Happy International Email Day

Today, on International Email Day, I’m taking a moment to appreciate the communication tool many of us use and rely on every day. At Fastmail, email isn’t just our business – it’s our passion. The team and I believe email deserves recognition as one of the digital age’s most powerful, flexible, and lasting technologies.

Email: Still going strong

Let’s take a moment to appreciate some history! From the first ever electronic messages in the early 1970s to the modern multimedia communications we send today, email has come a long way. While other technologies have come and gone, email has adapted, thrived, and become a necessary tool for most of us in our day-to-day lives.

Why is this the case?

I feel it is because email just works. It puts the mailbox owner in control of their communications. Email is based on open standards that anyone can implement. This generates competition and innovation to keep building better email products. Closed platforms will inevitably try and lock you in and then maximise your attention and their advertising revenue. You don’t need to be on the same service to communicate with someone else – email connects everyone globally every day.

What makes email special?

In a world of passing trends, shortened attention spans, and conflicting priorities, an email received or sent feels refreshingly respectful; things that make email special for me:

• I control the pace: Email waits for me to respond, when I am ready, not the other way around.
• It breaks down barriers in communication: It makes me feel connected. Many people have access to an email address.
• I can refer to it when I need to: Important information stays accessible and searchable (for when I forget!). Bron, our CEO, wrote about this here in 2018.
• It’s private: My messages aren’t fodder for algorithms (at least not at Fastmail!).
• It’s professional: For work and essential matters, nothing beats email!

How here at Fastmail, we are making email better

At Fastmail, we don’t just provide email; as a team, we’re actively improving it for both our customers and the world. Here’s how:

We created JMAP: Our team was the driving force behind JMAP, an open API standard for modern mail clients and applications to manage email faster. JMAP significantly improves on existing outdated protocols to provide a better email experience across all devices.

We prioritise privacy: No tracking pixels, no ad targeting, no reading your messages to sell you things.

We contribute to open source: The team regularly contributes code to projects like Cyrus IMAP, and have made core parts of our own technology available for others to build upon. We believe that open standards and cooperation make email better for everyone.

We build thoughtful features: From masked email addresses that protect your privacy (one of my favourite features) to powerful filtering rules that organise your inbox, the team are constantly adding tools that put you in control.

Your email is your business, not ours.

What’s next for email?

Email isn’t standing still, and neither are we.

Right now we’re in the final stages of beta testing full offline support for the Fastmail app, as well as refinements to our look and feel. In partnership with others in the industry, we’re also improving the email ecosystem with work on everything from making it easier to securely set up your email client to improving message authentication to protect your inbox.

Email thrives because it continues to evolve while staying true to its core purpose: connecting people reliably. As an industry leader, I know all of the team at Fastmail are committed to ensuring email remains the versatile, powerful tool we all rely on every day.

Join us in celebrating email

Whether you’re a power user with diligently organised folders or someone who simply appreciates sending a quick message to a friend, today is a good day to appreciate how email connects all of us to the people and information that matter.

I am proud to be part of a great team that delivers a service that respects privacy, enhances productivity, and helps all of us communicate on our own terms.

Happy International Email Day from myself and everyone else here at Fastmail!