IssueTracker

It's not planned at the moment.

Perhaps it should be.  This is one of the last reasons why many government related users still have to use blackberry.  Why not capture that market before apple.

iPhone already have this feature ;)

Why indeed.

I work for a SaaS mail provider, and we currently can't use android phones because of bugs on the mail client with S/MIME. We have to use iPhones and ask our customers to use it.

Is it possible to participate in the android email client development? can i create a patch or release a patched version of the original client? i am interested in adding s/mime support to the android email client

We have always accepted high-quality patches via AOSP; it's important, though, that these patches meet our licensing standards (including nothing GPL).

Would seem like a good idea to plan / work on adding this to Android - why
allow Apple to gain a foothold in the government / corporate email area
even more than they already have.  Without S/MIME we simply cannot use
Android devices 'as is' for secure work.

I second the comment by robert.gladstone.  In both the phone and tablet markets, many government-related users are choosing Apple iOS devices over Android devices, for the sole reason of built-in S/MIME support in email. For many users in this space, S/MIME is the default for email, not a rarely-used feature.

Please add S/MIME support to AOSP, Android 4.1+... Thanks!

+1 guys, I mean, how is this not a priority? Unbelievable..

I'm a Android phone user from China Mainland, and I think the s/mime support is very important for us. The Blackberry and Iphone already have s/mime supports. I love Google, I love android, Please,Please add s/mime support to Android 4.1+, Thanks a Lot!

I head IT for a medium sized company.  Our employees are required to use S/MIME encryption for all email communications.  Accordingly, our workforce must use either iPhones (which have supported S/MIME for several generations of IOS) or TouchDown on Android phones.  Given that one of those options offers native support while the other requires an additional purchase with an outdated user experience, you can guess which way we lean.  C'mon, Google - this is an easy one.  You should have been supporting this for years.

S/MIME is a MUST for a lot of people. Perhaps it does not matter for the mainstream user, but for those who care, it's a must. Please reconsider and add support for S/MIME.

S/MIME is currently supported by iOS 5+, Windows Mobile (6), Blackberry (with Enterprise-Deployment BES, individual user support is planned).

Microsoft announced to deliver S/MIME support into Windows Phone Mobile (8) http://www.infoq.com/news/2013/07/wp-8-vpn-smime 

Here is a list of corporations and institutions in Germanay that operate a PKI and/or use S/MIME within there internal and external (usually b2b) communication: https://gist.github.com/rmoriz/5945400#file-smime-md

It would be a huge step forward if Android could support this. I think general S/MIME support and reach in MUAs was never as good as today and we may have a historical chance to finally bring end-to-end-encryption to the masses! Thank you!

Is there anything new? I don't see anything s/mime related in Android 4.3 yet.
The absolute minimum would be possibility to import s/mime certificates into android system and add support to GMail native application to decrypt using these certificates.

And at that Time the most the code is open sourced the best it is ( really open sourced - i mean buildable )

Changed job and can not read messages on the phone, because customers use S/MIME encryption. Pretty sad. My Mail on Android is broken...

I offer myself as a tester to the S/MIME development. I totally agree with all comments above. I am a user of Android phone in our company, but unfortunately am not able to use the native Android mail app to decrypt/encrypt S/MIME messages. Any roadmap for this?

Anybody eager to start separate development?

[Comment deleted]

Unfortunately, still no native S/MIME integration in 4.3
It's a cramp to rely 3rd Party mail clients (PAID-APPS!), which have S/MIME support but therefore with tons of other bugs.
My iPhone(s) have S/MIME support beautifully integrated since 2008.
I thought my Nexus 7.2 should support that too, as everyone tells me, that Android can do everything iOS can, but more.
Android.... sad story.

So, finally I do support this issue/request, because I'd love to see my gorgeous Nexus 7.2 being able to do everything I can already do on iOS for ages.

Integrate S/MIME support in KitKat 4.4 please!!! Company phone was an iphone but beacuse they suck (not an apple fan), I switched to a Blackberry. Enough is enough now, Google. Hopefully its an update in 4.4

I thought I would add, Currently the Samsung Galaxy line of devices running Android which have had the Native Android mail app modified with "Touchwiz" do show they can be configured for s/MIME. When configured however you cannot create and send and encrypted email from scratch. The app will read and reply to Encrypted emails.

The issue looks like the Modified Android mail app is unable to query the EAS (Exchange Active Sync) GAL (Global Address List) to pull the public keys when the users Certificates are published to the GAL.

Here is a link to how to configure, and you'll see at the bottom it says the app can pull the public keys: https://support.quovadisglobal.com/KB/a404/how-do-i-sign-and-encrypt-emails-on-a-samsung-galaxy-device.aspx 

Maybe someone on the Android Team at Google can look into this and let us know why it does not work?

Thank you,

@#29
We have a S3 and a S4 mini in our company which both work well with EAS GAL. I also developed a kind of proxy to extend the GAL requests to the Secardeo certBox product.

What does your Galaxy device tells you when you try to request a certificate?
Samsung's Android does, unlike iOS or TouchDown-App, a ValidateCert on your private certificate as well as for the requested certificate. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg675498(v=exchg.80).aspx this and Wireshark might help you. We also had some issues in the beginning when Android did not let us add our CA into the device (without being root).

I just switched from iOS to Android and I'm quiet happy at the moment. The only thing I'm really missing is the S/MIME support. I think it would be a big benefit if the standard email client would support S/MIME.

