yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Apps and Games] fraschi51:
These are probably just envious competitors who want to achieve exactly that, to stop your work.

I just wanted to see if the Huawei App-Gallery has such a strange rating system (which by the way is currently switched off or hidden by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. because far too many people are addicted and dependent on it), but I had to find out that the Huawei App-Gallery only works if you allow it to make phone calls. :( Therefore it could unfortunately not exist here.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
"Too expensive" - 1 star is about the first thing I see after waking up. Great.

I guess people should keep using "free" privacy violating apps. They don't deserve better and they shape the world this way themselves. I am afraid it is only getting worse and that my contributions to the opposite are not making much of a difference.
[Android Apps and Games] Only.Me:
If we disregard the fake reviews (hopefully not too many...), the rest can at best be a reflection of how the user's first interaction experience compared to THEIR expectation. For technically inclined users, this should result in mostly positive reviews, but in my experience most people are not very technically inclined... So most non-technical people probably expect to have to input their email address and the password (and perhaps choose some "pretty" colours). Anything more might be "complicated". Many that see the tabs full of settings that they don't understand, surely think that it is very complicated.

I'm not quite sure what the best way is to achieve a closer match between their expectations and their experience, but I am sure that it will help if you can...

Just my 2c's worth. Take it for what it is, my opinion...
[Android Apps and Games] Droidphilev:
I have to repeat what i wrote to you a very very long time ago: think about the ones who do appreciate what you do my friend! Your apps are so good that only a smaller crowd will understand.
[Android Apps and Games] andy356:
Your app is the only email client worth using on Android. If you stop updating it, we'll all have to just use a browser to access mails, sadly. So no. Your userbase is growing steadily. It will continue to grow regardless of any other factors, because the number of people who care about their privacy is growing. That is how the open source world works.

I don't know why you expect the average Play Store user with average Play Store mentality to recognise your app's worth. Keep in mind that in many countries (Myanmar comes to mind) people think Facebook IS the internet. That is an example of the general awareness level of the people you're dealing with. Preventing FairEmail from showing up in such countries is the only option to avoid that, sadly. I completely agree with your actions there.

BUT, it also excludes all those people in these countries who are beginning to, or are at various stages in the journey to, improve their privacy and security. You have the opportunity to *create* a market, if you're willing to take on such a daunting and mammoth task.

It is a fact that FairEmail's interface is more complicated than what people are used to. This is not currently an app for novice users. Most of today's apps cater to the lowest common denominator. But the reason FairEmail is complicated in many cases is to *preserve privacy*.

So this fight is difficult to win, sadly. Unless you're willing to compromise on user's privacy and security in favour of simplicity, that is.

But I sincerely believe that FairEmail can become the VLC of email clients without doing that.

The UI needs to be designed from the perspective of users who are *just not interested in or willing to learn new things* to be able to use FairEmail.

It's not enough, for example, that when you add an account there is a convenient option to add a related identity. In my experience with helping other people set up FairEmail, just SEEING that there is something called an 'account' and something called an 'identity' is enough to put people off and give it up as something complicated. Do you think these people will push ahead and try to figure things out when they realise that their emails aren't showing images?

I think at this point the best thing you could do for the UI is to get lay people around you, in your extended family, friend circle, neighborhood, to install FairEmail, and then WATCH them try to set it up and use it. Don't help them in any way. Don't tell them you created the app. Just watch where they encounter problems or seem confused. That's the best way to learn where people struggle or finally give up, and the best way to remedy those problems, IMHO.

Thanks for reading this wall of text.
[Android Apps and Games] DominatingSystem:
I've scrolled through the feedbacks in the Google play store... I don't know but you're crying on a damn high level...

Sorry, but the comments you are talking about have to be looked for. I would guess maybe a maximum of 10 with 2 stars and stupid comments.so if that makes you a bit unstable, even though they all speak well here, then you should really give up developing. if things go bad then you should listen to the regular customers who use your product. and give a **** what "5-minutes-users" say.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
Please be aware that you can't see all reviews and that 1 star ratings need to be compensated by quite some 5 star ratings to not affect the average rating. Also, badly rated apps will be downloaded a lot less, effectively killing the app.
[Android Apps and Games] nadir husain:
From where I am, FairEmail has a rating of 4.7 which is the highest of any email app on Android. I also agree that it might be your competition that is getting wary of your success and is feeding people to give bad reviews. Also, like I said before not everyone appreciates what a Mercedes Benz has to offer. This is THE Mercedes Benz of Android email apps.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
FairEmail is not available in the Play store for any African or (Eur)Asian country anymore.

