Question MBOX Viewer

[Sizzers]

Hello!

I don't have PC access and I need to open an MBOX file.

There appears to be a dearth of apps for this in the Store and the only one I tried didn't end well so it looks as though I'll have to use an online option.

I have zero experience of using these as I'm not too comfortable with the idea, but does anyone have any ideas or advice on which to try?

Thanks.
EDIT: Please ignore as I'm using another route.

 

[VidJunky]

I had to look up MBOX files. it sounds like they are plain text, which means there is no encryption, and viewable with a text editor. The program on a PC would be something like Notes or Notepad.

If you only tried one app maybe you just picked a bad one. These are the questions I ask when picking an app and why.

How many downloads did that app have? Good apps have big download numbers. My rule of thumb is to not install anything with less than 200,000 downloads and prefer apps with a million or more downloads.

What was the rating for that app? Not so much what is the app rating but more how many low ratings does it have vs high ratings. If the 1 star reviews equal the 5 star reviews that's not good.

What were people saying in the 1 and 2 star reviews of the app? What were people complaining about in those reviews? This is where you'll find a list of problems and limitations of the app.

Given the simplicity of how MBOX files are described I would for sure try another app with those questions in mind before sending anything to the cloud for decoding.

What happened with the app you tried? Why didn't you like it?

Let us know what you find for more advice.

What Google and Gemini say about MBOX files.

 

[Sizzers]

I had to look up MBOX files. it sounds like they are plain text, which means there is no encryption, and viewable with a text editor. The program on a PC would be something like Notes or Notepad.

If you only tried one app maybe you just picked a bad one. These are the questions I ask when picking an app and why.

How many downloads did that app have? Good apps have big download numbers. My rule of thumb is to not install anything with less than 200,000 downloads and prefer apps with a million or more downloads.

What was the rating for that app? Not so much what is the app rating but more how many low ratings does it have vs high ratings. If the 1 star reviews equal the 5 star reviews that's not good.

What were people saying in the 1 and 2 star reviews of the app? What were people complaining about in those reviews? This is where you'll find a list of problems and limitations of the app.

Given the simplicity of how MBOX files are described I would for sure try another app with those questions in mind before sending anything to the cloud for decoding.

What happened with the app you tried? Why didn't you like it?

Let us know what you find for more advice.

What Google and Gemini say about MBOX files.

Thanks for the reply.

The MBOX file is the data download for Gmail and you cannot open it as a normal text file in the usual editor or similar.

After a (very) little more research I'm most definitely NOT going to be using an online converter (stupid thought in the first place I know).

I'm in the process of deleting my primary Google account which is quite the job transferring all the stuff I want to keep elsewhere. There's only around 150 emails I need to keep so I'll save each as a PDF file which will still do the job.

 

[VidJunky]

Online isn't so bad for some things. I've had to resort to online for conversions but nothing sensitive.

Anyway, if you're getting a new email address and closing your current one, why not forward the emails to the new address? No conversions, no muss, no fuss.

I looked up specifically how to view these on Android and got this response from Gemini.

To view Google Takeout MBOX files on an Android phone, you'll need to use a third-party email client that supports the MBOX format. While there isn't a direct way to open them on Android like a text file, applications like Thunderbird (using a desktop or portable version) can import the MBOX file, and then you can access the emails through an email client on your phone. [1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4]


Here's a breakdown of the process:
1. Use a Desktop/Portable Email Client (like Thunderbird) to Import the MBOX File: [2, 5, 6]

• Install Thunderbird: Download and install Thunderbird on your computer. [2, 2, 5, 5]
• Import the MBOX file: Use Thunderbird's ImportExportTool NG add-on or similar to import the MBOX file. [1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3]
• Access emails in Thunderbird: Once imported, you can view the emails within Thunderbird's local folders. [2, 2]

This video demonstrates how to download and install Thunderbird and import MBOX files:

2. Access the Emails on Your Android Phone:

• Install an Email Client: Install an email client on your Android phone that supports IMAP or POP3, such as K9 Mail. [7, 7]
• Set up a new account (or use an existing one): Configure the email client with the same email address you used in Thunderbird. [2, 2]
• Synchronize: Allow the email client to synchronize with the server (which is essentially your computer where Thunderbird is running). [2, 2, 8, 9]
• Access emails: The emails from the MBOX file should now be accessible within your email client on your phone. [2, 2]

There is more including another video. To see the full response click on this link.

 

[Sizzers]

Remember, I don't have PC access.

The options which you mentioned (which I had well looked in to beforehand) don't exist on mobile. Thunderbird, for example, requires the 'ImportExportTools NG' extension which isn't available for mobile. I believe what you're looking at is what I also picked up on but its no big deal.

I needed a permanent, separate record of the emails and after I thought about it PDF will do just fine (it pales into insignificance for the rest I have to sort out!)