Mailpile is a pro-privacy, open source Webmail Project that has raised $100,000 so far

Mailpile is a software project that looks certain to achieve its crowdfunding goal. This pro-privacy project has started at the right moment. Mailpile is an open source webmail client designed to be run on the user’s own computer; this way they can retain control of their email data. There are no ads and its business model will start with crowdfunding, and then aim to build a community of users around the software.

Mailpile’s creators are aiming to offer an alternative to the webmail behemoths in order to give users more control over their email data, remove ads from the equation and build in security features.  If the platform gains traction, they hope to put pressure on the usual webmail suspects in order to convince them there might be a reason to care about user privacy.  Consumer webmail’s main differentiator has been the ability to access email from anywhere with an Internet connection.  A user’s local Mailpile can be made accessible over the Internet by using port forwarding or a tunneling service like PageKite.

Current designs of the Mailpile interface offer a refreshingly clean-looking interface vs all the usual proprietary webmail.  They also have some feature ideas in the pipeline, including the ability to browse photos that have been emailed like a photo album; a delay sending email feature; and inbound email sender verification.  The initial Mailpile client is being developed for Linux and Mac, but they are also planning to get it running on Windows once the project gets funded. Their goal is to get a stable first release of the software ready to go next summer. Donations for the project start at $1, but $23 or more makes you an official member of the Mailpile community.