Ricardo Signes, Chief Engineer at Fastmail, explains why Gmail's email experience has become increasingly fragmented, and what it would take to actually fix the decades-old IMAP protocol that powers most of the internet. We dive deep into JMAP (the modern replacement Gmail won't adopt), privacy-by-design vs. encryption theater, and the hidden trade-offs between convenience and security that no one talks about. If you've noticed your email client feeling broken, this interview reveals why.
📱 RESOURCES IN VIDEO:
• Fastmail: https://fastmail.com
• Fastmail Values Statement: https://fastmail.com/about/values
• Cyrus IMAP/JMAP Server (open source): https://www.cyrusimap.org/
• JMAP Standard (RFC 8620): https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8620
• Web Push Standard (RFC 8030): https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8030
• Signal (for encrypted messaging): https://signal.org
• Fastmail Data Transparency Report: https://fastmail.com/about/transparency
Timestamps:
0:00:00 INTRO
00:01:36 WHAT DRAWS YOU TO FASTMAIL?
00:03:29 FASTMAIL VALUES & PHILOSOPHY
00:08:49 FASTMAIL TARGET USER
00:12:43 LACK OF NATIVE E2EE
00:16:16 WILL EMAIL EVER BE PRIVATE?
00:18:23 FASTMAIL E2EE OPTIONS
00:23:43 FASTMAIL CLIENT OPTIONS
00:26:18 FASTMAIL INTEGRATIONS
00:29:49 BEING GOOD INTERNET CITIZENS
00:33:13 BAD INTERNET CITIZENS
00:38:26 JMAP & OTHER EMAIL PROTOCOLS
00:48:15 REAL-WORLD BENEFITS OF JMAP
00:53:07 ISSUES WITH GMAIL ON IOS
00:56:06 LACK OF E2EE FOR EMAIL WITH ADP
00:57:29 DOES JMAP MAKE E2EE EASIER?
01:00:43 FASTMAIL + OPEN SOURCE
01:10:48 PROTECTIONS AGAINST BAD ACTORS
01:14:46 PHONE NUMBER REQUIREMENTS
01:22:55 AUSTRALIAN JURISDICTION
01:25:55 THE FASTMAIL TEAM
01:28:45 PRODUCTIVITY-FOCUSED EMAIL CLIENTS
01:34:27 FASTMAIL + IMAP
01:35:49 WHY THE NAME "FASTMAIL"?
01:38:27 IS JMAP WHY FASTMAIL IS SO FAST?
01:42:03 FASTMAIL'S IDEAL AVATAR + FUTURE PLANS
01:46:25 HOW TO FOLLOW RICARDO + FASTMAIL
01:48:03 OUTRO
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