Thunderbird for iOS
Mirrored from Hacker News — AI on Front Page for archival readability. Support the source by reading on the original site.
Thunderbird for iOS: A First Look at the Native iPhone Email App in Development
The team has been working hard behind the scenes laying a strong foundation for the Thunderbird iOS app. Rather than leveraging existing code, we are building natively from scratch. This fresh start allows us to take everything we’ve learned from Thunderbird Desktop and Android to ensure a fast, reliable, and modern experience on your iPhone right from the start.
Our ultimate goal is seamless cross-device experience. Whether you’re sitting at your desktop computer, checking messages on the go, your workflow should feel effortless and unified.
Right now, we are focused heavily on getting the core foundations right. We are excited about the momentum because having clean architecture today means we can layer on exciting new features much faster in the future.
Below we’ve captured some of our work in progress. Nothing is final, but we wanted to share what we are cooking up so far. If you have feedback, keep reading on. At the bottom of the post we have a link to a user research study where we want to hear from you and what you want to see from Thunderbird for iOS.
Hassle-free setup
We know people are really busy, often doing more than one thing at a time. We’re making login fast, secure, and fully automatic, so whether you’re signing in with a single click or setting up multiple accounts, you can get to your inbox quickly.
Solid reliable connections
An email app is only as good as its connection. Behind the scenes, we’re building a background sync that maintains a steady connection with your provider that keeps your inbox up to date while respecting your battery life.
Core daily tools
Your daily email routine should feel effortless. We’re polishing the essentials: a clutter-free, easy-to-read inbox layout paired with a clean, modern editor that lets you format messages smoothly without getting in your way.
Designed for growth
Thunderbird has always belonged to its community. We’re structuring the app with clean code and an experimental feature flag system so it’s easy for community developers to contribute. This means power users will be able to test out new experimental features early, and external contributors can easily help us extend what the app can do.
When can you try it?
Our goal is to have a first version ready for community testing in the next few months.
Building with our community, not just for people, is core to what we are trying to do. To help us decide what to build next after our first release, we’d love your input. If you had to pick the top three things that matter most to your daily email routine, what would they be?
➡️ Survey link
Update: the survey has now closed. Thanks to all that responded!
A note to the community
Lastly, we know how long many of you have been asking for and waiting for Thunderbird on iOS. Whether you’ve dropped a comment on our forums, tagged us on social media, or simply kept an eye on our progress, thank you for your patience!
Bringing Thunderbird to iPhone and iPad isn’t just about building an app; it’s about doing it right so it serves you reliably for years to come. Today, we want to pop open the hood, share where we are, and work with everyone to design the best possible experience.
30 responses
Paolo Matafora wrote on October 2, 2026 at 01:24
Grazie di tutto per quello che fate
Reply
Ma fate presto la situazione attuale di altre app per posta è tragica compresa mail di Apple
Momentaneamente ho risolto utilizzando un secondo cellulare con Android con app Thunderbird …..quasi perfetta
Daniel Oakley wrote on October 2, 2026 at 13:51
I would like to beta test Thunderbird for Apple iOS, iPhone.
I downloaded the TestFlight app from the App Store. It asks me to Redeem, but I don’t have an invitation.
Would you please email me the proper steps to install TestFlight and Thunderbird for iOS, with an invitation.
Thank you, Daniel
Reply
Ashwin Rohit Alagiri Rajan wrote on October 2, 2026 at 15:19
Please use native components for everything and focus on attention to detail in UI such as padding, sizing, contrast, etc.
Reply
Waseem wrote on October 2, 2026 at 22:33
Can’t wait to try it. Add the support for Proton in it.
Reply
Kai wrote on October 3, 2026 at 04:54
Thanks for the update! I really am excited to try it out soon.
P.s.: Also a feature that I would love to see are fully fledged e-mail signatures (images, text, html).
Reply
Dean Zeuthen McCrae wrote on October 3, 2026 at 05:12
What does it provide that the existing iPhone email client does not? Also, can you use the Apple Mail service with it, I.e. @icloud.com addresses?
Reply
Aly Blenkin wrote on October 7, 2026 at 08:34
Our focus is on total privacy, so no tracking or data collection. In the future, integration with desktop (QR code account sync, etc) probably. And yes, Apple mail accounts (icloud.com, mac.com, me.com) all work via a standard IMAP with a password. (Apple currently doesn’t offer an OAuth service.)
