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English - Android => General Discussion => Topic started by: someone on April 21, 2019, 11:00:13 pm

Title: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: someone on April 21, 2019, 11:00:13 pm
At what date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?

What was the AM version number at that time?

Thanks
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: mikeone on April 21, 2019, 11:55:48 pm
They acquired AquaMail on November 2nd, 2016

https://www.aqua-mail.com/forum/index.php?topic=5102.msg29788#msg29788

I think, build 1.6.4-dev4.6 was the latest release "before MobiSystems" stepped in with 1.7.0.x:
https://www.aqua-mail.com/forum/index.php?topic=5083.0
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: mikeone on April 22, 2019, 12:02:09 am
With 1.7.1.111 they added a setting to turn off analytics (Flurry), in app settings, at the end, just above "debug".

https://www.aqua-mail.com/forum/index.php?topic=5277.msg31019#msg31019
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: someone on April 22, 2019, 08:21:29 am
Thank you. Just what I needed.
Any privacy changes in AM since then?
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Justin on April 22, 2019, 09:32:25 am
We don't know.

In recent new versions there were "Bug fixes and improvements" several times.

We asked, what kind of "improvements". But we didn’t get an answer, so there might be a reason for this. May be they don't want to tell us?
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: ksuuk on April 24, 2019, 10:30:06 am
We don't know.

In recent new versions there were "Bug fixes and improvements" several times.

We asked, what kind of "improvements". But we didn’t get an answer, so there might be a reason for this. May be they don't want to tell us?

Maybe Kostya can release latest source before Mobisystems time and someone can fork/develop it...
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Justin on April 24, 2019, 10:37:57 am
No, he can not. He is not the owner of the software anymore.

Everywhere users of AquaMail are worried about more data tracking in AquaMail. Unfortunately we never get answers to our questions about those unspecific "fixes and improvements". Suspicious?

So users don't know what will happen. Several forums now monitor the development of other email apps more closely.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: ksuuk on April 24, 2019, 10:49:14 am
No, he can not. He is not the owner of the software anymore.

How can You know this? Fork is always possible, if there is a demand, there will be new app. :).

But I agree, that the Mobisystems silence or I'd say ignorance, is disturbing.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Michael Maslarov, Aqua Mail on April 24, 2019, 03:02:52 pm
Hi all,

First, let me introduce myself- I'm Michael and I'm from MobiSystems BizDev team responsible for Aqua Mail.

I just wanted to shed some light about the concerns mentioned in this topic as to assure you that here in MobiSystems we are very respectful towards our users. It's not a secret that Kostya has built a great email app before MobiSystems came in thanks to his close relations with the users of Aqua Mail which we will try to continue doing and preserve the community in this forum.   

So for the most commonly mentioned concern about data usage by MobiSystems- we are not adding anything more than standard analytics which is used by almost all apps in the world. Kostya mentioned in another post recently that we started with Flurry. However, Flurry was not a good fit and we switched to Firebase analytics. In today business world of apps is absolutely impossible to deliver a quality app without analytics insight on how often and how easily accessible are the features we create for our users. Analytics is basically keeping us competitive against other email clients.

Regarding the suggestion of pirating(fork a version) Aqua Mail- well mikeone has clearly said why this is not a good idea, not to mention that it's illegal. But again there's no need of doing it as we are on our users' side. I am sorry that we cannot answer all issues in the forum but we are trying our best to do so. However, for any technical issues, our standard answering time on the support email support@aqua-mail.com is between 24-48 hours. Also, the forum here has gathered plenty of information about a lot of issues and their solutions.




Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on April 24, 2019, 08:25:13 pm
"To begin with Kostya is the most important person for Aqua Mail's development both strategically and technologically.

Therefore, Kostya is busy making Aqua Mail even better new features.

For any questions about the app the MobiSystems Support team will be more than happy to assist you."

This is a post made by your colleague in Dec 2018 which turned out to be a complete untruth and you expect us to believe you. Sorry ain't happening.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Kostya Vasilyev on April 24, 2019, 08:59:37 pm
> This is a post made by your colleague in Dec 2018 which turned out to be a complete untruth and you expect us to believe you. Sorry ain't happening.

