EMAIL FORWARDING SERVICE FAQS

The previous service was closed permanently in April 2021. It was over ten years old and displayed very heavy signs of wear and tear, and crucially, emails sent via the service could no longer be guaranteed for delivery. The service was upgraded to a new UK based provider, Aluminati.

If you did not opt-out of the initial migration in April 2021 from the Oxford email forwarding service to Aluminati, you will have received an email of the upgrade and instructions on what to do next. If you haven't received this email, please contact the Aluminati helpdesk: help@mail.oxfordalumni.org 

When we migrated to our new providers, Aluminati, they agreed a free full, no obligation one year trial of their Premium Pro level account for all Legacy Users only of the previous Oxford Email Forwarding Service. This included increased extra storage and the ability to send/receive emails from your phone's email app. If you have recently received notice that the trial is coming to an end you can decide whether to subscribe to continue this service or continue at the free account level. The free account still gives you the ability to forward email and send/receive via their webmail service. You do not need to take action to downgrade - this will happen automatically after several reminder emails. 

One of the benefits of appointing Aluminati as the supplier for the Oxford Alumni Email Service is they offer everything the previous service provided (including the ability to continue forwarding your email) but with the addition of entirely discretionary enhanced options for those who wish to increase their use of our email service (connect your phone, more storage, send as well as receive). Each year you will receive a reminder that you have your account and, if you are on one of the paid subscriptions (or benefitting from a free trial), a few reminders asking if you wish to renew. You can always decide to switch to the free account and rest assured if you take no action you will be automatically switched to the free tier. 

No. Your forwarding address will remain the same unless you decide to change it in the new service.  

Yes. The email forwarding service provided by Aluminati will remain free of charge for Legacy Users of the previous Oxford email forwarding service. 

No. As this is still a forwarding service to your native email address (eg. Outlook, Gmail), it will not affect any folders you may have set up in your native email account.  

Aluminati are a UK based organisation that specialise in educational digital solutions. Aluminati operates worldwide with customers in the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, with clients such as the University of Cambridge, LSE, University of Manchester, UCL and many more.  

We have grouped a series of FAQs commonly asked within this area: 

1. Is the email service Oxford provides to its alumni compliant with GDPR? 

The provider we have engaged is fully compliant with GDPR. You can read the full details on the service Privacy Policy. 

2. To what extent is the company using data protection by design and by default? 

The email system that runs the Service has undergone a formal security assessment by the University covering 100+ security aspects including both infrastructure, systems, software and policy checks. The Service is also run in accordance with a service contract that mandates adherence to security and privacy policies acceptable to the University and is respectful of our members' rights to privacy.

3. To what extent does the company have access to user data? 

Under the Data Processing Agreement, Aluminati has access to user data strictly for the purposes of operating the service. 

4. Where are the servers located that Aluminati use? 

All servers involved in operating the Service are located in the United Kingdom. 

For more about the University's approach to information security, please visit here. 

If you wish to discontinue using the service, please email Aluminati's helpdesk (help@mail.oxfordalumni.org) with the information below, who will then delete your account:  

• Name 

• Email address 

• Forwarding Address 

• Oxford Number (formerly alumni number (if known))

At the moment, we are working with Legacy Users ONLY.

At the moment, we are working with Legacy Users ONLY.

Please note, this service is separate from NEXUS. Any queries regarding your NEXUS account should be directed to IT Services.