You can always download the GitHub version instead.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have just released version 1.952 1.953

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases

The most visible change will be support for CSS font-weight (translated to normal/bold) and font-size (translated to small/normal/big) styles.

Please report any problem you discover, so it can be fixed.
[Android Apps and Games] mark_at:
Why this? Any reason for that?
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I am tired of low ratings like "Too expensive", "Not free", "You need to pay", etc.

Note that most features are free to use and that only a few convenience/advanced features need to be purchased.
[Android Apps and Games] mark_at:
Ah, ok. This I understand, but income in those regions are sometimes very low compared to Europe for example.

And mentality too ... everything from internet should be free.
[Android Apps and Games] fitittome:
Some (inconsiderate) person sent me a rather long e-mail (350k) formatted into html type tables (which I don't display). It displays as plain text.... eventually..... clearly straining....... and one or two ANR's. I was wondering if it would make sense to truncate these messages before display and then load the remainder as and when required.....
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
Are you using the latest version of FairEmail? I am asking because a limit of 250 KiB for formatted messages was introduced to prevent the ANRs.

Truncating would be possible, but I am not sure if this is desirable. Loading the remainder is complicated, also from the perspective of using FairEmail.

If possible, I would like to receive the raw message file of this big message for testing purposes.
[Android Apps and Games] andy356:
These are the expectations of the tech zombies who have sold their souls (data) to the devil (corporations) in exchange for meagre benefits. The devil always has the upper hand.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have just released version 1.954

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases

This version fixes a crash caused by a recent change and will pre-compute texts to prevent ANRs when rendering large texts.

Please report any problem you discover, so it can be fixed.
[Android Apps and Games] mrrocketdog:
ty :)
[Android Apps and Games] fraschi51:
Do one really need to know what 'ty' means?
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I do: thank you ;)
[Android Apps and Games] fraschi51:
Thanks for translating for me silly old man.
[Android Apps and Games] PingFlamingo:
Since the app is open source, what stops someone from editing it so that it thinks that you have paid for the Pro features, building it and distributing for free to everyone (or keeping it just for personal use)?
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
As long as the license is not being violated, this is basically allowed. However, I do not support clones.

NetGuard has been cloned quite some times, but I don't know of any successful clone because they are not being maintained and supported and therefore quickly die.

Edit: note that if some clone would become more successful than the original that I would abandon the project.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
In practice clones are never successful, so in practice there is little problem in open sourcing an app. It is already hard enough to make the original successful!

IMHO clones are always questionable because there is always a reason to clone in the first place. Therefore I would never trust and install a clone. I guess most people have enough common sense to think the same.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have just released version 1.955

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases

This version was released to fix the (Gmail) quick setup wizard, but will also truncate large messages (more than 50 KiB text) and display 'Show more ...' at the bottom, which will, when tapped, show the original message (with the usual confirmation).

This version should support client certificates for authentication, but I have no account / certificate to test this. If you can provide me with an account / certificate (maybe [MENTION=10036357]gc01[/MENTION] ?), please do.

Please report any problem you discover, so it can be fixed.
[Android Apps and Games] mrrocketdog:
[MENTION=2799345]M66B[/MENTION], v.1.955 same exact behavior on trying to setup gmail acct. tried both name and acct. name.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
The fix mention in the changelog was for something else.

To setup a Gmail account with the quick setup wizard, you should follow these steps:

Grant (accounts) permission with the top button (if not already done, else the button will be dimmed)

Enter a display name into the name field (if this was not done automatically, based on the 'me' profile)

Tap the select account button, which should show the Android dialog to select a on-device Google account

At which step are you stuck?
[Android Apps and Games] PingFlamingo:
If it's not too much to ask, it would be nice to have a table, or a list, of features that require a certain Android version or a Pro version. That list would start with Android 6, since Android 5 is the lowest version for FairMail, i.e. most of the features require Android 5 so no point in listing them.

For example:
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
All features work for all Android versions, with one notable exception: notification channels are required to setup different sounds, etc for accounts, folders and senders. So, a table is not really needed for this.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have just released version 1.956

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases

This version was released to fix evaluating the font height/weight (recently added) in some cases, sometimes resulting in an error message.

