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

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 INTRO00:01:36 WHAT DRAWS YOU TO FASTMAIL?00:03:29 FASTMAIL VALUES & PHILOSOPHY00:08:49 FASTMAIL TARGET USER00:12:43 LACK OF NATIVE E2EE00:16:16 WILL EMAIL EVER BE PRIVATE?00:18:23 FASTMAIL E2EE OPTIONS00:23:43 FASTMAIL CLIENT OPTIONS00:26:18 FASTMAIL INTEGRATIONS00:29:49 BEING GOOD INTERNET CITIZENS00:33:13 BAD INTERNET CITIZENS00:38:26 JMAP & OTHER EMAIL PROTOCOLS00:48:15 REAL-WORLD BENEFITS OF JMAP00:53:07 ISSUES WITH GMAIL ON IOS00:56:06 LACK OF E2EE FOR EMAIL WITH ADP00:57:29 DOES JMAP MAKE E2EE EASIER?01:00:43 FASTMAIL + OPEN SOURCE01:10:48 PROTECTIONS AGAINST BAD ACTORS01:14:46 PHONE NUMBER REQUIREMENTS01:22:55 AUSTRALIAN JURISDICTION01:25:55 THE FASTMAIL TEAM01:28:45 PRODUCTIVITY-FOCUSED EMAIL CLIENTS01:34:27 FASTMAIL + IMAP01:35:49 WHY THE NAME "FASTMAIL"?01:38:27 IS JMAP WHY FASTMAIL IS SO FAST?01:42:03 FASTMAIL'S IDEAL AVATAR + FUTURE PLANS01:46:25 HOW TO FOLLOW RICARDO + FASTMAIL01:48:03 OUTRO🎥 VIDEOWatch on YouTube 🧡 SUPPORT TECHLOREKeep Techlore Talks independent & growing: ★ Support this podcast ★