The email subscription service Newton has been saved from its demise by a pair of fans weeks after it was to have been shut down at the end of April, according to a online post Monday.
Software developers Maitrik Kataria and Jusitn Mitchell announced they had bought the service from Essential after it had been purchased in February 2019 from CloudMagic.
In an online statement, the pair said:
Like many of you, we were gutted to learn that Newton was shutting down, yet again. This time though, we had to do something. We scrambled to get in touch with Essential as fast as possible. After a rollercoaster of a bidding process, we were lucky enough to be chosen as the new owners of CloudMagic. …
The pair said they are not a “well funded VC backed company,” but reassured the products fans it has a business plan based on the products current subscription price of $50 a year.
Moving forward
Kataria stated that the plan is stabilize the product with various bug fixes in the short-term, improve communications and support with customers, and concentrate on development of new feature, like a dark mode, in the next “three to six months.”
The new Newton Mail is also promising a revamped privacy policy that will help given customers better control over their data and move towards GDPR compliance.
To retain customers, existing users are being offered three free months of service. Lapsed subscribers can return to the service with a 20% discount and a referral program for new customers has also been started.
Newtown Mail launched as CloudMagic in 2013 as a free alternative to Google App. It relaunched with its current name in 2016 as a subscription service. With pressure from competing free services, the service was shut down in September 2018. It was resurrected in its second life by California-based Essential Products in February 2019. A year later, Essential made little progress in growing the service and announced in February of tis year it would cease operations.
