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Secure and private mail client for iOS

Hi,

I am considering getting an iPhone (currently using Android), but I can't seem to find a mail client for iOS that would meet my requirements - and this would be an absolute show-stopper.


What I am looking for is a mail client that

  • is designed to meet high security and privacy standards
  • can be used with my existing mail accounts - switching or forwarding my mail to another service is not an option
  • login credentials should only be stored on the device
  • e-mail in plain text (received and sent)
  • FOSS would be a plus


These requirements don't seem a lot to ask for, from my point of view. I've used clients like K9-Mail and Fairmail on Android, but couldn't find anything similar for iOS.


Any ideas/suggestions?


Thanks!

kalyi_

Posted on Nov 7, 2024 10:49 AM

Reply
3 replies

Nov 7, 2024 11:07 AM in response to kalyi_

In no particular order...


Among the available mail clients for iPhone, there is the built-in mail client, and other third-party mail clients such as Spark and Edison are available in the app store. I haven't gone looking for FOSS mail clients.


The built-in mail client works fine with POP/IMAP/SMTP/ESMTP mail servers, and with Microsoft Exchange Server.


Login credentials can be stored locally, or can be stored in iCloud Keychain with access to the latter limited to the user's own devices.


The Apple mail client is MIME-encoded HTML, and not plain text.


I'd suggest looking at PinePhone or PinePhone Pro here. Those products will fit better with what I'm inferring to be your general preferences.


More generally, Apple has opinions on how things should fit together and work. If those opinions should match your needs and expectations, great. If you should want or need to tailor or tinker, that can become a darn hard slog.

Secure and private mail client for iOS

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