message — Unlock to view”; alerts say you have a new private message, not who sent it.
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Lend Mode
Hand your iPhone to someone for 10 minutes, 30, or an hour. They can read; they can’t send, delete, or stumble into your protected mail.
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Travel Mode
One switch before a flight or a checkpoint: sensitive mail stays out of sight, notifications stay vague, and copied text clears quickly.
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No SamtheCat inbox
We’re not sitting on a copy of your Gmail. Mail moves between your phone and Google, Microsoft, or Apple.
Protect
For the email you’d never hand someone your phone for
- Test results
- Legal replies
- Messages you’re not ready to explain
Tap Protect on that thread. On this iPhone it goes quiet until you unlock it with Face ID or your passcode.
- In your inbox “Protected message — Unlock to view” replaces the subject until you open it.
- On the Lock Screen Protected mail triggers “New private message”—no sender or subject. Other mail follows your notification settings.
- In Search & Private Locked threads stay out of search by default; the Private tab collects them.
- On your other devices Gmail, Outlook, and iCloud elsewhere stay unchanged—this is your copy on this phone, not encryption to the recipient.
Lend Mode
“Can I borrow your phone?”
- Kids
- Partner
- Coworker
Start a Lend Session for 10 minutes, 30, or an hour before you hand it over. They can browse mail—you stay in control.
- Read-only mail They can scroll threads, but can’t send, reply, delete, or move anything.
- Protected mail hidden Protected messages and the Private tab stay out of sight; Settings is locked.
- Decoy View (optional) Make the app look like plain email—no Protect buttons in menus or swipes.
- When time’s up SamtheCat Mail stays covered until you confirm with Face ID or passcode—not them.
Travel Mode
Before you fly — one switch
- Airports
- Customs
- “Show me your phone”
Turn on Travel Mode before a flight or a checkpoint. SamtheCat Mail goes into its quietest state—you don’t have to delete mail first.
- Protected mail vanishes Nothing protected shows in the app, widget, badges, or Private tab until you turn Travel Mode off.
- Generic alerts Lock Screen notifications drop sender and subject for all mail—not only protected threads.
- Less spillover Mail stays out of Spotlight; copied text clears from the clipboard after about 30 seconds.
- Back to normal Turn it off with Face ID or passcode and your earlier privacy settings restore.
App Lock
Lock the whole app, too
- Phone already unlocked
- Face-down on a desk
- Quick handoff
Optional App Lock asks for your App PIN—or Face ID if you use it—before SamtheCat Mail opens, even when someone else already unlocked your iPhone.
- Before the inbox App Lock covers the whole app. You choose how soon it asks again after you leave—from immediately up to 15 minutes.
- Mail still updates Sync can keep running while the app stays locked on screen—you’re not cut off from new mail.
- Less on the Lock Screen Turning App Lock on also hides mail details in notifications and Spotlight.
- Stacks with Protect Per-message Protect, Lend Mode, and Travel Mode solve different moments—App Lock is the optional outer door.
No inbox on our servers
We don’t keep a copy of your inbox
Lots of mail apps pull your email through their servers so they can buzz you the second something arrives. We chose a different deal.
SamtheCat Mail
No SamtheCat account. No vendor inbox holding your password or mail.
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Sign in, don’t sign up
Use the Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud account you already have—no new inbox with us.
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Logins on this iPhone
OAuth tokens live in Apple’s Keychain on your device, not on our servers.
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No ad business
No ads, no selling your mail, no cross-app tracking—paid once if you want full access.
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On-device sorting
Focus, Feed, and Noise use Apple Intelligence on your phone when your iPhone supports it.
Full-featured mail app
Private when you need it.
Powerful every day.
SamtheCat Mail is not a stripped-down client. It’s Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, Live, and iCloud in one place—with snooze, labels, server search, calendar tools, and Apple Intelligence built in on your iPhone.
Apple Intelligence on this iPhone
Read, write, and sort—without sending mail to us
Summaries and writing help use Apple’s on-device model. Text stays on your phone—not on SamtheCat servers. Available on supported iPhones with Apple Intelligence turned on.
You can exclude protected mail from AI in Settings.
Smart Inbox
Focus, Feed, and Noise
Lanes sort what matters using on-device intelligence—plus VIP senders, pin, mute, block, colour stars, labels, and Done.
Send & time
When it goes out
Snooze, schedule send, undo send, canned responses, signatures, and per-account footers.
Find anything
On the phone and at the provider
Search downloaded mail, then query Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud for messages not on this iPhone yet. Saved searches and Gmail filters / Outlook rules.
Calendar
Invites and agenda
Accept or decline meeting mail, add events from a message, and browse calendars from the Calendar tab.
Safer reading
Less leakage by default
Tracking pixels stripped when you open a message, remote images under your control, read new mail aloud, and sync read/star/archive/delete to your provider when you want.
