I’m having trouble with HTML email formatting after Gmail updated to version 4.2.1. My code used to work fine before this update, but now all the HTML styling gets removed when emails are sent.
Here’s what I’m using:
Intent emailIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
emailIntent.setType("message/rfc822");
String[] recipients = new String[] { "[email protected]" };
emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_EMAIL, recipients);
emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SUBJECT, "Sample Subject Line");
emailIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, Html.fromHtml("Hi there! This has <b>bold formatting</b> and <u>underlined text</u> plus <a href='https://example.com'>clickable links</a>."));
The weird part is that when I’m composing the email, the preview shows all the formatting correctly. Bold text looks bold, underlined text is underlined, and links appear as links. But when the email actually gets sent, the person receiving it sees plain text with no formatting at all.
This issue isn’t just with intents either. I tested creating a formatted email draft in Gmail web, and when I send it through the Android Gmail app, the formatting disappears too. Has anyone found a solution for this?
Hit this exact problem three weeks ago when Gmail 4.2.1 killed our client’s newsletter sharing. Gmail’s new sanitization strips HTML during send, not when you’re writing. I got around it with a hybrid fix - detect if Gmail’s the default client and handle it differently. For Gmail, I Base64 encode the HTML before sending through the intent, then add decoding instructions in plain text as backup. This fools Gmail’s sanitizer since it sees encoded content as regular text first. The recipient’s client decodes it and renders HTML normally. It’s hacky but keeps formatting consistent across email apps. Only catch is bigger file size, but that’s pretty minor for normal emails.
Had this exact problem two weeks ago and found a solid workaround. Gmail 4.2.1 doesn’t play nice with Html.fromHtml() when you’re using ACTION_SEND intents. Skip Html.fromHtml() entirely - set the MIME type to “text/html” and pass your raw HTML string straight to EXTRA_TEXT. Gmail handles raw HTML way better than pre-processed Spanned text in this version. Don’t forget to add the HTML_FORMAT flag for proper rendering. That formatting mess you’re seeing happens because Gmail’s new sanitization kicks in after composition but before sending. That’s why your preview looks fine but recipients get plain text. I’ve tested this with different HTML structures and it keeps formatting intact through the whole send process.
Been dealing with this exact headache across multiple projects. The real issue isn’t your code - it’s Gmail’s inconsistent handling of formatted content through intents.
Skip fighting Gmail’s quirks and automate the whole email process instead. I set up workflows that bypass the Gmail app completely and send formatted emails directly through SMTP or email APIs. No more worrying about app updates breaking your formatting.
Build an automation that takes your HTML content, processes it properly, and sends it through reliable email services that actually preserve formatting. I’ve done this for several apps where consistent email formatting was critical.
The automation handles everything - formatting validation, fallbacks for different email clients, delivery confirmation, even retry logic if sends fail. Way more reliable than depending on whatever Gmail decides to do with your HTML.
You also get proper analytics on email delivery and can customize sending behavior based on recipient preferences or device types.
This is a known bug in Gmail 4.2.1 that breaks HTML email composition. Hit the same thing last month - our app’s email sharing suddenly went from formatted messages to plain text. Gmail’s screwing up HTML content when it sends, not during composition. I fixed it by ditching Intent.ACTION_SEND and switching to Intent.ACTION_SENDTO with mailto URIs instead. You can stick basic HTML right in the body parameter of the mailto URL. It’s not as flexible as full HTML support, but you’ll keep essential formatting like bold, italic, and links. Downside? You’re stuck with simpler HTML structures. But hey, at least the formatting actually survives. Seems like Gmail 4.2.1’s HTML parser strips everything when you use standard email intents, but plays nicer with mailto URIs.
Ugh, this Gmail update is driving me crazy! Hit the same issue yesterday - rolling back to an older Gmail APK totally fixed it. Grabbed Gmail 4.1.8 from APKMirror and HTML formatting works perfectly now. Not a long-term solution, but it’s a solid quick fix while Google gets their act together. This bug only affects Gmail too - other email apps handle the same intent without any problems.