View source for Webmail

{{Short description|Email service that can be accessed using a web browser}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[File:Roundcube 1.6.0 screenshot.png|thumb|upright=1.35|A user's email inbox at [[Roundcube]]]]
'''Webmail''' (or '''web-based email''') is an [[Email|email service]] that can be accessed using a standard [[web browser]]. It contrasts with email service accessible through a specialised [[email client|email client software]]. Additionally, many [[internet service provider]]s (ISP) provide webmail as part of their internet service package. Similarly, some [[Web hosting service|web hosting providers]] also provide webmail as a part of their hosting package.

As with any [[web application]], webmail's main advantage over the use of a [[Desktop computer|desktop]] [[email client]] is the ability to send and receive email anywhere from a web browser.

== History ==

=== Early implementations ===

The first Web Mail implementation was developed at [[CERN]] in 1993 by [[Phillip Hallam-Baker]]<ref>{{cite newsgroup |last=Hallam-Baker |first=Phillip |author-link=Phillip Hallam-Baker |date=1994-03-09 |df=mdy |title=Announcing alpha test of PTG MAIL-DAEMON server |url=https://groups.google.com/g/comp.archives/c/vpWqUAmg8xU/m/B8bHirYC7EUJ|access-date=2022-03-22 |newsgroup=comp.archives |website=[[Google Groups]]}}</ref> as a test of the HTTP protocol stack, but was not developed further. In the next two years, however, several people produced working webmail applications.

In Europe, there were three implementations, Søren Vejrum's "WWW Mail",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vejrum.dk/www-mail/|title=www-mail page frame-placeholder for www_mail.htm}}</ref> Luca Manunza's "WebMail",<ref>Pinna, Alberto, [http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1999/dicembre/28/Soru_incontro_con_Rubbia_cosi_co_0_99122810441.shtml "Soru: un incontro con Rubbia, così nacque il web in Sardegna"], Corriere della Sera, December 28, 1999 (in Italian).</ref><ref>Ferrucci, Luca, [http://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk/events/pisa03/ferrucci.pdf "The ICT in Sardinia: Startup and evolution"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029035730/http://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk/events/pisa03/ferrucci.pdf |date=October 29, 2008 }}</ref> and Remy Wetzels' "WebMail".<ref>Internet Archive, [https://web.archive.org/web/19970424063155/http://dse.nl/wm/ "DSE Webmail"]</ref> Søren Vejrum's "WWW Mail" was written when he was studying and working at the [[Copenhagen Business School]] in Denmark, and was released on February 28, 1995.<ref>comp.internet.net-happenings, [http://scout.wisc.edu/Projects/PastProjects/NH/95-03/95-03-06/0017.html "ANNOUNCE: WWW Mail Client 1.00"], February 28, 1995.</ref> Luca Manunza's "WebMail" was written while he was working at [[CRS4]] in Sardinia, from an idea of Gianluigi Zanetti, with the first source release on March 30, 1995.<ref>comp.internet.net-happenings, [http://scout.wisc.edu/Projects/PastProjects/NH/95-03/95-03-30/0009.html WebMail – Source code release], March 30, 1995.</ref> Remy Wetzels' "WebMail" was written while he was studying at the [[Eindhoven University of Technology]] in the Netherlands for the DSE<ref>Digitale Stad Eindhoven [http://www.dse.nl/ "Digitale Stad Eindhoven"]</ref><ref>De Digitale Stad on Wikipedia [[:nl:Digitale Stad|De Digitale Stad (in Dutch)]]</ref> and was released early January 1995.

