 | |
| Original author(s) | Jesse Vincent |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | MZLA Technologies Corporation, Christian Ketterer |
| Initial release | 27 October 2008; 16 years ago (2008-10-27) |
| Stable release | 8.2 / 10 December 2024; 3 months ago (10 December 2024) |
| Repository | |
| Written in | Java,Kotlin |
| Operating system | Android |
| Type | Email application |
| License | Apache License 2.0 |
| Website | k9mail |
K-9 Mail is afree and open sourceemail client forAndroid. It is designed as an alternative to the stock email clients included with the platform; it supports bothPOP3 andIMAP protocols and supportsIMAP IDLE for real-time notifications. The project is named after theDoctor Who characterK9.[1]
The source code was first published to its git repository on October 27, 2008[2] byJesse Vincent and the first binaries were released to the public on the Google Code site the same month.[3]
In 2015 the project received $86,000 of funding from theOpen Technology Fund.[4]
On 13 June 2022, it was announced that K-9 Mail had been taken over byMZLA Technologies Corporation, a subsidiary of theMozilla Foundation with current maintainer Christian Ketterer joining the team, and plans for K-9 Mail to be rebranded asThunderbird 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.[5]
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.[6][7] At the time, it was a leading alternative Android app, often recommended[8] 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.[9]