Please report any problem you discover, so it can be fixed.
[Android Apps and Games] mrrocketdog:
not "really" since i dont use gmail , but i have to click on the "wizard" button first which provides the drop down menu to select gmail.

yes grant permission button already has a check mark by it and my name is already in name field.

but underneath name field is a "select account" button. which when tapped on gives me the blinky thing.

but hey marcel if no one else is reporting an issue then its o.k. by me. like i said i dont use gmail. was just testing for you the other day.

but ..... i guess it would be 3) "select account" button.

hope some of that made sense. [emoji1]
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
Thanks for trying to help, mr Rocket Dog ;)

I am aware that the account selection dialog doesn't work properly on some devices / Android versions. Unfortunately, I cannot fix or workaround this. Actually, Huawei is looking into exactly this same issue.
[Android Apps and Games] mrrocketdog:
oh crap!!! if i go to "manage" (underneath wizard) i can add a gmail acct. just by pressing the + sign. then i choose imap and a dropdown menu appears with lots of choices including gmail.

apologies for any trouble/worry i might have caused. [emoji1]
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
You can do that, but this is different and less reliable than using the Gmail quick setup wizard.
[Android Apps and Games] mrrocketdog:
ok. well i am on stock rooted lollipop on a galaxy s4. both old like me. lol

maybe that is the issue (that you have obviously figured out) LOL

thats why some develop and some use[emoji1]
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have just released version 1.957 1.958 1.959 1.960

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases

This version was released to fix importing settings and removes pre-computed text again because there are several side effects and problems, which are not properly documented :(

This is a release candidate for the next Play store release.

Please report any problem you discover, so it can be fixed.
[Android Apps and Games] zarere:
[MENTION=2799345]M66B[/MENTION] Why this release was put in github version section? After installing it my pro features are gone.Any idea where I can find the github version?
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
My mistake (again), sorry.

Please download again and install again and the problem will be solved.
[Android Apps and Games] zarere:
Problem solved thanks for the fast fix ;)
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have just released version 1.961

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases

The plan is to release this version in the Play store at the end of this week.

Please report any problem you discover, so it can be fixed.
[Android Apps and Games] andy356:
Since we're approaching version numbers that are years of modern history, maybe you could name the releases after interesting events that happened that year. Not for each one, that seems like too much research, but maybe Play Store releases?
[Android Apps and Games] zarere:
[MENTION=2799345]M66B[/MENTION] Is there a reason the Exchange ActiveSync to be listed as a choice when creating an email.I thought that it's not supported as listed here
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
Yes, there is a specific reason for this: preventing questions and complaints. Select it and you'll understand how/why.
[Android Apps and Games] maybeme2:
I'm sorry to ask this but I've tried to find the setting to change this message display behavior and just can't find it.

Is there a way to avoid FairEmail displaying the previous message text in smaller and indented text (see attached screenshot). It's mainly the smaller font used that I would prefer FairEmail not to use.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
Is this a reformatted or original message?
[Android Apps and Games] maybeme2:
I do not know. I guess reformatted.

This is not the behaviour in all the messages. For example the XDA notification message I just received (attached) displays normally.

But, in some messages this smaller font is used. I 'think' it is used not for the main message text but for earlier text replied to.

In case it is relevant, I do not use conversation mode.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
Please send me the raw message file of the problematic message for inspection.
[Android Apps and Games] maybeme2:
Hi Marcel

I do not want to lead you astray because I'm not describing things properly.

I looked through my messages. Some display both original and earlier messages correctly. Others, like the example I sent do not. I'm still trying to find the difference in why this is happening so I don't want to waste your time. Wait till I try to see what the differences are.

---------- Post added at 12:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 PM ----------

I will do so.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have received some sample messages, thanks. They look fine in the reformatted message view, but less good in the original message view. I can't really fix this because this is mostly caused by a limited screen size.

So, use the reformatted message view instead. This is also a good example why the reformatted message view is not only safer, but also often more better readable.
[Android Apps and Games] maybeme2:
Thanks.

How do I set FairEmail to display in the reformatted view? I looked in Settings/Display and did not find a setting for that option.

Thanks again.
[Android Apps and Games] Dark_Eyes_:
[MENTION=2799345]M66B[/MENTION] it's not a big deal, but I noticed that the reply FAB doesn't show up when opening a message (when it shows downloading). Collapsing and expanding it brings it back.

It's really nothing, but I thought I'd report it.

Thanks
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
Just tap the icon top right above the message text.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
For me the reply FAB is being displayed after the message text has been downloaded.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have just released version 1.962 1.963 1.964

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases

This is mainly a maintenance release and a new candidate for the next Play store release.

I received an example message containing 11 MB HTML. I have done what I could to handle this as good as possible, but Android apps do not get enough memory to work with to be able to handle such extremely sized messages in all cases. I am really wondering why such messages are being sent because I cannot imagine that somebody is going to read millions of characters of text.