At the time it wasn't clear in what deep shit I was/am with my health troubles. Not to me even, and to anyone other than me, even less so.

When people get really unwell, they usually either recover to some reasonable level of health and begin to function again, or if not, they die, and it all happens fairly quickly.

It's very rare to be stuck somewhere in between for so long.

---

PS - don't understand all the venom towards MobiSystems.

They aren't any worse than any other company, on the average. An indie developer can do better with support and responsiveness - at a great expense of pushing and stretching him/herself, which can't last forever.

But if you compare against companies, pretty typical, not much better, not much worse I don't think.

PPS - and don't get all the scares about analytics either.

Aqua is a paid app (and not cheap), has ads, and that's what covers the expenses and turns profits.

I'd be much more worried about using apps that 1) have ongoing expenses (cloud based) 2) are free to use and have no ads 3) have been around for years - where and how do they make their money back (if they do, might not apply to all of them)?

P3S - I'm sure that I'll be slammed now for "defending mobisystems". Be that way if you want, but I have no connections to them now at all.

P4S - the "bug fixes and improvements" to me - an outsider - just looks like a "generic" phrase that is added "just so".

Really think you people are reading too much into it.

Just like "we are happy to announce" doesn't mean that Nadia is literally radiating rays of happiness while uploading an .apk to Play for publishing. She could be having a bad day while writing that and you won't know. Just "corporate style" is all.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: phred on April 24, 2019, 10:16:53 pm
Really think you people are reading too much into it.
Thanks for you comments, Kostya. One's health is most important no matter what else may be going on.

To the nay-sayers, doubters, and other conspiracy theorists, no one is forcing you to use AM. Yes, you may have paid to the 'pro' version, but how many other apps have you paid for only to, at some point, abandon for "greener pastures."

Kostya - I wish you good health and hope you're able to drop in here every now and then just to say hello. Or to offer some insight.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on April 24, 2019, 10:51:11 pm
I have always been an admirer of Kostya. I have specifically told him he has created not just an email app but a work of art. Without debate, the best email app in the play store.
I wish you well, Kostya and best of luck with your health.

Mobisystems, sorry I don't subscribe to your way of earning trust and it's time to look for an app that is 1. Paid 2.not cloud based and 3 . Is upfront with its users. There are still a couple on the Play Store.

AquaMail its been nice knowing you!
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: ksuuk on April 25, 2019, 09:14:38 am

Mobisystems, sorry I don't subscribe to your way of earning trust and it's time to look for an app that is 1. Paid 2.not cloud based and 3 . Is upfront with its users. There are still a couple on the Play Store.


Hmm, but AM is paid (ad free), not cloud based and via this forum (at least with history) kind of helping too and I don't know any such alternative, so please name these couple?
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on April 25, 2019, 09:20:28 am
Nine, FairEmail, K9
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Michael Maslarov, Aqua Mail on April 25, 2019, 10:28:18 am
Thank you, Kostya, for pointing out how a freemium business model works and how it's more transparent than some totally free apps. Also, I am very happy to see that you are sticking around. Your expertise is invaluable for all of us- users and Aqua Mail team.

ksuuk, phred- thank you for the support and the objective point of view.

nadir husain- I really am trying to understand what's the problem with MobiSystems that bothers you so much. You like AM, you point out that you like how it works. I assume that you are also a beta tester. I don't know if any other email app company has an official forum like this one here. We have preserved this community and will continue doing so for the future. You get direct contact with the management of the AM Team in MobiSystems and we share as much information as possible with our users. Even sometimes more than any other company would share.

Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on April 25, 2019, 10:37:37 am
@MichaelMaslarov : The first time I heard of Mobisystems was when Aquamail became part of their organisation. It didn't bother me then. Businesses are often sold , merged etc. Then the Flurry analytics,  then trying to push your other apps to paid users by means of subtle ads and then openly lying to your users about why Kostya was absent from the forum. Does not build much confidence,  or does it?
 
