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We are not happy with this announcement, but we must go ahead.
After 1st January 2023, Saleshandy’s legacy Chrome Extension (Email Tracking Extension) will not be available in the Chrome store.
We have decided to put down the legacy Chrome Extension because of Google’s recent update for the Chrome Extension platform.
The blog covers everything you need to know about Google’s update and Chrome Extension’s sunsetting:
- All about the legacy Chrome Extension
- How Google’s policy update affects our Chrome Extension
- Why can’t we rebuild the new Extension with Chrome V3 Manifest?
- What should you do next?
- What is Saleshandy Connect & Saleshandy Web-App 3.0?
- Answers to all your questions regarding the sunset
All about the legacy Chrome Extension
2018 was the year when Saleshandy launched the Chrome Extension and Web App 2.0. Saleshandy started as an email tracking tool, but we soon moved on to cold emailing as our customer base evolved.
Legacy Chrome Extension (Chrome Extension 2.0)
Chrome Extension 2.0 is the legacy product of Saleshandy. It provides email tracking activities for Gmail and lets you know the prospect’s behavior by real-time notifications of the email sent, read receipts and send automated email sequences to individual recipients.
Image: This is how legacy Chrome Extension looks in the Chrome Store.
Let’s know in detail about the feature capabilities of Chrome Extension 2.0:
- Activity feed within Gmail: Users can track the recipient activities directly from the Gmail account through the Extension without logging into Saleshandy.
- 1:1 individual sequences for auto follow-ups: Send automated follow-up messages to individual recipients and set up automated follow-ups with trigger conditions based on recipient behavior.
- Team email templates: Create and share your own email templates with your team.
- Shortcuts to insert templates: Simply create a shortcut for a template and access it directly from Gmail using the Tab key.
- Double tick in Gmail UI: An easy-to-understand icon-based interface that lets the user know whether an email is sent, delivered, or opened.
More about Web App 2.0 (app.saleshandy.com):
Saleshandy Web App 2.0 allows users to perform email tracking and cold emailing activities from a single dashboard. Users can easily check the recipient’s activity through Feeds and get insights on the performance of campaigns through analytics and reports.
Image: Dashboard view of the Saleshandy’s Web App 2.0.
Major feature capabilities Web 2.0:
- Email Campaigns with mail merge: Email Campaign let’s you send a series of personalized emails and scheduled auto follow-ups with conditions to a list of users.
- Template: Templates are pre-saved messages that you can use to save time and avoid repetition.
- Feeds: It allows you to watch your recipients from every mailbox in a single dashboard.
- Integrations: The web App allows you to integrate with different tools and webhooks to improve your workflow experience.
- Analytics & Reporting: Get detailed analytics reports based on your email performance to understand customer behavior and get more insights.
Note: The Chrome Extension 2.0 will only shut down, while the Web App 2.0 will keep working as it is.
Now, let’s understand how the Google’s policy update affects the legacy Chrome Extension.
How Google’s policy update affects our Chrome Extension
As shared above, Google announced the release of Chrome’s Manifest Version 3. Following the release of Manifest 3, Google made another announcement to deprecate Manifest Version 2. According to this, any Chrome Extension built on the V2 Manifest will have to be brought down from the Chrome store as per the new security guideline.
FYI: Manifest for Chrome is a set of guidelines for how Google’s web browser handles Extensions.
As we mentioned above, the legacy Chrome Extension was launched in 2018. Therefore, we must remove it from the Chrome store since it was built using the V2 Manifest.
You may wonder why we aren’t rebuilding the Extension in Manifest V3.
Why can’t we rebuild all of the above features in V3 Manifest?
Below are the major reasons not to continue with the legacy version of Saleshandy Chrome Extension:
- Technological roadblock: Migration of V2 to V3 manifest demands a complete overhaul of the legacy Chrome Extension. We would need to dedicate entire new resources towards migration, which is not feasible and is against our future interests.
- Roadmap: Since we are now a cold emailing platform, V2 aligns differently with our plans. We aim to expand towards more significant market problems and cater to cold emailing audiences in a better way.
- Support barrier: The existing legacy Chrome Extension users must get better service, value, and solutions. We built the legacy version on V2, which creates a lot of barriers for our support to deliver and implement new fixes (for the deprecated technology). It hampers to scaling our service and customer experience.
What should you do next?
Although we are closing down our Legacy Chrome Extension, we are committed to you and want to give you the best options to transition.
If you are using Saleshandy ONLY to track emails via legacy Chrome Extension, we recommend going for these options:
First Option: First, you can move to Saleshandy Connect
Second Option: Or you can move to Mailtrack
Why should you move to Saleshandy Connect?
Saleshandy Connect is the new Chrome Extension built on V3 Manifest (as per Chrome’s latest guidelines.). It has a refreshed and faster UI for a better experience. Connect Extension works only with Saleshandy V3, i.e., my.saleshandy.com. You can call it Web App 3.0.
Why should you move to Mailtrack?
If you don’t want to miss out on the features of Saleshandy’s Chrome Extension, Mailtrack is another popular and straightforward email tracking solution.
