FairEmail is a fully featured, open-source email client for Android that uses standard IMAP/SMTP protocols and supports OpenPGP and S/MIME encryption. It blocks remote image tracking, confirms link opens, and stores no data on third-party servers.
FairEmail
Official website email.faircode.eu
Our take
FairEmail is the most privacy-thorough Android email client available: it actively disables tracking pixels, strips unsafe HTML, and refuses Firebase Cloud Messaging in favor of pure IMAP IDLE push. The free tier covers everything essential; advanced features like filter rules, S/MIME signing, and scheduled send are unlocked via a one-time in-app purchase rather than a subscription. The trade-off is setup complexity, since the quick-setup wizard covers common providers but manual IMAP configuration is required for anything less mainstream. The right pick for Android users who want real email rather than a webmail wrapper.
GitHub at a glance
M66B/FairEmail
Stars
4,424
+ 1 this week
Last commit
1d ago
healthy
License
GPL-3.0
Latest release
1.2322
4d ago
Stars, last 9d
Listed in
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FairEmail license, in plain English
GPL-3.0 Strong copyleft
Free to use and modify, but anything you distribute that is built on it must also be open under the same license.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Strong copyleft keeps every distributed version open. A vendor cannot fold this into a closed product and ship it without releasing their changes.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.