Pobox was one of the oldest email services on the internet, founded in 1995 as a lifetime email forwarding provider. Fastmail acquired Pobox (and its sister service Listbox) from IC Group in 2015. After nearly a decade of running the two services in parallel, Fastmail completed the full merger on November 12, 2024. Pobox no longer exists as a separate service. All former Pobox customers have been migrated to Fastmail accounts.
This entity page exists for reference. Anyone searching for Pobox in 2025 or later is looking for Fastmail.
What happened
- 1995: Pobox founded as a lifetime email forwarding service.
- 2015: Fastmail acquired Pobox and Listbox from IC Group.
- 2015-2024: Both services operated in parallel. Pobox continued accepting new customers and managing forwarding independently.
- November 12, 2024: Fastmail completed the Pobox sunset. All Pobox accounts, aliases, and forwarding rules migrated to Fastmail. The migration preserved forwarding configurations, so mail delivery continued without interruption.
For former Pobox users
Fastmail has published a 
migration guide for Pobox users. Key points:
- Pobox forwarding rules were carried over to Fastmail accounts automatically.
- Existing mail client configurations (IMAP/POP3 settings) continue to work.
- Pobox aliases continue to receive mail and forward to the configured destinations.
- Subscription details for migrated users are documented in Fastmail’s billing guide.
Alternatives
For operators looking for email forwarding in 2025 and beyond:
- Fastmail (€5/month) is the direct successor, providing full mailbox hosting with forwarding, Masked Email, and JMAP API.
- ImprovMX (free tier) for simple forwarding without a mailbox.
- Forward Email (free tier) for unlimited free forwarding with optional $3/month mailbox hosting.
(For a category overview, see the email forwarding services roundup.)