Reply
Tony Reidsma wrote on October 3, 2026 at 08:49
I use T.bird with lots of tags to help me visualize what is urgent. Will the iOS version sync those tags from the computer and visa versa?
Reply
Rene wrote on October 4, 2026 at 23:55
I like having the same apps on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android—and I’m very happy to finally have them on iOS, too. I also recommend Thunderbird to my friends. Thanks, and greetings from Central Switzerland.
Reply
Peter wrote on October 5, 2026 at 00:40
In what language are you programming?
I failed to access your survey.
Reply
Aly Blenkin wrote on October 6, 2026 at 06:46
The application is coded in Swift, using SwiftUI for for views. As an email application with a reliance on web interfaces, there are portions of it that rely on snippets of Java, HTML, and other languages, but these are quite minimal. If you look at our GitHub repository (https://github.com/thunderbird/thunderbird-ios) you can see that %98.9 of the application is Swift/SwiftUI.
Sorry you missed the research survey link! We will do more in the near future.
Reply
Nour wrote on October 5, 2026 at 01:49
Hi, the android Thunderbird mobile app shows all email accounts in one folder and is very confusing!
Reply
is it possible to view each email account in a separate folder? thank you
Jeffrey Brown wrote on October 5, 2026 at 11:37
Iphone has been the LEADING mobile device for years, blowing android devices out of the water. Yet, you decide to develop Thunderbird for Androids first. This I do not understand. At all. IOS users have been waiting and waiting and waiting for this while a less popular device gets all your attention. I simply do not get that.
Be that as it may, I just one thing for me and ALL THE IOS USERS…. HURRY UP! Thank you! I think. :).
Reply
Tens wrote on October 6, 2026 at 05:32
Can’t wait for it on my iPad. Using Thunderbird on my Android Phone, Linux and Mac OS.
Reply
Aly Blenkin wrote on October 6, 2026 at 07:28
Thanks so much for all the excitement everyone and for taking the time to give us feedback in the research survey. I’ll aim to share an update with the findings and the design decisions we are making based on your feedback in the next few weeks.
Reply
Janßen, Dieter wrote on October 7, 2026 at 09:13
Für September u . Oktober haben Sie jeweils 21,60€ abgzogen,Wofür. Ich habe nichts in Aufrat gegeben.Bitte um Rücküberweisung, andernfals schalte ich einen Rechtsanwalt ein.
Reply
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
D.J.
Canon wrote on October 7, 2026 at 16:56
Please include a feature to set an app-specific PIN or passcode in Thunderbird for iOS. In my opinion, this extra layer of protection is necessary because there are some accounts or apps using email as password reset. Otherwise, if others know the iOS passcode, they can easily check the emails associated those accounts or apps, then resetting their passwords.
Reply
Ethan wrote on October 8, 2026 at 07:29
Is the team planning to incorporate the calendar and tasks component of Thunderbird desktop as well? I love having everything in one place, and not being able to have my calendar sync from my desktop app to my phone has been the only disappointment of switching to Thunderbird last year.
Reply
Blake Hall wrote on October 8, 2026 at 08:26
Thanks to the entire team for your efforts.
Reply
I have used Thunderbird for years. I have used several others and Thunderbird is head and shoulders the best!
I switched to IOS for my primary phone a year ago and it has been a challenge to find an alternative that doesn’t suck. (sorry, that is how I feel!)
I expect you have lots of testers, but if you need another, I would be glad to assist. I have a Iphone 17 and have ordered a new iPhone 18 and should have it in a few week. I will keep both phones, and can use one exclusively for testing email.
Marshall Feldman wrote on October 8, 2026 at 09:52
Thanks for taking this on, and I appreciate the progress you are making.
This said, I hate to propose more work, but please aim for seamless integration of the IOS version(s) with the MacOS version. I’m especially concerned about the Lightning calendar, which I use alongside email every day. I’d like it to integrate with Apple’s calendar app(s). If I were planning the development process, I’d set up a separate team to work on integrating the Apple Calendar to match how the Lightning calendar integrates with the MacOS version.
Reply
Franck wrote on October 11, 2026 at 23:28
Looking forward for its availability !
Tag synchronisation , desktop / app would be a game changer for me.
Will it be possible ?Franck
Reply
HanivisuTechnologie wrote on October 12, 2026 at 22:21
Thanks for amazing information. Digital Marketing Agency in Hyderabad
Reply
Discussion (0)
Sign in to join the discussion. Free account, 30 seconds — email code or GitHub.
Sign in →No comments yet. Sign in and be the first to say something.