I wanted to test a privacy aware IMAP mail client for Android and a bit of research lead to Thunderbird for Android.

Requirements for a mobile mail client.

An IMAP mail client for Android and mobile phone users must be simple to configure and use.

  1. It should be written by a trusted developer.
  2. It should have a simple configuration in which you can enter the name of the incoming mail server, outgoing mail server, your user name and your password.
  3. It must support a simple way to use SSL/TLS and STARTTLS.
  4. It should have support for installing the mail server encryption certificate.
  5. It should have a simple display of the account and its mail folders, such as the inbox and other folders, you might have. It should not use virtual folders nor re-arrange things away from how they really are stored on the mail server.
  6. It should support correct use of special folders, such as draft, archive and trash.
  7. It should support a preference for dark theme.

Installing Thunderbird for Android.

The download was only 7 MB. The intro stated, that I could import settings from the desktop computer client, but the instructions was incorrect. There are no export to mobile feature nor any QR code. I configured an account manually.

  1. Release by Mozilla Foundation. Highly trusted for open source and privacy.
  2. The entering of account information was straight forward correct and worked in first attempt.
  3. SSL and STARTTLS was supported.
  4. The install of encryption certificate was not an option, but I could “accept the risc” and it accepted the server certificate. This happens, when mail servers has an encryption certificate, that is signed by a certificate authority, that is not known by the Android phone.
  5. The display of email was correct and directly as they are stored in the server mail folders.
  6. The special folders was correctly supported and setup in first run.
  7. The dark theme was on by default, which should be following the system preference.

Using Thunderbird for Android.

Reading email was as simple as opening Thunderbird for Android and tapping the email from the inbox folder. The content was quickly displayed in a simple and readable format.

Sending email worked in first attempt. The sender name, email address and content format was perfect.

Conclusion.

Thunderbird for Android proved to be far beyond my expectations. It fully meet my requirements.

Published by Micski

Micski lives in Copenhagen, which is the capitol city of Denmark, where he's a system administrator of information technology and a semi-professional poker player.