@#31
I have the same problem with the EAS GAL. I have an OpenLDAP-Server with X.509 certificates. I want to achieve this via GAL. How did you develop this proxy?

thanks

I don't know how the certBox GAL requests an OpenLDAP Server, because I didn't develop the certBox. Only the proxy..
And the proxy only forwards the GAL/ResolveRecipients requests to the certBox (when Exchange delivers no certificates), which then looks up in all LDAP repositories that have been set up.

I already have an LDAP server. I only need this proxy, which forwards the GAL / ResolveRecipients requests to my LDAP server. How did you implemented?

Hi,

any planning for S/MIME?

Let's go google let's go!!!

I agree to all the above posts. S/MIME is essential for email. Plesse add it AS fast AS posible.

I absolutely agree. S/MIME is a must. Our company is skipping over Android in favor of Apple just for this. Please do something, it'd be greatly appreciated.

There is s need for transparent secure email and S/MIME is the most effect means to achieve this. Android needs to decouple the email client from Google Experience and support all all enterprise features across all devices.  This would strengthen the brand  It would allow for corporations to create standards and effective training for workforce's.  

I will switch to android when the mail app will be smooth and nice as the one in iOS and will have S/MIME support.


PS. google should give me the next NEXUS for free for creating this thread! :)

Still no support this is ridiculous!
Is NSA paying to not implement it?

No, but Google themselves want to be able to index all your emails, to "provide you the best spam filter" ever. Well actually Google's spam filter IS the best one of all the free-mail-services I tried (GMX, Web.de, Hotmail, Arcor, and a few more)

It could be looked at that encrypted mail can�t be spam.  That makes those senders trust score up.

Comment #42 on issue 36949180 by tienducl...@gmail.com: S/MIME Support?
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=34374

No, but Google themselves want to be able to index all your emails, to "provide you the best spam filter" ever. Well actually Google's spam filter IS the best one of all the free-mail-services I tried (GMX, Web.de, Hotmail, Arcor, and a few more)

Hint: The spam-filter is just a side-effect.

Still no S/MIME support or any word it is in development. Any news?

No S/MIME yet. But FYI, Google just released a OpenPGP Chrome extension (alpha) called End-to-End https://code.google.com/p/end-to-end/

we need smime support, the old email client (4.1) support it. i change my phone to s5 and doesnt support. what happend to you guys...

We are all asking, complaining, joking... No reaction from Android developers? Could you please tell us if S/MIME is even planned to be supported, but for example has lower priority... I hate the other apps, I'd like to have a S/MIME support in pure Android environment, with consistent UI, etc. So, is there any plan? Dear Android developers, please answer.

Gmail v5.0 is arrived and no S/MIME yet. Please give us some feedback. All other android apps are not as good. Thanks

I honestly believe that the only reason google has not implemented this is because then they lose the ability to index your email.  As such, I dont use google's email apps. Kinda sad.  I settled on using K9 email as a replacement

Google knows very well that this is needed in increasingly for corporate email and also in government. This thread goes back over two years and no response. Use Microsoft Office 365 with an apple device if you need it. Only then will Google listen.

This was the final problem that moved me back to ios.  Google conclusively showed that they value their ability to read your email above your security.

Sony Z-series (android) have abilities to use smime with exchange mailboxes so the problem is not with android but gmail.

S/MIME is supported in every modern desktop client, even text-mode clients like Mutt can handle it. Why Google is still lagging? You control both Android and Gmail development, so it should be pretty much doable.

come on guys, pull your fingers out, it makes me miss my Samsung when I shouldn't have to!

Glad I found this thread, now I will not hold my breath for S/MIME support.

I as thinking of upgrading my nexus phone, well next device will not be a nexus.  Also looking at a new tablet, well it will not be a nexus tablet.

I got S/MIME working!!! Yeah, it turns out if you just ditch your Android phone and get an iPhone, it works!! #couldntbehappier  I can officially STOP watching this thread now!

WTF! How can Galaxy mobiles have this and not Nexus range, sort this out Google. I dont want to have to ditch you for an iPhone, but my $corp-company wont support me without SMIME mail encryption and signing

Seriously, it is embarassing at this point to not support S/MIME in the native email client. Who at Google is doing anything about this?

No comment fromm the developer team? Any reaction?

I have even asked on another forum. Maybe Google reads that one?

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/gmail/6XJDoRwY02I;context-place=topicsearchin/gmail/author$3Ame$20is$3Afirstpost

This feature is very important to deploy GMail as standard and interoperable client with Android Enterprise Solution. Even more if IT managers are used to get this solution on PCs with Windows 10 and in the case of Mobile Phones, iOS Email App is compliance with the main requirements in IT Area for any B2B Large Account. Therefore if we want to enter in B2B Mobile Device Market to get market share already gotten by iOS we need to get PIM Interoperable and agnostic clients without any dependence on the OEMs

This is one of the reasons our organization supports iPhone and not Android.

Thank you for the feedback. We're closing this issue as Obsolete.
If it is still observed in the latest Android release, please open a new issue in https://goo.gl/TbMiIO along with a reference to this issue.

Can you please indicate what needs to be filed differently in a new report? This issue was not tied to an Android release. Are you able to edit the metadata on this issue instead? This would be preferable as there are 76 people currently following it. Thank you.