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. Techlore empowers individuals with practical digital privacy knowledge, security tools, and advocacy resources to protect your data and reclaim your digital identity. 📱 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 🔎 RELATED VIDEOS: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn8sLpvuEKY • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wgpuiIoG_g ⏱️ 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 🔐 TECHLORE RESOURCES: • Homepage: https://techlore.tech • Go Incognito Course: https://techlore.tech/goincognito • Forum: https://discuss.techlore.tech • Privacy Tools: https://techlore.tech/resources 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLORE: Made possible by our Techlorians: https://discuss.techlore.tech/s • All Methods: https://techlore.tech/support • Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/techlore • YouTube Memberships: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs6KfncB4OV6Vug4o_bzijg/join 📺 MORE TECHLORE: • Surveillance Report: https://www.youtube.com/@surveillancereport • Techlore Clips: https://www.youtube.com/@techloreclips 🌐 FOLLOW ELSEWHERE: • PeerTube: https://techlore.tv • Mastodon: https://social.lol/@techlore • Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/techlore.tech • Twitter: https://twitter.com/TechloreInc • Telegram: https://t.me/techlorefeed #fastmail #emailprivacy #emailsecurity ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FByPnomEh5o
