Various questions

[Narub]

After trying out Aquamail for a while, I am impressed by how simply and smooth the app is. The interface is clean and efficient and the app functions well. Only a few questions remain:

- How do I remove the stars in the inbox?
- From which country is Kostya Vasilyev/Aquamail operating? Under which jurisdiction does it fall?
- Is there any form of encryption possible, on the device (local encryption) or for the communication (GPG/APG)?
- Is it possible to change the size of the color coding of the accounts in the Smart Folder? Currently, only the address has the color coding. Is it possible to make that color area larger, smaller or change the position?

I hope you can help me with these final questions

[mikeone]

- From which country is Kostya Vasilyev/Aquamail operating? Under which jurisdiction does it fall?

"Google Play" gives information about apps and their developers (including address).  According to that, the developer is operating from Russia.

In addition to Paris Geek's explanation(s) you will find AquaMail's Privacy policy stated by Kostya right here:
http://www.aqua-mail.com/?page_id=1878

• No ads
• Not cloud based
• Spammer tracking
• Security
• OAUTH2 for Gmail and Google Apps
• Strong SSL encryption (aka SSL hardening)
• SSL certificate tracking

These topics should be addressed (most of) your concerns.

Kind Regards
Mikeone

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Thank you for the privacy policy link.

I did what I could there, not being a lawyer, but apparently someone really liked it:

http://androidforums.com/threads/email-which-apps-keep-it-private.935578

Jurisdiction.

Yes, I reside in Russia.

This may seem scary (to some) but in practice, may not mean very much.

Since the app is not cloud based, there is no question of "under what jurisdiction are the cloud servers which access and store your account info and messages" because there are no "cloud servers" here at all.

When you use AquaMail, it's just

1) you
2) the app
3) the mail servers hosting your accounts (Gmail, Yahoo, GMX, ...)

[Narub]

Go to App settings -> Message list. There, you will see an impressive list of options that will transform you AquaMail from a (very) good app to an awesome one.

I had looked under the look and feel options, but somehow missed these. Excellent.

You can change the color coding, from the address area color to the right area edge color. App settings -> Smart Folder -> Account and folder name (see screenshot)

It is not quite the look I had in mind, but it is nice to have the option. At least there is color coding.

Yes, I reside in Russia.

This may seem scary (to some) but in practice, may not mean very much.

I had found the privacy policy (which is one of the reasons I ended up with AquaMail in the first place), this was the missing information I needed. Russian jurisdiction does not really scare me. It is just that I prefer to avoid any company that is subject to the American Patriot or Freedom Act if at all possible. I have nothing to hide (but every right to hide things) and know for a fact that I could not hide anything from the Americans if I wanted to, but at least I can vote with my wallet. I will not do business with any company subject to US law if I can avoid it, until less draconian laws are in place. I am still looking for ways to cut out Google and Microsoft completely, but that is another matter and discussion.

Thank you all for the quick and helpful replies!

[Narub]

Oh, before I forget: what about encryption?

[Kostya Vasilyev]

What about it?

SSL, TLS, hardened ciphers, SSL certificate change tracking.

Covered in the privacy policy on the web site:

http://www.aqua-mail.com/?page_id=1878

[Narub]

What about it?

SSL, TLS, hardened ciphers, SSL certificate change tracking.

I mostly referred to local encryption (of database/mails and/or application), and a bit to PGP/APG too. Though I agree that the features you mention are very welcome too

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Encrypting the database on Android is a major pain in the, well, any body part really.

For what it's worth, AquaMail has a "pin code protection" (app settings -> security), should buy you enough time for a remote wipe hopefully (if you phone is lost / stolen).

The app's database is in "internal" memory,. no access without rooting. Passwords are stored encrypted anyway.

Recent Android versions can encrypt the device's "disk" memory independently of apps, I think that's something worth looking into if you're a security conscious user.

As for PGP and related -- sorry, not there, and not near the top of my priority list.

[Narub]

Recent Android versions can encrypt the device's "disk" memory independently of apps, I think that's something worth looking into if you're a security conscious user.

Yes, of course, though I see them as complementary measures.

Thanks for the information. I understand some things are not a priority, hard to do or have a small audience, though I would not mind donating a little extra to help things along. Either way, the experience with AquaMail has been really good so far. Thanks for the great app and thanks for your answers here

[crashdamage]

Reading this thread, I thought you might want to look at this, particularly posts #1 & #10.  But you might find some of the rest of it kinda interesting too.

http://androidforums.com/index.php?posts/7051405

Android since v1.0.  Linux since 2001.