In the [[United States]], Matt Mankins wrote "Webex",<ref name=Webex>comp.mail.misc, [http://groups.google.com/group/comp.mail.misc/browse_thread/thread/768d2656998ad4fa/21742f28d6e9af3f Webex Announcement], August 8, 1995.</ref><ref name=note01 group=Note/> and Bill Fitler, while at [[cc:Mail|Lotus cc:Mail]], began working on an implementation which he demonstrated publicly at [[Lotusphere]] on January 24, 1995.<ref>Lotusphere 95 Presentation, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NeM2h4CSZs "cc:Mail Mobile's Next Generation"], January 24, 1995.</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Barney |first=Doug |date=1995-02-06 |title=Lotus cc:Mail to get better server, mobile access |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sToEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 |access-date=2024-04-20 |magazine=InfoWorld |page=8 |volume=17 |issue=6 |issn=0199-6649}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=InformationWeek, serving the information needs of the Business Technology Community |url=https://www.informationweek.com/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=InformationWeek |language=en}}</ref> Matt Mankins, under the supervision of Dr. Burt Rosenberg at the [[University of Miami]],<ref>Miami.edu, [http://www.cs.miami.edu/~burt/papers/cv-mia-18.pdf CV, Dr. Burton Rosenberg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615002105/http://www.cs.miami.edu/~burt/papers/cv-mia-18.pdf |date=June 15, 2010 }}</ref> released his "Webex" application source code in a post to comp.mail.misc on August 8, 1995,<ref name=Webex/> although it had been in use as the primary email application at the School of Architecture where Mankins worked for some months prior.

Bill Fitler's webmail implementation was further developed as a commercial product, which Lotus announced and released in the fall of 1995 as ''cc:Mail for the World Wide Web 1.0''; thereby providing an alternative means of accessing a cc:Mail message store (the usual means being a cc:Mail desktop application that operated either via dialup or within the confines of a local area network).<ref>Network World, [https://books.google.com/books?id=lA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 "Lotus readies cc:Mail-Web hooks"], [https://books.google.com/books?id=lA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA55 (part 2)], September 4, 1995, pp. 1, 55.</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Davis |first=Jessica |date=1995-10-02 |title=cc:Mail users will get E-mail through Web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XDoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12 |access-date=2024-04-20 |magazine=InfoWorld |page=12 |volume=17 |issue=40 |issn=0199-6649}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lw8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10 |title=Network World |date=1995-10-02 |publisher=IDG Network World Inc |language=en}}</ref>

Early commercialization of webmail was also achieved when "Webex" began to be sold by Mankins' company, DotShop, Inc., at the end of 1995. Within DotShop, "Webex" changed its name to "EMUmail"; which would be sold to companies like UPS and Rackspace until its sale to Accurev in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emumail.com/company/press_article_013.html|title=EMUmail website|access-date=June 29, 2010|archive-date=September 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924080650/http://www.emumail.com/company/press_article_013.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> EMUmail was one of the first applications to feature a free version that included embedded advertising, as well as a licensed version that did not.

[[Hotmail]] and [[RocketMail|Four11's RocketMail]] both launched in 1996 as free services and immediately became very popular.<ref name=freedom>{{cite web |url=http://4to40.com/legends/print.asp?id=131 |title=Sabeer Bhatiya : The founder of "Hotmail.com" |publisher=4to40.com |access-date=2009-11-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210043942/http://4to40.com/legends/print.asp?id=131 |archive-date=February 10, 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Widespread deployment ===
As the 1990s progressed, and into the 2000s, it became more common for the general public to have access to webmail because:

* many [[Internet service provider]]s (such as [[EarthLink]]) and [[web hosting service|web hosting providers]] (such as [[Verio]]) began bundling webmail into their service offerings (often in parallel with [[Post Office Protocol|POP]]/[[Simple Mail Transfer Protocol|SMTP]] services);
* many other enterprises (such as universities and large corporations) also started offering webmail as a way for their user communities to access their email (either locally managed or outsourced);
* [[comparison of webmail providers|webmail service providers]] (such as [[Outlook.com|Hotmail]] and [[RocketMail]]) emerged in 1996 as a free service to the general public, and rapidly gained in popularity.

In some cases, webmail application software is developed in-house by the organizations running and managing the application, and in some cases it is obtained from software companies that develop and sell such applications, usually as part of an integrated mail server package (an early example being [[Oracle Communications Messaging Server|Netscape Messaging Server]]<ref>Oracle, [http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19079-01/nscp.mes.svr415/816-6055-10/relnotes.html Cnet Archive - Release Notes: Netscape Messaging Server 4.15]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://reviews.cnet.com/e-mail/netscape-messaging-server-corporate/1707-3536_7-30581859.html|title=Netscape Messaging Server Corporate Edition ( v. 4.15 ) - media and documentation set Overview}}</ref>). The market for webmail application software has [[comparison of mail servers|continued into the 2010s]].

