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7 Reasons Why You Should Stop Using Desktop Email Clients

How do you read your emails when you’re at your computer? Do you use a web-based email client, or do you prefer to catch up with your messages using a desktop email client?

Of course, the web email vs. desktop email client approach has its pros and cons. But we think that broadly speaking, a web-based email client is always preferable to a desktop option.

Let’s take a look at some reasons why you should stop using a desktop email client today.

1. Portability

If you use a web-based email client, you are going to have the same experience every time you log into your account—regardless of the machine you’re using or your location.

On the other hand, if you use a desktop client and find yourself needing to access your emails when you’re away from your computer (such as on a public PC), you might have to shift to the online email app for a few days.

It can be challenging to adapt to the different layout quickly. Options will not be in the same places, the app’s list of features will be different, and email formatting tools might not be the same.

It all adds up to more frustration, more time lost, and lower productivity levels.

2. Security

If your main laptop is often lying around on the dining table or kitchen counter, there’s a chance that other people in your family or household might pick it up and start using it.

It wouldn’t be hard for a nosey set of eyes to flick open your email app and see what’s there, especially if you leave the app running 24/7 in the background.

Of course, some desktop email clients do offer password protection and other similar security tools. In practice, however, we would question how extensively people use such features.

3. Multiple Computers = Multiple Setups

If you have multiple computers in your life, it’s more complicated than it might appear to set up your preferred desktop email client in the same way on every machine.

Typically, a desktop email client is the type of app that you can keep on customizing to your heart’s content. Custom categories, filters, behaviors, identities, signatures, and settings all take a long time to get right.

If you have two machines (or you buy a new computer), redoing all that from scratch is seriously time-consuming. And of course, there are no guarantees that you won’t overlook a small detail somewhere in the setup. It might lead to unexpected consequences during your day-to-day usage.

4. Different Operating Systems

Similarly, if you’re the type of person who uses several different operating systems, it might be a challenge to find a desktop email client that both suits your requirements and is available on all the operating systems you rely on.

For example, Mailbird is rightly regarded as one of the top email clients on Windows 10, but there is no version available on Mac. On the flipside, Spark—which has long been considered one of the best email clients on Mac—is not on Windows.

Predictably, the problem is more acute if you’re on the hunt for a Linux version of a desktop email client. And we haven’t mentioned Chromebooks; they don’t even allow you to install desktop apps. On Chrome OS, you have no choice but to use a web app.

Confusing? Yup.

5. Spam

Many of the best desktop email clients cannot effectively handle spam. Sure, you can mark a particular message as spam in your client, but there’s a high chance that the email address of the sender of the spam does not get synced with your email provider’s spam list. If the person sends you another message in the future, it will probably end up back in your inbox.

The exception to the rule is when the email provider and the email app developer is the same entity. For example, the if you mark a message as spam on the Mail app in Windows 10, it will sync to your Outlook/Hotmail/Live block list.

To find out whether Mail is the right app for you, read our comparison of Mail and Outlook in Windows 10.

6. Longevity

I never did this. Pine (1994)->Outlook Express (1997)->Gmail (2004) has been my journey. https://t.co/t39sVxJvpJ

— Heath Borders (@heathborders) May 8, 2019

Again, we don’t want to tar all the desktop email clients with the same brush, but there’s a long list of once-popular email software that’s long since vanished.

Who can forget Sparrow on macOS? It was a paid email app that went live in February 2011. In less than one day, it became the top paid and top grossing app on the entire Apple App Store.

By July 2012, Google had completed a buyout. It quickly announced an immediate shuttering of development, with all staff being integrated into the Gmail team. Many believe Sparrow gave birth to Google Inbox in 2014, though that, in turn, was canned in 2019.

Other desktop email clients to befall a similar fate include Netscape Mail, Eureka Email, Outlook Express, and Mozilla Mail, to name a few.

Web-based email clients have no such issues; Google isn’t suddenly going to disable its Gmail web app with no warning.

