Software:K-9 Mail

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K-9 Mail
Original author(s)Jesse Vincent
Developer(s)MZLA Technologies Corporation, Christian Ketterer
Initial release27 October 2008; 17 years ago (2008-10-27)
Written inJava, Kotlin
Operating systemAndroid
TypeEmail application
LicenseApache License 2.0
Websitek9mail.app

K-9 Mail is a free and open source email client for Android. It is designed as an alternative to the stock email clients included with the platform; it supports both POP3 and IMAP protocols and supports IMAP IDLE for real-time notifications. The project is named after the Doctor Who character K9.[1]

For end users, K-9 Mail started to transition towards becoming Thunderbird for Android in October 2024.[2][3]

Previous logo

History

The source code was first published to its git repository on October 27, 2008[4] by Jesse Vincent and the first binaries were released to the public on the Google Code site the same month.[5]

In 2015 the project received $86,000 of funding from the Open Technology Fund.[6]

On 13 June 2022, it was announced that K-9 Mail had been taken over by MZLA Technologies Corporation, a subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation with current maintainer Christian Ketterer joining the team, and plans for K-9 Mail to be rebranded as Thunderbird for Android following the completion of a feature roadmap, including sync with Thunderbird on PC, integrating Thunderbird's automated account setup system, message filtering, and improvements to folders.[7]

On 30 October 2024, the first stable release of Thunderbird for Android (Thunderbird Mobile) was launched as version 8.0.[3] Thunderbird for Android can be installed via Google Play and F-Droid, among others.[8] The Thunderbird team had planned in 2022 to maintain K-9 for one year after the release of Thunderbird Mobile, i.e. until roughly October 2025.[9]

On 6 May 2025, the stable version 10 of Thunderbird Mobile and the beta of version 11 were released.[10]

Reception

In the early 2010s it was widely reviewed, and was particularly praised in the media between 2011 and 2013 as a replacement for the default mail application.[11][12] At the time, it was a leading alternative Android app, often recommended[13] when a user did not want to use the default app. It was awarded the "Best App for Sending Email" in the 2010 "Best Android Apps" book.[14]

Features

  • Works with IMAP, POP3
  • Folder sync
  • Encryption with OpenKeychain support
  • Signatures
  • SD card storage

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About". https://k9mail.app/about. 
  2. ↑ Evangelho, Jason (2022-06-13). "Revealed: Our Plans For Thunderbird On Android" (in en-US). https://blog.thunderbird.net/2022/06/revealed-thunderbird-on-android-plans-k9/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ayhens-Madon, Philipp Kewisch, Monica (2024-10-30). "Thunderbird for Android 8.0 Takes Flight" (in en-US). https://blog.thunderbird.net/2024/10/thunderbird-for-android-8-0-takes-flight/. 
  4. ↑ "k9mail/k-9". Github. https://github.com/k9mail/k-9/commit/ffd7766384f89d54e1502a6e7e7559c24ebcfdd0. 
  5. ↑ "Downloads - k9mail - K-9 Mail is an advanced email client for Android - Google Project Hosting". https://code.google.com/p/k9mail/downloads/list?num=100&start=300. 
  6. ↑ Open Technology Fund. "Projects we support - K-9 Mail". U.S. Agency for Global Media. https://www.opentech.fund/results/supported-projects/k-9-mail/. 
  7. ↑ Axon, Samuel (2022-06-13). "Email client K-9 Mail will become Thunderbird for Android" (in en-us). https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/06/email-client-k-9-mail-will-become-thunderbird-for-android/. 
  8. ↑ "Thunderbird Mobile" (in en). https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/mobile/. 
  9. ↑ Evangelho, Jason (2022-06-13). "Frequently Asked Questions: Thunderbird Mobile and K-9 Mail" (in en-US). https://blog.thunderbird.net/2022/06/faq-thunderbird-mobile-and-k-9-mail/. 
  10. ↑ "Releases · thunderbird/thunderbird-android" (in en). https://github.com/thunderbird/thunderbird-android/releases. 
  11. ↑ Paul, Ryan (2011-01-24). "Excellent K-9 mail app for Android keeps your messages on a leash". Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2011/01/excellent-k-9-mail-app-for-android-keeps-your-messages-on-a-leash/. 
  12. ↑ "K-9 Mail Receives First Significant Update In 9 Months - Improved Interface, Altered Widget, Bug Fixes, And More". Androidpolice.com. 2013-06-28. http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/06/28/k-9-mail-receives-first-significant-update-in-9-months-improved-interface-altered-widget-bug-fixes-and-more/. 
  13. ↑ Begun, Daniel (2011). Amazing Android Apps for Dummies. Wiley. ISBN 9781118061428. 
  14. ↑ Hendrickson, Mike (2010). Best Android Apps. O'Reilly Media. pp. 80. ISBN 9781449382551. 



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