The Email Provider Google Doesn't Want You to Know About (Fastmail Interview)

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Does JMAP Make E2EE Easier?

Ricardo discusses how JMAP could aid client-side encrypted workflows but key exchange and local decryption remain core challenges.

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Episode notes

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