Could Email Be a Reliable Method for Data Transport in Censored Areas?
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CuriousCoder42
I'm living in a country where authorities actively try to block VPN usage. Recently, I thought of a backup method for organizing app operations under censorship and restrictions, and I'd love your feedback. My idea is to use email as a means of transport between the server and the client. Essentially, requests to the server and responses would be sent as emails containing JSON data. The server would utilize SMTP for sending and IMAP for receiving the commands or data. The email contents would be parsed, and the necessary actions would be executed accordingly. I'm not claiming this method is foolproof, so I welcome constructive criticism on its effectiveness against state blocking, potential issues, vulnerabilities, and any other perspectives you might have. Please be kind!
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I checked this idea out years ago, and here’s why I didn’t go for it: Email is mostly plain text, which might not suit your data. Plus, there are size limits on emails that could be problematic. Since email operates on a store-and-forward basis, you can't predict when or if the message will arrive. In short, anything email can do, alternatives like NATS or Kafka can do better.
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There are indeed ways to use similar principles, like sending data through Facebook, as mentioned in the link to RFC 5514. It can be an interesting approach, but it's not a direct comparison to using email.
ResponseGuy88: Thanks for sharing that link, it's really intriguing!
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Honestly, I really don’t think this would work well.
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GratefulGary: Thanks for the insights, much appreciated!