It seems that it is not possible to do what you’re suggesting using (say) Gmail’s web interface or phone app. I expect that having to give up on the features provided by these would be a noticeable ongoing cost for me—for example, I expect Thunderbird to do much worse at automatically categorising my incoming mail. Does that seem right?
Also, the specific upsides you mentioned don’t seem that compelling to me, and the general “you don’t know why it might be useful but it might” applies to too many things to be worth the costs.
Thank you for asking. Allow me to emphasize:
I’m not suggesting you should replace your current setup and switch to use encrypted channels, I’m saying you should add the capability to receive encrypted messages to your portfolio.
You could generate GPG-keys for your gmail account in any GPG-capable app, even thunderbird. Keep using Gmail’s webmail to your hearts content. Should an encrypted email arrive, pull out the app you chose and decrypt that one email, possibly answer / store / sing a song about it, and forget you even have that app until the next encrypted mail arrives. Or you want to send one yourself.
Regarding specific upsides: Those should read “I know several precise upsides, though I don’t want to argue how likely they are to occur.” Could you suggest improvements to my post to reflect that more clearly?
It seems that it is not possible to do what you’re suggesting using (say) Gmail’s web interface or phone app. I expect that having to give up on the features provided by these would be a noticeable ongoing cost for me—for example, I expect Thunderbird to do much worse at automatically categorising my incoming mail. Does that seem right?
Also, the specific upsides you mentioned don’t seem that compelling to me, and the general “you don’t know why it might be useful but it might” applies to too many things to be worth the costs.
Thank you for asking. Allow me to emphasize: I’m not suggesting you should replace your current setup and switch to use encrypted channels, I’m saying you should add the capability to receive encrypted messages to your portfolio.
You could generate GPG-keys for your gmail account in any GPG-capable app, even thunderbird. Keep using Gmail’s webmail to your hearts content. Should an encrypted email arrive, pull out the app you chose and decrypt that one email, possibly answer / store / sing a song about it, and forget you even have that app until the next encrypted mail arrives. Or you want to send one yourself.
Regarding specific upsides: Those should read “I know several precise upsides, though I don’t want to argue how likely they are to occur.” Could you suggest improvements to my post to reflect that more clearly?
Thanks for explaining, I hadn’t realised that, and it makes it much more attractive to follow your advice!