What is Kestrel Mail?
A Mac mail client built around three things: speed, an elegant interface that gets out of your way, and a hard line on privacy. AI summaries run on your Mac, not in the cloud, and it works with any IMAP provider.
How is it different from Apple Mail?
Kestrel is faster. Every action lands instantly and syncs in the background, so nothing you do waits on the server. The interface is cleaner and more focused, with keyboard shortcuts for nearly everything.
On the privacy side, Kestrel blocks email trackers right on your Mac, keeps remote images off by default, runs AI summaries on-device, and collects zero telemetry. None of it requires routing your mail through anyone's servers.
Which accounts does it support?
Gmail, Microsoft 365, iCloud, and most other email providers. If your provider supports IMAP (most do), Kestrel can connect to it — including corporate servers and self-hosted setups. Gmail and Microsoft 365 sign in through Google and Microsoft; iCloud uses an app-specific password; everything else connects with your email and password.
Does it support multiple accounts?
Yes. You can add as many accounts as you need, each with its own folders. There's also an All Inboxes view that shows messages from all your accounts in one place.
What version of macOS does it require?
macOS 26 or later.
Does it work offline?
Mostly, yes. Messages and drafts are cached locally, so you can keep reading and writing without a connection. Anything you do offline — archive, delete, even send — is queued and syncs when you're back online.
How do summaries work, and are they private?
Kestrel can summarize individual messages and entire conversation threads. Summaries show up as a short list of highlights: the key points from a message, or one bullet per message, in order, for a thread.
Everything runs on your Mac; no cloud AI is involved, and your email never leaves your device. Apple Intelligence handles summaries out of the box, and an optional model pack in Settings takes over once installed, with better results on long threads. It's a one-time download that lives on your Mac.
Why "Kestrel"?
Kestrels are fast, light, and agile: everything you'd want in a mail app. They also happen to be adorable.
How do I get Kestrel Mail?
Kestrel Mail is in private beta and not yet available for download. Launch news will be posted here first.