You can go with other popular Email Tracking tools too. You don’t have to explore; you can refer to this detailed blog.
For those using Saleshandy primarily for cold emailing and less for tracking emails from Gmail:
First Option: Keep using Web App 2.0 as (it will work as it is)
Second Option: Move to Saleshandy Web App 3.0
Keep using Web App 2.0 as (it will work as it is)
You can continue your activities with Email Campaigns inside Web App. Web App 2.0 is unaffected by Google’s update. All the features mentioned above in Web App 2.0 would keep on working as usual.
Move to Saleshandy Web App 3.0
Saleshandy V3 is a better platform for cold emailing and outreach-related activities.
The new platform will impress you if you have used Saleshandy 2.0. V3 is way more advanced and is made hugely for the cold emailing user base.
Let’s learn more about what’s new and better in Saleshandy Connect and Web App 3.0
What is Saleshandy Connect and Web-App 3.0?
Saleshandy Connect
We have built the new “Saleshandy Connect” Extension that works with Saleshandy Web-app Version 3.
Image: Saleshandy Connect in the Chrome Store
Saleshandy Connect allows email tracking and prospecting your leads for better and faster conversion.
- Email Tracking: Track your emails and get an instant notification when your prospects open emails and click your links. Turn email tracking on or off with a simple toggle in the Chrome Extension.
- 1:1 Email Insights: The Connect Extension allows you to track as many Gmail email accounts as you want. Receive all your tracking notifications in a single mailbox. You can easily switch between your Gmail accounts to track without hassle.
- Activity Log: View and export the complete recipient activity log inside Saleshandy and see which emails are performing well and getting more opens and clicks.
- LinkedIn Email Finder: Look up email addresses from online platforms like CRMs and others with just one click. Add the email addresses directly in your cold email sequences.
Note: To use Saleshandy Connect, you need to create an account with Saleshandy Web App 3.0
If you go ahead with Saleshandy Connect, you will miss on some major features as it was built recently. Below are the features you will miss in the Saleshandy Connect V3 Chrome Extension, which were there in Saleshandy V2 Chrome Extension (older one).
- Activity feed within Gmail
- 1:1 individual sequences for auto follow-ups
- Team email templates
- Shortcuts to insert templates
- Double tick in Gmail UI
- View the email content of your team members
You will be able to track emails, receive open notifications, and mute notifications as before with the new Saleshandy Connect (made on V3 Manifest).
Saleshandy Web App 3.0
Saleshandy V3 is a platform exclusively for cold emailing and lead generation. It is already active and has a significant customer base with different use cases.
Check out what’s new and improved in Web App 3.0.
- Personalized cold emailing: Use Saleshandy’s mail merge to create hyper-personalized emails for every prospect.
- Automated follow-ups: Increase your response rate with Saleshandy’s multi-stage sequencing and follow-ups.
- Advanced A-Z Testing: You can increase conversion rates using Saleshandy’s A-Z testing.
- 1:1 Email Insights: With the Connect Extension, you can track as many Gmail accounts as you like. Receive all your tracking notifications in a single mailbox.
- Email Finder: With the Email Finder plugin, Saleshandy finds verified email addresses in seconds.
- Email Verification: The email verification add-on increases your deliverability by removing chances of bounces.
If you have subscription-related doubts about the legacy version of Saleshandy (V2), you can go refer the following FAQs, or you can directly reach out to support[at]saleshandy[dot]com for more information and assistance.
You can get answers to your other questions here
What about my subscription?
If you have a subscription that ends after Dec 31, 2022, or if you need a refund due to this unforeseen change, we’re willing to offer you a pro-rated refund. However, it’s subject to the below conditions.
- The subscription’s end date must be 01/01/2023 or later.
- You have used 1:1 tracking through the Chrome Extension before.
- The subscription is renewed after 01/01/2023 (Unless you were unaware of the change).
What happens with my data?
Despite the change, you will still have access to your data in Saleshandy V2 app, and you can view/download/delete all the data generated until December 2022.
As a Gmail user, will I still be able to connect my Gmail account to Saleshandy Web App 2.0?
The update won’t affect the app’s ability to connect the Saleshandy account with Gmail.
What about the Outlook plugin and email campaigns? Can I use them after this change?
It is only the Gmail Extension that will be shutting down. Outlook plugin and email campaigns will still be available in Saleshandy 2.0.
What happens to those emails scheduled after 01/01/23? Either from Gmail UI using Extension or scheduled as follow-up emails?
This change will not affect any email scheduled through Chrome Extension after 01/01/2023. You can also see the updates in the email activity or analytics in the account.
What is my alternative now that Saleshandy 2.0 Chrome Extension is shutting down?
You can use Saleshandy Version 3.0 for 1:1 email tracking, which has more advanced features. If you want to go only with Email Tracking, we will subscribe you to Saleshandy V3’s Starter Plan. Or you can choose to go with Outreach plans for Cold Emailing and Email Tracking.
How can I proceed with cancellation?
You can contact our support team at support[at]saleshandy[dot]com, who will smoothly guide you through the cancellation process.