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: ksuuk on April 25, 2019, 11:01:36 am
@nadir husain

When I first discovered that AM was silently sending statistics ( https://www.aqua-mail.com/forum/index.php?topic=5257.0 ) this was fixed soon and I'm OK with that.

Anyway, better if they are telling what they do, as most don't. And in these day's almost any operating system/application is sending stats/calling home, So You can find or develop clean app, but You can't find clean operating system, so we just must live with this fact or we must not use any connected device.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Michael Maslarov, Aqua Mail on April 25, 2019, 01:37:13 pm
Ok, I see what's the problem now so let me explain.

ksuuk, you are right. We try our best to provide as much control as possible to our users so that's why we have added the option to switch off the analytics part. But that's not going to solve the problem in the bigger picture. You need just once to be connected to a browser with statistics on and from there Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook basically know you better than you know yourself. You shouldn't be even logged in which is surprising. It happens to all of us.

nadir husin- we weren't lying about Kostya. As many times it was pointed out that this is a personal issue and we have absolutely no authority and even we have a moral responsibility for preserving the privacy of our team members - it's purely Kostya's decision whether he wanted to share this matter with anybody or not. So let's drop this once and for all.

For pushing our other apps to paid users- well this is not advertising but rather making a close collaboration between the apps in our ecosystem. Suggesting to use OfficeSuite when opening an attachment is more like adding a feature to Aqua Mail rather than pure advertising. This makes a smoother and more consistent UX as a whole. In addition to that, we have made these reminders appear very few times and they stop appearing after time. Also if you have set another alternative app as a default then you will not receive any prompts.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on April 25, 2019, 01:44:50 pm
@Michael  I am not doubting the credibility of any one individual who works for Mobisystems- they are all doing their jobs but I have lost confidence  in the honesty and I integrity of Mobisystems. All of the above could have been done by first taking customers into confidence. instead you chose to go via the back door. My apologies  but that , to me, is not acceptable.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Michael Maslarov, Aqua Mail on April 25, 2019, 05:17:31 pm
@nadir husain- this is simply not true and I have said above why what you claim isn't true. We don't do anything from the back door. If we did something like that AM will have no ads, it will be free, we will even be giving bonuses for using our app. Then everybody will be happy and very surprised how can we even finance our operations. See Kostya's comment above.

I am sorry if we did something that is not said straightforward to our users but we can't say out in the public all of what's going on in the company. After all, there is competition that may take advantage of us and we don't want that.

I am sorry that you feel like you lost confidence and I know that it needs time to gain it back but if you are interested in helping AM be better you can always stay part of this community and say what's bothering or concerning you. The most important thing is to stay constructive and objective. Criticism is always welcome if the aim is to find a constructive solution.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on April 25, 2019, 06:06:38 pm
@Michael  you are new to this forum so I have no reason not to believe you. I can assume you are sincere in what you say- time will tell. I would suggest we close this particular conversation since we will not see eye to eye. My admiration and respect is for Kostya and sadly he has left. I have nothing to say about Mobisystems  except what I have already said. Best of luck!
 
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Michael Maslarov, Aqua Mail on April 25, 2019, 07:58:36 pm
Fair enough.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on April 26, 2019, 04:52:00 am
Wow! @ParisGeek totally agree with your assessment.  As I have also said AquaMail is still the best! I feel FairEmail has the most potential.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Philip on April 30, 2019, 12:39:02 pm
K9 : not supported anymore.
What makes you say that? Looking on GitHub, the last commit was 16 days ago...
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on April 30, 2019, 12:53:54 pm

What makes you say that? Looking on GitHub, the last commit was 16 days ago...
[/quote]
The app in the play store has not been updated since Sept 2018.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Philip on April 30, 2019, 07:10:22 pm
The app in the play store has not been updated since Sept 2018.
But that has nothing to do with whether K-9 is still supported. Different apps do their play store releases on different schedules.

As I said, the last commit on GitHub was just over 2 weeks ago, which suggests that K-9 is not only still supported but is under active development.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: someone on May 01, 2019, 03:17:54 am
Every user needs to decide what's best for them. Kostya has created an excellent intuitive app. In my opinion the best one out there. But it is not open source which makes it a matter of trust. I made a decision to trust Kostya even though my only contacts with him have been via email. When Mobi acquired Aquamail many users became concerned. Justfiably or not is for each one to decide for themselves.

