What are chatmail servers and how to select one?
Chatmail servers are optimized for messaging with Delta Chat to provide a privacy-preserving and speedy user experience, securely interoperable with chatmail and classic e-mail servers. Tap a chatmail server link to see the home page and then tap the QR invite code there:
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nine.testrun.org is the default onboarding chatmail server for Delta Chat apps and has been stable since the December 2023 Chatmail announcement.
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mehl.cloud is geared towards German speaking users and has been stable since January 2024.
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mailchat.pl is geared towards Polish speaking users and has been stable since January 2024.
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bcc.chat operates in the US and has been stable since February 2024.
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chatmail.woodpeckersnet.space is geared towards Italian speaking users and has been stable since May 2024.
All chatmail servers are operated by different groups and people. The nine.testrun.org default server is operated by core Delta Chat team members.
Can i also use a regular e-mail server instead of chatmail?
Yes, many users successfully use regular e-mail servers especially if they want to handle their regular e-mail communications with Delta Chat. See the provider database for options. Note that Delta Chat has multi-account support so it’s fine to have one account configured with your regular e-mail address, and another account for chatting.
How are chatmail servers different from e-mail servers?
Chatmail servers are minimal e-mail servers designed for speed, security and convenience:
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Convenience: Onboard automatically in a few seconds and receive push notifications
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Privacy: No questions asked, no name, numbers or e-mail needed
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Speed: Message delivery in well under a second, end-to-end
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Reliability: No annoying spam-checking or rate-limits
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Security: Outbound messages are required to be end-to-end encrypted, incoming messages are strictly checked for authenticity.
How trustable are chatmail servers?
Each chatmail server provides additional privacy information on their web page. Typically, a chatmail server only processes encrypted messages and implements automatic, unconditional message deletion after at most 20 days.
Delta Chat provides guaranteed end-to-end encryption which means that in most use cases, server operators can never read your messages even if they try, a guarantee backed up by a recent security analysis from ETH Zuerich.
How are chatmail servers run? Can i run one myself?
All chatmail servers are automatically deployed and updated using the public chatmail development repository. Chatmail servers are composed of proven standard e-mail server components, Postfix and Dovecot, and configured to run unattended and to require very low maintenance effort. Chatmail servers happily run on low-end hardware like a Raspberry Pi.
How are chatmail servers funded?
Chatmail servers are designed to be very cheap to run, and they are generally self-funded by the operators. Please see the front page of each chatmail server for further information.
To support chatmail development and the running of the default onboarding server you are very welcome to chip in.