Moving email is mostly about not losing anything and not breaking anything. SipherMail’s import is built around that: it reads from your old account and never changes it. This guide walks through the steps and the limits.
What you can import from#
- Gmail and Outlook / Microsoft 365: you sign in on Google’s or Microsoft’s own page. SipherMail does not see your password for those services.
- Any other service that offers IMAP: you enter the server details yourself.
- A file, on the web: an MBOX file or a ZIP of EML files.
Yahoo is not offered as a one-click option.
Import your mail#
- Create your SipherMail account and sign in on the web.
- Open the import tool. The import guide shows where.
- Choose your provider, or choose the file option.
- For Gmail or Outlook, sign in and approve access on the provider’s page.
- Pick the folders to copy. Inbox and Sent are ticked by default. Tick others if you want them.
- Choose how far back to go: Last 30 days or Everything.
- Start the import and let it run.
Free and paid history#
Free accounts can import the last 30 days. Paid plans and organisation members can import everything. If you are on Free and want your full history, upgrade first, or import the recent period now and the rest later. The pricing page has the plan details.
Paid plans also let you connect more source accounts than Free does.
What is copied#
- Messages in the folders you ticked.
- Read, replied, starred and draft flags.
What is not copied#
- Custom labels and keywords. Gmail labels and Outlook categories do not carry over as labels. After import, rebuild what you need with labels and rules.
- Anything you did not tick. Spam, trash and other folders stay behind unless you select them.
- Changes back to the old account. The import writes nothing to the source: no deletes, no flags. Your old mailbox stays as it was.
Running it again#
Re-running an import is safe. SipherMail de-duplicates by Message-ID, so a second pass picks up new mail without creating copies of what is already there. This is useful for a two-step move: import once now, then again when you finish the switch.
Contacts#
Contacts come in as a CSV or vCard file. Exports from Gmail, Outlook and Apple Contacts are supported.
- Export contacts from your old service as CSV or vCard.
- Open contacts in SipherMail and choose import.
- Select the file.
See contacts for the details.
Keep receiving mail during the move#
Importing copies old mail. It does not redirect new mail. Until you tell people your new address, mail still goes to the old account.
Set up forwarding from the old account so new mail reaches SipherMail in the meantime.
- Gmail requires one manual confirmation click before forwarding works. The app guides you through it. We cannot do this step for you, and it is not automatic.
- For Outlook, set up forwarding in its own settings.
Then update your address with the services you use, starting with the important ones: banks, work, and anything that sends password resets. Keep the old account open for a while after you switch, because some senders will take a long time to notice.
Sending as your old address#
You can send as your Outlook address from SipherMail. Sending as your Gmail address is rolling out and may not be available to you yet. If you need it today, keep replying from Gmail for those messages or use your new address and mention the change.
A sensible order#
- Import Inbox and Sent for the period you can import.
- Check a few messages and your flags.
- Import contacts.
- Turn on forwarding from the old account.
- Re-run the import once more after a few days, to catch anything missed.
- Move your accounts and subscriptions over, gradually.
If something looks wrong, open a ticket from Settings > Support on the web or Settings > Help & Support in the apps. Because your old account is untouched, you can always start the import again.
Full steps are in the import email guide.