For myself I've made my decision. After using Aquamail since its earliest days I've moved on. I am using a relatively new email app in active development which is
—opensource (meaning it's code can be examined)
—has a responsive talented developper who has a long list of prior excellent privacy oriented apps (NetGuard, Xprivacy, Xprivacylua, etc)

I'm now using FairEmail. There was a learning curve involved but now that I've achieved that I am very happy with my decision. I do not think it is appropriate for me to provide a link but it can easily be found in the Playstore.

For others, staying with an old version of Aquamail may be the answer. I considered that myself. There are many repositories of old app versions. Uptodown is one such repository.

Personally, I want to thank Kostya for all his work and help and I sincerely wish him the very best for the future and great improvements with his health issues. I'm pulling for you Kostya!

Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on May 01, 2019, 03:40:53 am
@someone : as I have also said before AquaMail is still the best out there. Like u my contact with Kostya was by email and like you I trusted him implicitly. Also like you I am now in the process of switching to FairEmail, though I think I am a little behind u in the learning curve area- still getting used to the app. Like you I wish Kostya all the best in life and in health. All the best to everyone on this forum!
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: someone on May 01, 2019, 02:57:12 pm
Nine, FairEmail, K9
FairEmail : FairEmail needs years before competing seriously with Aquamail or Nine.

Excellent evaluations.

That is true about FairEmail. It is not as mature as AM. But it has important privacy features to compensate including a spam filter with configurable rules which AM has long lacked. The ability to view and avoid all the invisible trackers in benign appearing emails and links are alone worth the change.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Philip on May 01, 2019, 04:57:33 pm
I just had a very quick look at FairMail, based on the comments here.

It doesn't appear to support POP, and it doesn't have widget support, both of which are deal breakers for me.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: nadir husain on May 01, 2019, 05:12:10 pm
@Philip : can you pl share what apps you recommend. I do not trust cloud based apps simply because they can access ones data so the choice gets pretty limited.  Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: someone on May 01, 2019, 07:35:36 pm
It doesn't appear to support POP, and it doesn't have widget support, both of which are deal breakers for me.
That's why there are apps to fit everyone's needs.

For me, pop is good on a laptop but makes no sense on a phone with limited storage. That said, there is a work around to use pop in FE but I have not used it.

As for widgets, again For me, clicking on the app shortcut does everything a widget would do without the additional memory load.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Justin on May 01, 2019, 09:24:11 pm
It doesn't appear to support POP, and it doesn't have widget support, both of which are deal breakers for me.

Both of them wrong. POP is supported, and there is a widget.

BTW: Using more than one device with one mail account, IMAP should rather be preferred. In all mail apps.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Philip on May 02, 2019, 12:50:03 am
@Philip : can you pl share what apps you recommend. I do not trust cloud based apps simply because they can access ones data so the choice gets pretty limited.  Thanks in advance.
Probably K-9. Very fully featured. Open Source. Still being actively developed.
Title: Re: What date did Mobi acquire Aquamail?
Post by: Philip on May 02, 2019, 12:57:44 am
It doesn't appear to support POP, and it doesn't have widget support, both of which are deal breakers for me.

Both of them wrong. POP is supported, and there is a widget.

BTW: Using more than one device with one mail account, IMAP should rather be preferred. In all mail apps.
I'm going by the FAQ on FairEmail's own site (https://github.com/M66B/open-source-email/blob/master/FAQ.md (https://github.com/M66B/open-source-email/blob/master/FAQ.md)) which says:

Quote
(11) Why is POP not supported?
and
Quote
Widget to read messages: widgets can have limited user interaction only, so a widget to read conversations would not be very convenient. Moreover, it would be not very useful to duplicate functions which are already available in the app.

Both of these are, for me, reasons why it would be utterly useless to me.

I have no wish to use IMAP, and a widget which shows me emails as they come in - which I have on one of my screens, along with lots of other real time information - is a basic requirement of a mobile-based email client.