Please report any problem you discover, so it can be fixed.
[Android Apps and Games] maybeme2:
Yes, but is there a setting that makes the message display default to that view? So it is not necessary to do so manually on some messages?
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
You can view original messages by default:

per sender: this will be asked the first time you request to show an original message

always: in the privacy settings
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
The next Play store release will not be available for devices with Android 5 Lollipop anymore. The GitHub version will remain to be available for this Android version.

The reason is that there are too many crashes caused by bugs in Android for which FairEmail is being blamed.
[Android Apps and Games] mrrocketdog:
thanks for keeping "us" in.:good:
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have just released version 1.965

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases

This is mainly a maintenance release, which will be available in the Play store after Google's approval.

Please report any problem you discover, so it can be fixed.
[Android Apps and Games] TJF2:
Identity - Answer

Newbie-Question: For example, I have an account A with 2 identities A1 (main identity) and A2.

I send an email to identity A1 and want to reply. In the dialog I have the choice to set A1 or A2 as sender. I set A2 and answer with it.

The recipient receives A1 as sender.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
If you use identity A2, the settings (email address, name, signature, etc) of identity A2 will be used.

So, please double check your identity settings.

Edit: this FAQ might be relevant:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/blob/master/FAQ.md#user-content-faq33

In short: your provider must allow sending from A2 too.
[Android Apps and Games] TJF2:
Thank you. I must have made any mistake ... Great App. I've ordered the Pro :)
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I have just released version 1.966

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases

This version was released to fix text colors and will be available in the Play store after Google's approval.

Please report any problem you discover, so it can be fixed.
[Android Apps and Games] Andriy U.:
Dear Marcel,

in the versions 1.962-1.966 reply and forward emails do not automatically include the original received message.

To send reply/forward message with included original message I have to click on "Edit as plain text" or "Edit as reformatted text". It is not very comfortable. Once it has resulted in the confusion: not intended I have forwarded "empty" email. Therefore, reverting to the state as it was until v. 1.961 is very welcome.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
I wish I had know this earlier!

This has been fixed in the just released version 1.968

Download/changelog:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases
[Android Apps and Games] fraschi51:
Although in V 1.968 the answering should be repaired, it still does not work. 'Edit as Plain Text' does not use the usual quote sign ('>') like before, but the colored bar like 'Edit as reformatted text'. Also you cannot write between the quoted text what the intended behavior is and what used to work. :(
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
Please try again with the just released version 1.969 1.970 1.971

Changelog/download:

https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases
[Android Apps and Games] fraschi51:
Thanks, with V 1.969 it works as expected. :)
[Android Apps and Games] Andriy U.:
Excellent! Many thanks you for the quick fix. :good:
[Android Apps and Games] nadir husain:
Man! Do you ever sleep Marcel? :)
[Android Apps and Games] Dark_Eyes_:
[MENTION=2799345]M66B[/MENTION], I would like to request a small feature/behavior change. At the moment the new notification message goes away when marking the message as read. I think it would be more logical/natural to remove the notification when opening the message, regardless of marking it read or not.

For my use case, I have disabled marking messages as read automatically on opening messages, so even though I have opened my messages the notifications continue to pile up and I have to discard them manually. That's not very convenient.

Thanks for considering my request!
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/commit/da37da22c487fba2c182de0184c743016c395cb1
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
Some people are ungrateful and rate 1 star for too many updates :(
[Android Apps and Games] andy356:
It's an opportunity to introduce them to the gentle update cadence of the F-Droid version, I say. ;)
[Android Apps and Games] fraschi51:
An update takes at most one or two minutes - and usually contains many advantages or bug fixes.
[Android Apps and Games] M66B:
That depends on your perspective: most updates take me hours and sometimes even days. Even one changed line of code can take hours of debugging and testing. Which is why I think that rating for too many updates is ungrateful.
[Android Apps and Games] maybeme2:
You are correct.

And there are many of us who do appreciate all your excellent work.
[Android Apps and Games] fraschi51:
Oh, Marcel, of course an update takes much longer for you as an *author*, but this was about the *users* of your program who rated it so badly in the Playstore because there are so many updates. And for these users, an update installation should take no more than one or two minutes - not to mention that they can switch off the update check in the Playstore for this particular app, so that they can update manually at the appropriate intervals. It's also clear that in the event of problems, such people must of course always first be confronted with the question of whether this is also the case in the current version.