7. Cost

If you want a long list of features and endless bells and whistles on a desktop email client, there’s a good chance you will need to pay for the privilege.

Often, the developers of desktop email clients offer both a free and a paid tier. The free level will have restrictions such as limiting the number of email addresses you can add or preventing offline access.

Web-based email clients don’t have paywalls. Most even allow you to add multiple email addresses to a single account.

Read our article on the best free desktop email clients if you want to learn more.

Learn More About Email Clients

We’d love to know whether you agree with our conclusions. Do you think desktop email clients are still worth using, or do you think we’re right? Would you join us in recommending that your friends and family should stop using desktop email clients today?

Let us know in the comments, and make sure you check out our article on how to use the Gmail web app as a desktop client and our list of counterpoints in why you should replace your web app with a desktop app if you want further information on the subject.

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What Does This Emoji Mean? Emoji Face Meanings Explained

Formerly known as emoticons and smileys, emoji faces are used on SMS and social media apps like Instagram and WhatsApp. But what do emojis mean? What each emoji means is often open to interpretation—further complicated by heart and hand symbols.

Unicode publishes standards on what emojis mean, but they’re not always used as intended. They can have unique meanings within certain communities. Snapchat has its own unique set of Snapchat emojis, for example. So what do emojis mean?

Here are the commonly accepted emoji meanings for popular emojis.

Happy Face Emojis

Smiley Faces

Smiling Face With Smiling Eyes and Smiling Face are the most commonly used emojis. They simply denote happiness or positivity.

Infrequently, they may be used following a mild insult or criticism to remove some of the sting.

Other Smiley Faces

Smiling Face With Open Mouth, Smiling Face With Open Mouth And Smiling Eyes, Grinning Face, and Smiling Face With Open Mouth And Tightly-Closed Eyes are similar to the two simpler smiley faces.

However, they are often used to express greater levels of happiness. A message with one of these emojis will normally be extremely positive. They are rarely used with an insult or criticism.

Smiling Face With Open Mouth and Cold Sweat

Smiling Face With Open Mouth And Cold Sweat similarly shows happiness, albeit with relief. Messages using this emoji often express joy at how a potentially negative event worked out.

For example, if you sent a message explaining that you just passed a difficult test or got the all clear from the doctor then you could use this emoji.

Face With Tears of Joy

Face With Tears Of Joy is used to show laughter. It’s commonly replaced “LOL” when someone sends a joke.

Rolling on the Floor Laughing Face

Rolling on the Floor Laughing Face is the latest iteration of “ROFL”, one of the internet slang terms you need to know.

Upside-Down Face

Upside-Down Face implies you’re not being serious or are talking about something that seemingly makes no sense.

Zany Face

Zany Face also shows flippancy. Use this if something is silly but funny.

Smiling Face With Sunglasses

Smiling Face With Sunglasses is used to show coolness. It’s sometimes used tongue-in-cheek or can mean “deal with it”.

Flushed Face

Flushed Face shows embarrassment for an awkward situation or mistake. It is frequently used self-deprecatingly as a response to compliments.

Face Savoring Delicious Food

Face Savoring Delicious Food can be used in anticipation for, during, or after a tasty meal.

Nerd Face

Nerd Face shows intelligence or passion for a particular subject. It’s often used ironically.

Smirking Face With Starry Eyes

Smirking Face With Starry Eyes means you’re excited or starstruck, like when you’re anticipating meeting someone or doing something.

Face With Party Blower And Party Hat

Face With Party Blower And Party Hat is used when celebrating an event. It’s best used when it’s a friend’s birthday.

Flirty Face Emojis

Smirking Face

Smirking Face has strong sexual connotations. It normally accompanies sexual innuendos or suggestions.

Winking Face

Winking Face shows that the message was sent with humorous intent. Any message that accompanies a Winking Face should not be taken too seriously.