== Rendering and compatibility ==
Email users may find the use of both a webmail client and a desktop client using the [[POP3]] protocol presents some difficulties. For example, email messages that are downloaded by the desktop client and are removed from the server will no longer be available on the webmail client. The user is limited to previewing messages using the web client before they are downloaded by the desktop email client. However, one may choose to leave the emails on the server, in which case this problem does not occur. The use of both a webmail client and a desktop client using the [[IMAP4]] protocol allows the contents of the mailbox to be consistently displayed in both the webmail and desktop clients and any action the user performs on messages in one interface will be reflected when the email is accessed via the other interface. There are significant differences in rendering capabilities for many popular webmail services such as [[Gmail]], [[Outlook.com]] and [[Yahoo! Mail]]. Due to the varying treatment of [[HTML]] tags, such as <style> and <head>, as well as [[CSS]] rendering inconsistencies, [[email marketing]] companies rely on older [[web development]] techniques to send [[cross-platform]] mail. This usually means a greater reliance on tables and inline stylesheets.

Microsoft Windows applications by default create email messages via [[MAPI]]. Several vendors produce tools to provide a MAPI interface to webmail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joonis.de/mapi4webmail|title=MAPI Extension for Webmail accounts - joonis.de|access-date=January 1, 2012|archive-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826210647/https://order.shareit.com/product?productid=300431267|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.affixa.com/ Affixa] (Creating messages directly from Windows applications via MAPI)</ref>

== Privacy concerns ==
{{Main|Email privacy}}
Although emails stored [[Encryption|unencrypted]] on any service provider's servers can be read by that service provider, specific concerns have been raised regarding webmail services that automatically analyze the contents of users' emails for the purpose of [[targeted advertising]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3602745.stm |work=BBC News |title=Google's Gmail sparks privacy row |date=April 5, 2004 |access-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://advertising.microsoft.com/uk/hotmail-advertising|title=Hotmail Advertising|work=Microsoft|access-date=July 6, 2011|archive-date=October 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002235314/http://advertising.microsoft.com/uk/hotmail-advertising|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=GmailAds>{{cite web |url=http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6603 |title=How Gmail Ads work |work=Google |access-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref> At least two such services, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail, give users the option to opt out of targeted advertising.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/yahoo-forces-mail-update-you-can-opt-out-ad-targeting-f6C10167273|title=Yahoo forces mail update (but you can opt out of ad targeting) - NBC News|newspaper=NBC News|access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref>

Webmail that is accessed over unsecured HTTP may be readable by a third party who has access to the data transmission, such as over an unsecured [[Wi-Fi]] connection. This may be avoided by connecting to the webmail service via [[HTTPS]], which encrypts the connection.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://gmail.googleblog.com/2008/07/making-security-easier.html|title=Making security easier|newspaper=Official Gmail Blog|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref> Gmail has supported HTTPS since launch<ref name=":0" /> and in 2014 began requiring it for all webmail connections.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/staying-at-forefront-of-email-security.html|title=Staying at the forefront of email security and reliability: HTTPS-only and 99.978 percent availability|website=Official Google Blog|date=March 20, 2014 |access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref> Yahoo! Mail added the option to connect over HTTPS in 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/01/08/yahoo-mail-https-ssl/|title=Using Yahoo Mail? You should turn on this privacy option as soon as possible|date=2013-01-08|website=Naked Security|access-date=2017-01-04|archive-date=January 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105083239/https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/01/08/yahoo-mail-https-ssl/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and made HTTPS required in 2014.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/yahoo-enables-default-https-encryption-for-yahoo-mail/|title=Yahoo enables default HTTPS encryption for Yahoo Mail|newspaper=CNET|access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://yahoomail.tumblr.com/post/72588816144/https-now-default-in-yahoo-mail|title=HTTPS Now Default in Yahoo Mail|newspaper=Yahoo Mail|access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref>

== See also ==
<!-- New links, please in alphabetical order -->
* [[Comparison of email clients]]
* [[Comparison of mail servers]]
* [[Comparison of webmail providers]]
* [[Email hosting service]]
* [[Hybrid mail]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=Note|refs=
<ref name=note01>No relation to [[Cisco Webex]].</ref>
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Webmail| ]]
[[Category:Web applications|email]]
[[Category:Email clients]]