Email still keeps
The original messages
- newsletter originals in Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, or IMAP
- account settings and server-side folders
- everyday mail outside your reading library
- sending, replies, forwarding, and communication history
Backup guide
Protect the newsletter library you build on your Mac.
Letterboxx encrypted backups help preserve imported newsletters, Letterboxxes, rules, highlights, and settings so your reading history is not fragile.
Why it matters
A newsletter library becomes valuable over time.
The more you read, organize, and highlight, the more Letterboxx becomes a personal archive of writers, topics, and ideas. Backups protect that local collection without turning Letterboxx into a full email mirror.
Backups protect
The reading library
- imported newsletter copies saved on your Mac
- Letterboxxes, rules, highlights, and reading context
- settings that make the app feel like yours
- the archive you may want to restore later
Step by step
How to back up a newsletter library in Letterboxx.
| Step | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Import newsletter copies from selected Gmail or IMAP folders and organize the issues worth keeping. | The backup protects the local library you are intentionally building. |
| Open | Go to Backup and Restore in Letterboxx settings when you are ready to protect that library. | The backup workflow is separate from reading, sorting, and inbox cleanup. |
| Save | Create an encrypted backup and choose a destination you trust, such as external storage or a secure cloud folder. | Your newsletter archive is protected outside the app. |
| Restore | Use the restore flow when you need to recover the library or move it to another Mac. | Newsletters, Letterboxxes, rules, highlights, and settings can come back together. |
Good habits
Treat backups like part of owning a reading archive.
Letterboxx is local-first, which is part of its appeal: your reading library lives on your Mac. That also means it is worth creating backups before a Mac migration, major cleanup, or long stretch of collecting newsletters.
- Back up before moving Macs so the library can come with you.
- Keep the passphrase recoverable because encrypted backups need it.
- Refresh backups periodically as new newsletters, highlights, and rules accumulate.
Questions
Newsletter backup FAQ
What does a Letterboxx backup include?
A backup can protect the local newsletter library you build, including newsletters, Letterboxxes, rules, highlights, and settings.
Are Letterboxx backups encrypted?
Yes. Letterboxx backups are encrypted so your newsletter archive and reading history are protected outside the app.
Does a Letterboxx backup change my email account?
No. Backups protect the local Letterboxx library. Your original newsletters remain in Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, or your IMAP account.
Can I use backups when moving to another Mac?
Yes. A saved backup can help restore your Letterboxx newsletter library on another Mac as long as you have the backup file and passphrase.
Keep the library
Give your newsletter archive a recovery plan.
Use Letterboxx to build a local Mac reading library, then protect that library with encrypted backup and restore tools.