Similar to Smirking Face, Winking Face often accompanies suggestive messages.

Stuck-Out Tongue Faces

Face With Stuck-Out Tongue, Face With Stuck-Out Tongue And Winking Eye, and Face With Stuck-Out Tongue And Tightly-Closed Eyes are used interchangeably with Winking Face to show humor.

Relieved Face

Relieved Face is, as the name suggests, meant to indicate relief. However, it is mostly used to show contentment.

It can also, in response to a suggestive emoji, demonstrate aloofness or innocence.

Smiling Face With Halo

Smiling Face With Halo shows innocence. It can be used seriously or humorously. For example, this emoji would be appropriate when messaging your friends on a Friday to explain that you are staying at home for the night.

Devil Faces

Smiling Face With Horns and Imp can be used interchangeably to show naughtiness or mischievousness.

Because one is smiling and the other frowning, they show subtly different things. Smiling Face With Horns more frequently accompanies minor mischief or suggestive messages while Imp implies more malice.

Kissing Faces

Kissing Face, Face Throwing A Kiss, Kissing Face With Smiling Eyes, and Kissing Face With Closed Eyes are all used to show romance or affection. Face Throwing A Kiss is typically more romantic due to the small red heart.

The other three can also be used to show innocent whistling.

Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes

Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes shows love, adoration, or gratitude. It can be used towards a person, place, or thing.

Hugging Face

Hugging Face means you’re sending the recipient a virtual embrace.

Negative Face Emojis

Blank Faces

Neutral Face and Expressionless Face show a deliberate lack of emotion. They may be used to show that someone is unimpressed, indifferent, or awkward.

Unamused Face

Unamused Face expresses dissatisfaction or suspicion. This emoji doesn’t show true anger or sadness, but rather a subtly negative emotion. For example, if you are unhappy or dubious of someone’s excuse for why they are late, you could send this emoji.

Face With Cold Sweat

Face With Cold Sweat shows stress or hard work. It typically refers to a specific situation. Messaging a loved one to explain that you must stay late at the office would warrant this emoji.

Sad Faces

Pensive Face and Disappointed Face are the two main sad face emoji. Both convey a sense of sadness, remorse, regret, disappointment, or any similarly negative emotion.

Pleading Face

Pleading Face shows you’re asking for a favor. It’s the “puppy dog eyes” look, and is rarely used in serious situations.

Disappointed But Relieved Face

Disappointed But Relieved Face is generally used to show fear or hurt.

Crying Face

Crying Face is similar to Pensive Face and Disappointed Face. It shows a stronger sense of hurt than general sadness.

Loudly Crying Face

Loudly Crying Face is a stronger version of Crying Face. It shows hurt, pain, and upset. Unlike the other sad faces, it is often used ironically.

Worried Face

Worried Face shows shock, horror, disgust, and fear.

Grimacing Face

Grimacing Face similarly shows worry, embarrassment, or awkwardness. Use it if you’re apprehensive about a message.

Face With A Raised Eyebrow

Face With A Raised Eyebrow shows skepticism or disapproval—perfect for if you don’t believe someone’s excuse.

Face With Monocle

Face With Monocle also expresses doubt, as if you’re scrutinizing a message.

Lying Face

Lying Face depicts a nose growing, just like Pinocchio. Use sparingly if you think someone isn’t telling the truth.

Face Without Mouth

Face Without Mouth shows you’re speechless. It can be used ironically, but often means you don’t know what to say during an awkward conversation or dare not speak your mind when embarrassed or angry.

Zipper-Mouth Face

Zipper-Mouth Face could mean you can’t convey the right words right now. However, it’s more frequently used to show you can keep a secret.

Face With Exploding Head

Face With Exploding Head shows shock, telling the recipient that you’re blown away. It’s normally used in awe of something.

Face With Symbols Over the Mouth

Face With Symbols Over The Mouth naturally replaces a curse word. Use this to express annoyance or anger.

