Email hosting that works with any device or email app
IMAP, POP3 and SMTP email for businesses and devices of every kind. Simple, open-standards email that connects to whatever you already run.
Not every device or application can connect to a proprietary email platform. If you use a mix of computers and phones, run your own software, or have equipment that just needs to send and collect email, plain IMAP, POP3 and SMTP is the simplest way to do it. Primal Media runs the servers, keeps them secure and looks after the junk, so your critical email, such as order confirmations and account notifications, reaches people reliably.
- Works with any IMAP, POP3, SMTP compatible device or app.
- Open standards, with no vendor-specific software required.
- Ideal to collect emails for EDI parsing.
- Day to day transactional emails.
- Email API for Web Applications.
- Route mail to your own mail server, with the junk filtered out first.
- Relay hub for outgoing mail from your internal mail server or applications.
- SPAM and Virus filtering and IP blocking.
- SPF, DKIM with DMARC reporting.
- Per user greylisting.
- Monthly Email Reports.
Filtering incoming email
Unwanted, forged and malicious mail is stopped before it reaches your inbox.
Every incoming message is checked before it is delivered, so your staff spend their time on real email instead of sorting through junk.
- Spam and virus scanning on every message.
- IP blocking of known bad senders.
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks to spot forged senders.
- Greylisting set per user, to turn away mail from servers that do not retry.
- Monthly email reports showing what was delivered and what was stopped.
Already have your own email system?
Use us as a relay hub: we filter what comes in and deliver what goes out.
If you run an internal mail server, you do not have to host your mailboxes with us. Primal Media sits between your server and the internet and handles mail in both directions.
Incoming mail
Your email arrives at Primal Media first, where spam, viruses and unwanted senders are filtered out. Only the clean mail is passed on to your own email service, so your staff see far less junk and your server does less work.
Outgoing mail
Your internal mail server, or the software that sends your orders, invoices and notifications, hands its outgoing mail to our servers over authenticated SMTP. We deliver it to the external recipient.
- One trusted sending point, with SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up correctly for your domain.
- Your internal server does not need to deliver directly to the internet.
- Mail is queued and retried if the recipient’s server is temporarily unavailable.
- Only your authorised networks and accounts can send through the relay.
Transactional email, not bulk email
This service is built for email people expect to receive, not mass mailings.
Transactional email
One-to-one messages sent because of something a person did, or something that needs their attention.
- Order confirmations, invoices and receipts.
- Password resets and account notices.
- Appointment reminders and system alerts.
- Day to day business email and EDI documents.
Bulk email
The same message sent to a large list at once. It needs a different kind of service, because it affects your domain’s reputation.
- Newsletters and promotions.
- Marketing campaigns and announcements.
- Large mailing lists.
Receiving servers score each domain on how people respond to its email. Bulk mailing can lower that score and push your everyday email into junk folders, so we keep this service for transactional use. Read more in the questions below.
Questions
Email hosting FAQ
No. This is plain IMAP, POP3 and SMTP email, the open standards that almost every mail app and device understands. It does not depend on any one vendor’s email platform or software, so you can use the apps and devices you already have.
Anything that supports IMAP, POP3 or SMTP: desktop mail programs, webmail, mobile mail apps on Android and iOS, Linux, Mac and Windows computers, and also non-computer devices such as scanners, printers, alarm systems, point-of-sale systems and your own web applications.
Collecting and sending email is firewalled for security, so only networks we know about are let through. You may need to give us the internet provider (ISP) your devices connect from, and we will add it so you can collect and send mail. If you change provider, or use a device on mobile data or another network, that network may need adding as well.
If something that used to work stops, contact us and tell us which device and network you are on.
Transactional email is one-to-one email sent because of something a person did or something that needs their attention: an order confirmation, an invoice, a password reset, an account notice, an appointment reminder, or an EDI document. Each message is expected by the person who receives it.
Bulk email is the same message sent to a large list at once: newsletters, promotions, announcements and marketing campaigns. Recipients have usually opted in, but they did not ask for each individual message, and a few of them will mark it as spam.
No. This service is built for transactional and day-to-day business email, not bulk mailing. Sending to large lists is the quickest way to damage a domain’s reputation, and that can cause your ordinary email, such as invoices and replies to customers, to start landing in junk folders. For newsletters and campaigns, use a dedicated bulk email service, ideally on a separate domain or subdomain.
Receiving mail servers at the large mail providers keep a score for each sending domain and server. Spam complaints, bounces, sudden spikes in volume and missing authentication all lower it, and a low score sends your mail to junk or rejects it. We take domain reputation into account on this service, and set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC so receivers can confirm your mail really comes from you.
Yes. If you already run your own email system, we can route your email directly to it. Incoming mail arrives with us first, where most of the junk and viruses are filtered out, so only the clean mail is delivered to your internal system and you and your staff do not have to deal with it.
Every message is checked before it is delivered. Spam and virus scanning catches unwanted and malicious mail, IP blocking stops known bad senders, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks identify mail that is forged or sent from servers that are not allowed to send for that domain. Greylisting can be set per user, which asks unfamiliar senders to retry shortly afterwards, something most legitimate mail servers do and most spam senders do not. Mail that fails the checks is stopped before it reaches your mailbox or your own mail server, and monthly email reports show you what has been happening.
Yes. Your internal mail server, or any software that sends email, can pass its outgoing mail to our servers instead of delivering it directly to the internet. It connects to us with authenticated SMTP, and we deliver the message to the external recipient. Mail from your network goes out from servers with properly configured SPF, DKIM and DMARC, so receivers can confirm it really comes from you, and your own server does not need to be exposed to the internet or kept in good standing with receiving servers.
The same hub works in the other direction: external mail arrives with us, is filtered, then is passed on to your internal mail server. Our relay is set up for transactional and day-to-day business email, not bulk mailing, and your sending networks are added to our firewall list so only authorised senders can use it.
Yes. There is an email API for web applications, and the service is well suited to collecting emails for EDI parsing, so documents arriving by email can be turned into structured data for your systems. See software integrations for more.
Tell us what devices and software you use, which domain you want to use, and whether you want a mailbox hosted here or your mail routed to your own server. Contact us and we will set it up with you.