The Email Provider Google Doesn't Want You to Know About (Fastmail Interview)
Show 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.
🔗 SOURCES & LINKS
• 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
00:00:00 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
🎥 VIDEO
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