Tired Faces

Weary Face and Tired Face both show tiredness; however, they are often used to represent world-weariness and stress, as if you’re at the end of your tether.

Sleepy Face

Sleepy Face seldom represents tiredness. Instead, it shows that the sender is sick or unwell.

Sleeping Face

Sleeping Face is used instead of Sleepy Face to show drowsiness. It’s difficult to send a message when actually asleep.

Confused Faces

Confused Face and Confounded Face are used interchangeably to show confusion. Confused Face is also used to show awkwardness or an apology. If someone has to cancel plans, for instance, they could include this emoji.

Face With Look of Triumph

Face With Look Of Triumph is one of the most misused emoji. It’s commonly used to show anger or frustration rather than triumph—often ironically.

Angry Faces

Angry Face and Pouting Face both show anger, with the red Pouting Face the stronger of the two. Unlike Face With Look Of Triumph, they are seldom used humorously.

Persevering Face

Persevering Face shows you’re struggling with a situation, but carrying on through your frustration.

Shocked Faces

Frowning Face With Open Mouth and Anguished Face show shock, horror, and disappointment. They are often used as a lesser version of Pensive Face or Disappointed Face.

Scared Faces

Fearful Face, Face With Open Mouth And Cold Sweat, and Face Screaming In Fear all show varying levels of fear, ranging from slightly scared with Face With Open Mouth And Cold Sweat to outright terror with Face Screaming In Fear. They can all be used ironically.

Other Face Emojis

The Monkeys

See-No-Evil Monkey, Hear-No-Evil Monkey, and Speak-No-Evil Monkey are used to show shock and embarrassment, mostly in a cheeky manner. Which specific monkey is used depends on the contents of the message.

Pile Of Poo

Pile Of Poo is almost always used humorously. It can replace a swear word or criticize a person or message.

Hand Symbol Emojis

Thumbs Up Sign

Thumbs Up Sign shows acceptance or agreement.

Thumbs Down Sign

Thumbs Down Sign shows rejection, dislike, or disagreement.

OK Hand Sign

OK Hand Sign shows acceptance, satisfaction, or that everything is OK. It can also be used to show that something is tiny or small.

Victory Hand

Victory Hand is more often used to represent the similar peace symbol. It shows coolness, relaxation, or satisfaction.

Person Raising Both Hands In Celebration

Person Raising Both Hands In Celebration, more commonly referred to as Praise Hands, is used to show support or appreciation.

Open Hands

Open Hands conveys openness and friendliness. It can also mean you’re sending a hug, similar to Hugging Face.

Person With Folded Hands

Person With Folded Hands, while not meant to be explicitly religious, is used to say thank you, or to show prayer or pleading. You could use it when asking for a favor.

Call Me Hand

Call Me Hand, despite its name, can have numerous meanings depending on context. It’s similar to a traditional telephone handset, so can indicate you want to talk to someone over the phone. Pilots also use it to wish each other good luck. And in Hawaiian culture, it’s known as the “Shaka” sign, meaning “hang loose”—an affectionate gesture indicating solidarity.

Heart Emojis

Red Heart

Red Heart is the classic love heart emoticon, expressing fondness, friendship, or romance.

Colored Hearts

Purple Heart, Yellow Heart, Green Heart, and Blue Heart are all similar to Red Heart; however, the target of their affection is normally related to the color of the heart. For example, Blue Heart is often used with sports teams who wear blue jerseys. Similarly, the Yellow Heart is associated with the sun and summer.

Broken Heart

Broken Heart is the ultimate expression of sadness. It can also be used ironically.

Emojis Are Changing the Way We Communicate

Emojis are forever evolving as a tool for communication and their meanings are still fluid. They’re surprisingly personal too, so you must be on the same wavelength as the recipient to avoid offending them.

While emojis may seem unimportant in the bog scheme of things, there’s even precedent for emojis landing people in court, so you should think carefully before using emojis in certain circumstances.

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