Honest limits
No instant push while the app is closed
Because we don’t hold your login on our servers, we can’t ping you the second mail lands at Google or Microsoft. New mail shows up when you open SamtheCat Mail or iOS runs a background refresh.
Typical server mail app
Mail routes through their cloud. They can ping you immediately because they hold your credentials—and many can read or store mail on the way.
SamtheCat Mail
Your iPhone talks straight to Gmail, Outlook, and iCloud. No SamtheCat inbox server, no vendor holding your password. New mail arrives when you open the app or iOS background refresh runs—fewer copies, fewer leaks.
Need always-on push above all else? A server-based client may fit better. Want direct sync and per-message Protect on this iPhone? That’s the trade we chose.
Work mail, honestly
Not enterprise IT—built for people who take work privacy seriously
SamtheCat Mail is not a replacement for Microsoft Intune, central DLP, legal hold, or S/MIME programs. It is built for professionals who use work Gmail or Outlook on a personal iPhone their employer allows—with strict on-device defaults from day one.
What it isn’t (yet)
- No admin console, MDM bundle, or fleet policy for IT to push settings
- Not certified as your company’s compliance or encryption layer
- Protect hides mail on this phone—it doesn’t change Exchange or Gmail for your org
What you get today
- Corporate Strict Mode on by default—strictest privacy controls; loosening them needs Face ID or passcode and hits a local audit log
- Per-message Protect, Travel and Lend modes, tracker stripping, and export confirmations
- Direct sync with Google and Microsoft—no SamtheCat inbox server holding your work login
We’re moving toward deeper corporate needs; we’re honest that we’re not there for enterprise IT yet. Always follow your employer’s policies, and check that your IT team allows third-party mail clients. Work Outlook sign-in may be blocked until IT allows third-party mail—or until we complete Microsoft publisher verification (not done yet). Personal Hotmail and Outlook.com are unaffected. More in Support FAQ.
Start free
Coming to the App Store. Start free.
Try one account with Protect, App Lock, Lend, and Travel—up to five protected messages at a time. Need every account and unlimited Protect? One purchase unlocks it—no subscription.
Free
US$0
- One Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud account
- Five protected messages at a time
- Protect, App Lock, Lend Mode, and Travel Mode
One-time unlock
Full Access
US$9.99 launch price through 31 Jan 2027 · then US$14.99 · App Store shows your local price
- Every email account you connect
- Protect as many messages as you need
- One payment · Restore on a new iPhone with the same Apple ID
App Store launch
Tell me when it’s ready
Add your details, tick the privacy box, then tap send—we’ll reply once when SamtheCat Mail is available to download.
One message for launch—not a newsletter. We won’t use your email for anything else unless you ask us to elsewhere.
Questions before launch? Support.
Reference
Specifications
For reviewers and careful readers—platform, privacy, providers, and limits in one place.
Full specification list
- Publisher
- SamtheCat Mail is owned by SamtheCat Studio.
- Platform
- iPhone. A separate email client from Apple Mail, Gmail, and Outlook. No iPad, Mac, Android, or web yet.
- Availability
- Coming to the App Store. Request launch updates on this page or use Support.
- Accounts
- Gmail, Outlook (incl. Hotmail and Live) and iCloud. Gmail sign-in is in Google’s testing stage until Google approves it.
- Where mail goes
- From this iPhone to Google, Microsoft or Apple. No SamtheCat mail server, no SamtheCat account. Logins in the iPhone Keychain. Use of Google user data follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including Limited Use — see the Privacy Policy.
- Protect
- Face ID or passcode per message. Placeholder in the inbox. Left out of search by default; you can change that.
- Protected alerts
- “SamtheCat Mail — New private message.” No sender or subject, but it does show that one arrived.
- App Lock
- Face ID or an App PIN before the app opens.
- Lend Mode
- 10, 30 or 60 minutes. Read-only. Ending early needs Face ID or passcode. Optional Decoy View. Hides mail inside the app; it does not make the phone safe to hand over.
- Travel Mode
- Hides protected mail in the app, Private tab and alerts. No details in any alert. Out of Spotlight. Copied text cleared after 30 seconds. Off needs Face ID or passcode.
- Encryption
- Protect hides mail on this iPhone. It does not encrypt mail to recipients; the copy at your provider is unchanged. For that, use Proton or Tuta.
- Account changes
- With “Apply Changes to Your Email Account” on (the default), read, star, archive and delete also happen at your provider.
- Apple Intelligence
- On supported iPhones only: Summarise, Summarise Conversation, composer Draft Reply and rewrites (Professional, Friendly, Shorter, Fix Spelling & Grammar), Smart Inbox lanes, plus iOS Translate and dictation. On-device; optional exclude for protected mail.
- Work and corporate mail
- See Work mail, honestly. Corporate Strict Mode and audit logging target professional on-device privacy; not a substitute for enterprise DLP, MDM, or S/MIME. You must comply with employer policy.
- New mail
- When you open the app, or when iOS refreshes it in the background. Not instant push.