Mbox Viewer Now Downloads From Our Website: How It Differs From the Stores

Until now, Mbox Viewer could only be installed from the Mac App Store and the Microsoft Store. Since 31 October there is a third way: the direct download from our website, on Mac and on Windows.

It isn’t a different app or a cut-down version. It is the same 2.10.0, with the same features and the same free mode: mailboxes up to 1 GB, no time limit and no account. What changes is everything around buying Pro. And the stores aren’t going anywhere: they are still just as good an option as before.

What stays the same

• The app. Same code, same features, same version. It reads and exports MBOX and EML, it is read-only, and your email never leaves your computer.
• The free mode. All the reading tools, with mailboxes up to 1 GB.
• What Pro unlocks. It removes the 1 GB limit and adds batch export to PDF and HTML, mailbox repair and merges over 1 GB.

What changes

	Mac App Store and Microsoft Store	Direct download
Where you buy Pro	Inside the app, with your Apple or Microsoft account	In the browser; the key arrives by email
Price	Each store’s price in your country, in your currency (prices by country)	€49.99 once or €9.99 a year, VAT included, the same worldwide
Mac and Windows	Each store is separate: what you buy in one doesn’t count in the other	One key works on both Mac and Windows
Computers	The ones on your Apple or Microsoft account, under each store’s rules	Lifetime: 3 computers; annual: 2. Mac or PC, split them however you like
Refunds	Apple or Microsoft decide, under their own policy	14 days, in any country, even if you’ve already activated it; you ask us
Updates	The store installs them	On the Mac, the app itself, if you allow it; on Windows, the system’s App Installer
Your data	We receive neither your email nor your payment details	We keep your email for your licence; Stripe handles the payment

Two of these differences matter more than the rest.

The first is Mac and Windows together. If you work on both systems, in the stores you would have to buy Pro twice, once in each, because Apple and Microsoft don’t share purchases. With the direct download you buy once and the lifetime licence covers three computers, for example the Mac at home, the laptop and the office PC.

The second is refunds. In the stores, the store decides on refunds, and Microsoft in particular is fairly strict with apps. With the direct download you have 14 days to ask us for your money back, without giving a reason and even if you’ve already activated the licence. In the European Union, the law allows that right to be lost as soon as you start using digital content; we don’t ask you to give it up. The details are in the refund policy.

How buying on the website works

1. Download and install the app. On the Mac it is a disk image signed with our Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens without warnings. On Windows it is a small installer, signed by Color Vivo Internet, SL, that installs the app with Windows’ own App Installer.
2. Buy a plan on the download page. The payment is handled by Stripe, which issues the invoice and takes care of taxes. If you pay in another currency, you see the amount in yours before confirming.
3. Activate the licence in the app with the email you bought with and the key you receive. Activating needs an internet connection; after that, the app works offline.

If you lose your key, change computers or want to cancel the annual plan, you sign in to your account with a link sent by email, with no password.

A note for Windows: because the installer is new, Windows may say at first that it doesn’t recognise the app. Click “More info” and then “Run anyway”; the publisher shown is Color Vivo Internet, SL. The warning will go away as the installer builds up reputation.

Which one to choose

• You use Mac and Windows, or you’ll use the app on several computers: the direct download. A single purchase covers both systems.
• You want to be able to change your mind without depending on a store’s policy: the direct download, for the 14 days.
• You only use one system and prefer your Apple or Microsoft account to handle it, with purchases, refunds and updates in one place: the store. It’s just as good an option, and the one we recommend if that’s how you already buy the rest of your apps.
• You’re buying for a school or an organization with Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager: the Education edition, which only exists on Apple.

One more thing: the licences from each channel are independent. If you already bought Pro in a store, it keeps working as always, but it doesn’t give you a key for the direct download, because Apple and Microsoft don’t share your email with us.

If you’re not sure which one suits you, write to us from support and we’ll help you decide.