After Google discontinued Inbox, many of us were left with no alternatives. And Spark used this opportunity to launch their email client for Android. In case you didn’t know, Spark is a popular email client app for Mac and iOS. So, when I saw them coming to Android, I quickly jumped ships. I have been using Spark for a while now. And although it doesn’t replace Inbox (I miss the active bundling control), it still has some neat features such as Biometric Authentication, Swipe customization, and Notification Personalization, etc. So, if you using or planning to use Spark, here are some hidden features you should know.
Read:Â Best Email Apps for Android
Spark Email Tips And Tricks
1. Notification Actions
My favourite feature in Spark is Notification Action customization. As the name suggests, it gives you control over the look and feel of the email notification.
Unlike Gmail, you can also remap the action buttons, like I have set Archive action to Delete emails. So if I get a promotional message, I can quickly delete it from the notification drawer itself. You can choose to change Mark as Read and Archive action to something else.Â
  
2. Notification Preview
Spark also lets you decide what you should see in the notification drawer. Like, normally Gmail sends you a short preview and the sender name in the notification drawer. With, Spark I can customize the mail preview to show me only the sender or both sender & subject line of the email. This comes in handy as you can easily figure out the priority of the email from the subject.
  
3. Swipes
Gmail recently added the swipe gesture to email which was pretty handy. But, guess what, Spark gives you 4 gesture options. You can even customize these gestures for an action. For instance, I do a short left swipe to Pin the email and a long left swipe to delete it. Similarly, you have the short right swipe and long right swipe which can be customized to archive messages or mark them as read.
Read:Â Best Email Apps for Android (2018)
A quick neat gesture is a swipe to get to next email. It works more like going through the pages of the book. You can scroll through all the emails of a folder with this gesture.
4. Snooze on Email
Gmail introduced a neat feature where you could snooze emails. The only problem was they would still appear in your feed labeled as Snoozed until so and so time. However, in Spark, you can snooze email and they don’t even appear on your feed. Moreover, you can also customize the snooze options you get. For instance, I mostly snooze personal emails for an evening time like 06:30, so I have customized the snooze option according to me.
5. Widget Customization
As smartphone’s displays get taller, it’s hard to reach the top of the phone. Spark let you customize the widgets to be placed either at the top or the bottom of the screen. Additionally, you can also choose up to 4 different widgets. These widgets are folders like Reminders, Snooze or Personal Folders.
6. Biometric Authentication
Your email consists of Bank Notifications, OTPs, and credentials. Now, that is extremely dangerous if it goes in wrong hands. While you can always opt for a third-party app locker, Spark lets you lock your email and notifications natively. You can also use Biometric authentication as well. Considering the sensitivity of emails, this is a good addition.
Read:Â How To Password Protect Email on iPhone and iPad
  
7. Smart Search
Unlike most email client, Spark’s search is more intuitive. For instance, rather than searching “Attachments Robert”, you can go ahead and search “Attachments from Robert”. The search keywords are more like sentences which you use in conversations. The searches are accurate and you can use complex queries like “PDF files last week”.
   
Closing Words
So these were some of the hidden features for Spark in Android. Currently, Spark is also working on a Windows variant and a web app. In future updates, we can assume Spark would be available on every platform.
For any queries, let me know in the comments below.
Read:Â 12 Best Chrome Flags for Android and Why You Need Them
