Encrypted IMAP (S/MIME)

Motorical's encrypted mailboxes use industry-standard S/MIME encryption (RFC 5652) with AES-256 to provide zero-knowledge email storage.

Zero-Knowledge Architecture

Our servers never have access to your private decryption keys. All encryption happens transparently:

1. Incoming email is encrypted with your public key before being stored
2. Only your private key can decrypt the stored email
3. The server stores and serves only ciphertext via IMAP
4. Decryption happens in your email client

:::danger Important If you lose your private key, encrypted emails cannot be recovered. Always backup your certificates. :::

Security Specifications

Property	Value
Encryption Standard	S/MIME (RFC 5652)
Cipher	AES-256
Key Sizes	RSA 2048 or 4096 bit
Protocol	IMAP over SSL/TLS (port 993)
TLS Version	1.2+ required

Certificate Management

Generate a New Certificate

Use the built-in certificate generator for quick setup. Certificates are automatically configured for your mailbox.

Upload an Existing Certificate

Upload your own PKCS#12 (.p12) certificate file. Supports password-protected certificates.

Download Certificate

Download certificates in PKCS#12 format for:

• Email client configuration (Thunderbird, Outlook, Apple Mail)
• Sharing public certificates with correspondents

Certificate Validation Checklist

• Certificate matches your domain/email address
• Certificate has not expired
• Certificate chain is complete
• Certificate works with your email client

DNS Configuration

Update your domain's DNS records to route emails through Motorical:

Required MX Record:

Type: MX
Name: @ (or your subdomain)
Value: mail.motorical.com
Priority: 10
TTL: 3600

Optional SPF Record (for better deliverability):

Type: TXT
Name: @
Value: "v=spf1 include:mail.motorical.com ~all"

Verify DNS propagation:

dig MX yourdomain.com
nslookup -type=MX yourdomain.com