SOLVED Mailbird: Severe Security Criticism

[Stevekir]

Having tried many email programs I have settled on Mailbird because it is very simple, very easy to use and set up, and does everything I want. I never send sensitive info by email. However, a reviewer (Mateo Spinelli) investigated how safe a user's info. would be and was very critical indeed. Have a look at:

http://cubiq.org/the-best-email-clients-for-windows-2016

Also, Mailbird's assurances at:

http://www.getmailbird.com/how-secure-is-mailbird/

I have switched off "Share performance and usage data" in my Mailbird.

Generally speaking, without considering Mailbird or the company itself:​

1. How serious are security criticisms such as these, assuming they are valid; and

2. Considering them generally, do such criticisms seem exaggerated?

3. On 2, how likely is it that an established program freely available on the Internet could get away with selling such apparently insecure software? If it was really so insecure, wouldn't some other sources (CNET, blogs, warnings against Mailbird on this forum, etc.) have by now blackened its name and effectively forced it to be withdrawn?​

Looking for opinions. Thanks.

 

[Tim Locke]

I have been using Thunderbird for years...started when I was using Ubuntu rather than Windows ( long story) as as it ported all my saved mail to Windows perfectly from Xp->7->10 I keep using it.

I tried Mailbird just a couple of weeks ago, didn't like it...dunno why...just didn't feel right and carried on with T'bird.

SO I have no meaningful opinion on your questions

 

[Christin]

Hey Steve,
my name is Christin and I am part of Mailbird.
I just saw your post above and would love to hear more about your concerns.

From our point of view, I would like to share the following:
1. We have been in touch with Matteo a long, long time ago. We worked with him on improving and addressing the concerns he mentioned. Unfortunately, his post was not updated as we were hoping for.

2. It seems people understand from the post that we are going through our user's emails.
Well, I can assure you, we are not. Even if we wanted to (which we really don't) we couldn't. The emails are not going through our server and neither are they saved on our server! The emails are staying on the user's computer or their server depending on whether you are using POP3 or IMAP.

3. The data collected has never been given to any third party companies. Any data collected is only for us to understand our user's behavior. Nothing else than that

May I ask you, are you using Google or Gmail? Are you not concerned about your privacy using those services? I mean they have even stated that they are sharing the data collected with third-party apps and websites.

How come it is not a "severe concern" for you then? Please, do not get me wrong, I am really not trying to be smart about it. I am trying to understand what exactly makes the big difference to you as a user.
Why do you feel unsafe using Mailbird for example, but not Google?

I would love to hear your feedback as I want to learn how we can communicate it better to our users to feel more safe about using Mailbird.

So, any feedback from you would be highly appreciated. You can also send me an email to cb (at) getmailbird (dot) com and we can discuss it in more detail

In the meantime have a wonderful Monday
Christin

 

[Stevekir]

Fair enough. It is interesting that my post, with one non-Mailbird comment, hardly created a storm of recommendations to not use Mailbird. in fact, Trouble, a moderator, liked your message. I suspected that Matteo's criticisms were rather exaggerated. I am now no more concerned about security at Mailbird than I am at gmail and google (both of which I use), in fact considerably less so.

As far as general security is concerned, my use of the Internet is less intensive than many users. The greatest serious vulnerabilities for most people are probably Internet banking which I don't do, and the use of a credit card where I steer clear of possibly doubtful sites where I can. Paypal (also ebay) are probably safer than giving out credit card numbers and the magic number to unknown sites.

Spam is another vulnerability but more of a nuisance than causing loss. I have a special email address which I use for sites which might spam me, but I get negligible spam and can destroy that address from time-to-time. We don't have small (or big) children except occasionally.

So that's my view. If anyone else has thoughts, please post here. I'm sorry if I publicised info that smirches your name. I really like the simplicity and elegance of Mailbird.

 

[Christin]

That's fine, Steve.
Thanks very much for your opinion and feedback, we really appreciate it

Have a wonderful day and let me know if you should come across any more questions.

 

[rkndee]

Thanks Christin for info Question why does mailbird say it will delete everything at email imported from
thanks, Dee

 

[Grizzly]

Thanks Christin for info Question why does mailbird say it will delete everything at email imported from
thanks, Dee

You are aware that this thread is almost three years old??