FairEmail, privacy aware email

Fully featured, privacy oriented email app

FairEmail, privacy aware email

App stats

Version: 1.2249 (Last updated: 2024-11-21)
Creation date: 2019-06-21
Permissions
Identity: find accounts on the device
Contacts: find accounts on the device, read your contacts
Photos/Media/Files: read the contents of your USB storage
Storage: read the contents of your USB storage
Other:
  • view network connections
  • full network access
  • run at startup
  • use accounts on the device
  • prevent device from sleeping

Other platforms

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Not available on Edge
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App summary

FairEmail is easy to set up and works with virtually all email providers, including Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo!

FairEmail might be for you if you value your privacy.

FairEmail is simple to use, but if you are looking for a very simple email app, FairEmail might not be the right choice.

FairEmail is an email client only, so you need to bring your own email address. FairEmail is not a calendar/contact/task/note manager and cannot make you coffee.

FairEmail does not support non-standard protocols, like Microsoft Exchange Web Services and Microsoft ActiveSync.

Almost all features are free to use, but to maintain and support the app in the long term, not every feature can be for free. See below for a list of pro features.

A lot of effort has gone into this mail app, which was developed to help you protect your privacy. If you have a question or problem, there is always support at [email protected].

Main features

* Fully featured
* 100% open source
* Privacy oriented
* Unlimited accounts
* Unlimited email addresses
* Unified inbox (optionally accounts or folders)
* Conversation threading
* Two way synchronization
* Push notifications
* Offline storage and operations
* Common text style options (size, color, lists, etc.)
* Battery friendly
* Low data usage
* Small (<30 MB)
* Material design (including dark/black theme)
* Maintained and supported

This app is deliberately minimalistic by design, so you can concentrate on reading and writing messages.

This app starts a foreground service with a low-priority status bar notification to make sure you'll never miss new emails.

Privacy features

* Encryption/decryption supported (OpenPGP, S/MIME)
* Reformat messages to prevent phishing
* Confirm showing images to prevent tracking
* Confirm opening links to prevent tracking and phishing
* Attempt to recognize and disable tracking images
* Warning if messages could not be authenticated

Simple

* Quick setup
* Easy navigation
* No bells and whistles
* No distracting "eye candy"

Secure

* No data storage on third-party servers
* Using open standards (IMAP, POP3, SMTP, OpenPGP, S/MIME, etc.)
* Safe message view (styling, scripting and unsafe HTML removed)
* Confirm opening links, images and attachments
* No special permissions required
* No advertisements
* No analytics and no tracking (error reporting via Bugsnag is opt-in)
* Optional Android backup
* No Firebase Cloud Messaging
* FairEmail is an original work, not a fork or a clone

Efficient

* Fast and lightweight
* IMAP IDLE (push messages) supported
* Built with latest development tools and libraries

Pro features

All pro features are convenience or advanced features.

* Account/identity/folder colors/avatars
* Colored stars
* Notification settings (sounds) per account/folder/sender (requires Android 8 Oreo)
* Configurable notification actions
* Snooze messages
* Send messages after selected time
* Synchronization scheduling
* Reply templates
* Accept/decline calendar invitations
* Add message to calendar
* Automatically generate vCard attachments
* Filter rules
* Automatic message classification
* Search indexing
* S/MIME sign/encrypt
* Biometric/PIN authentication
* Message list widget
* Export settings

Support

If you have a question or problem, please check here first:
https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/blob/master/FAQ.md

If you cannot find what you are looking for, please contact me at [email protected], and I will try to help you.

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Google Play Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.
Pros
  • Highly customizable with many features and options
  • Good privacy and security controls
  • Responsive and helpful developer support
  • Reliable syncing and notification functionality
  • Better alternative to other email apps like Gmail and Outlook
Cons
  • Steep learning curve due to numerous options
  • Search function can be ineffective requiring additional steps
  • Interface can be rough, common in open-source projects
Most mentioned
  • Customization capabilities
  • Responsive developer support
  • Reliable functionality and syncing
User reviews
Wow. Everything can be customized but there is a steep learning curve since there are so many options to explore. I've only been using for one day so still learning and getting used to this app. So far, it really outshines K9 Mail and AquaMail for my use case. I will probably buy the pro version which opens up even more settings.
by Dennis B, 2024-11-24

Edit: developer touched base regarding the aforementioned issue; very quickly. So helpful in discerning the situation -- something I had messed w/ in the settings. Issue with the background syncing; not sure. When sending emails, app (or possibly server) is sending dup emails but in actuality, the email is being sent once. The "dup" email stays idle as though it is pending and the only other option is to "delete permanently" the duplicate email. Anyone else having this issue??
by EJL, 2024-11-15

This is a great app that was worth the purchase to replace the ever buggy and gm@il that regularly stops working. It's nice to know I'll actually get my emails every time they come through now. The only issue I have now that I've used it a long time is the search function. It does not work well at all regardless of which folders I search or how much syncing I allow. ETA: you must go directly to "all mail" and search twice by hitting the sync button after searching. Still more steps but doable.
by Corvus, 2024-10-24
View all user reviews

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