As far as I know the stock email app is part of AOSP and therefore maintained with the rest of Android regarding security. If a flaw is found it will be fixed with a future monthly security update.
If you don’t want to rely on that though, K-9 Mail may be a privacy compatible alternative for you.
Thanks for the clarification, and rest assured I fully understand the difference. The problem is that I don’t trust Google quite well enough, and nobody has done a study towards the behaviour of the GMail app. I would not be surprised if the GMail app uploads parts of my (third-party) mailbox to their cloud under the pretense of offering good search facilities through my e-mails. I honestly wouldn’t know if they do, but until I have guarantees that they don’t stick their nose in my e-mails I do not wish to take what I deem an unacceptable risk at violating my privacy.
Agreed Which is why I raised this in the bugtracker as well.
I’m slightly confused about this, as Techcrunch and others report that the app has been killed. Yet it exists in the AOSP repositories and receives infrequent updates. Are these two different apps?
I don’t believe it offers any search functions of its own. IMAP search at my mail provider is extremely slow and the GMail app just uses that & times out, giving no results.
I just performed the upgrade using Fairphone Updater and it was not successful. FP OS 18.04 (not FP Open!) with Android disk encryption. After the upgrade I have to enter the decryption PIN and Android says it is correct, but my data is corrupted. The only solution offered on the phone is a factory reset. I think this is pretty severe and I also - like Fairphone - wouldn’t release this version to the public.
Frankly it was my guess. I don’t believe the Open Handset Alliance let known security holes open in any part of AOSP. The email app may not be developed anymore, but if it was totally abandoned they would have removed it from the codebase, wouldn’t they?
Hi Lukas, no update on the final release timeline. As soon as I receive more info, I will share it with you of course. Our software team is hard at work, so hopefully we have more news in the coming days. Best, Monica
Any news about “normal” release?
The battery issues have become unbearable. I cannot use my phone at the moment. It even drains battery when switching off. It doesn’t charge if on. All the workarounds already tried. I have drain problems since the last update in April!!! and hoping for the new version to see, if they solve, or i have to send my FP… But release date has been delayed from end of summer, until when?
I am afraid of testing the beta and it becomes even worse (if possible)
If charge drops when the device is off, then it is almost always a hardware problem. Contact Fairphone support (especially if you’re still in warranty); in some cases they send replacement parts without requiring the phone to be sent in. According to the warranty terms & conditions defects should be reported within two months of discovery, so if in doubt, ask Fairphone support.