After the recent update of Delta Chat on Android, it showed the message that the option to move e-mails automatically to the Delta Chat folder will be removed.
After reading the support page, I wonder if I’ll be able to continue using Delta Chat like I did before. For me, it was a way to stay in touch with people with whom I don’t share other communication systems than e-mail. Since I refuse to use WhatsApp and other centralised services, and many contacts don’t want to bother with setting up XMPP, Delta Chat has been a great middle ground. I can have a chat interface which makes it easier to write casual messages, and my contacts can use their existing accounts and apps. Since I mention Delta Chat in my signature, some of them even installed the app and use it to write to me.
Now the support page suggests that if I want to get rid of the encrypted mails that are now polluting the inbox, I should switch to a Chatmail server. But this would mean that my contacts can’t just use their regular apps anymore to write e-mails to me, wouldn’t it? Because Chatmail enforces encryption and this is rarely used, at least by my contacts, outside of Delta Chat.
Does this mean that my use case, which I perceived as the main selling point of Delta Chat in the early days (no need to create yet another account, no need for installing yet another app), isn’t possible anymore?
Do you use Delta Chat for encrypted messaging at all, or only for unencrypted messaging?
If you only use it for unencrypted messaging, then you don’t need to add any relay to your existing profile or change anything about it other than disabling “move to DeltaChat folder” option.
I’d also add a second profile for encrypted messaging on a dedicated address (could be on the same server with “Create new profile” → “Use other server” → “Use classic email as relay” if you don’t want to use chatmail) and use it in case you want to get in contact with someone using DeltaChat, join encrypted chats etc.
If you were setting up from scratch, currently recommended setup is having two profiles:
one for unencrypted messaging, e.g. if you want to use Delta Chat to get notifications about emails, quick replies, getting one-time authentication codes and password reset messages
one for encrypted chatting on a dedicated email address. Does not need to be chatmail, you can also create a new email address on the same provider you use if you want.
If you already have an existing setup with mixed usage in a single profile then how to migrate to setup with two separate profiles depends on how you use existing profile. Use a Dedicated Chat Profile - Delta Chat assumes that you mostly use Delta Chat for encrypted chatting and this is why it suggests moving existing profile to chatmail relay.
The other option is to do what that page suggests, migrate existing profile to chatmail or a dedicated address (How to migrate your profile to another relay (version 2.33) now has a footnote about migrating to non-chatmail address if you don’t like chatmail for some reason) and create a new profile on the old address, but then this new profile will have no history of your email chats as it will remain in the “encrypted chatting” profile.
What is the best option depends on how you use Delta Chat now.
Unencrypted chats with people who use their regular mail app
Encrypted chats with people who installed Delta Chat, and use it with their regular e-mail address like I do
Encrypted chats with people who installed Delta Chat, and later switched to a Chatmail server
Creating another profile for encrypted chats sounds good. However, I still have two questions:
Does it really not matter if my encrypted chat profile is on a standard server or a Chatmail one? I’m worried that Chatmail isn’t compatible with standard servers. One contact recently switched to Chatmail, sent me an invitation link (to my mixed-use address), and the new chat is stuck at “establishing connection, please wait”
Is there a way to automatically notify my encrypted chat contacts about my new address? I thought about adding it as a relay to my original profile, but I suppose that also the unencrypted chat contacts will be notified when they write to me. And if I understood correctly, the new address will always be used when I write to someone, even unencrypted chat contacts
Unencrypted chats with people who use their regular mail app
Encrypted chats with people who installed Delta Chat, and use it with their regular e-mail address like I do
Encrypted chats with people who installed Delta Chat, and later switched to a Chatmail server
Creating another profile for encrypted chats sounds good. However, I still have two questions:
Does it really not matter if my encrypted chat profile is on a standard server or a Chatmail one? I’m worried that Chatmail isn’t compatible with standard servers. One contact recently switched to Chatmail, sent me an invitation link (to my mixed-use address), and the new chat is stuck at “establishing connection, please wait”
Is there a way to automatically notify my encrypted chat contacts about my new address? I thought about adding it as a relay to my original profile, but I suppose that also the unencrypted chat contacts will be notified when they write to me. And if I understood correctly, the new address will always be used when I write to someone, even unencrypted chat contacts
It really should not matter. Chatmail/relay servers are Keymail, and only handle encrypted e-mail, but other than that they are fully interoperable. I do not know why you are stuck.
Switch your profile’s default sending address to the new address. If they have a recent client, it will happen automatically; in older clients I think it might show as a new contact.