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Ask HN: PGP on the iPhone/Android Holy Grail?

2 pointsby phunelabout 15 years ago
Is there anyone in the HN community currently tackling the development problem for encrypted mail on a mobile device? The GnuPG support via Enigmail on Thunderbird would, it seems, be the obvious model to implement.<p>I doubt I am the only one who has a genuine need for sending/receiving encrypted messages. I travel worldwide extensively and often my iPhone is the only reliable internet connection available. I carry a laptop, but often leave it behind if I'm going somewhere for only a few days.<p>Lately I've been using only a notebook (the analog kind), a pen, and an iPhone and the setup is minimalist and very effective for me - and in turn my laptop increasingly feels burdensome, as when I receive encrypted messages from my company or development team, I have to race back to wherever my laptop is to decrypt and respond. In the worst case scenario, I have to find an internet connection for the laptop as well (I understand I can jailbreak, etc. the iPhone to tether the connection, but the instability for my main business phone just isn't worth it yet - and isn't really the focus of this post).<p>I realize there are some inherent security flaws in using a mobile device for encrypted mails, with your encryption keys being held on the easily lost device - yet I'd rather use some system, and a system I had control of at that, versus say hushmail.<p>Anyone working on this? Anyone heard of anyone working on this? Is there any hope for this happening on the iPhone? An encryption app, or system that was as easily integrated as Thunderbird/Enigmail? Or on Android? I'd be willing to toss out my Apple phone for an Android phone if this became available. I'd also have no problem paying dearly for such an app.

1 comment

drKarlabout 15 years ago
I've done a search for pgp in the Android Market and found 2 applications: PGP Manager and APG. The first one costs 1,90€ although there is a free demo, and the second one is free.