diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/deltachat.h b/deltachat-ffi/deltachat.h
index 052f0a621..f340c7020 100644
--- a/deltachat-ffi/deltachat.h
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/deltachat.h
@@ -1447,6 +1447,54 @@ int             dc_set_chat_mute_duration             (dc_context_t* context, ui
 char*           dc_get_msg_info              (dc_context_t* context, uint32_t msg_id);
 
 
+/**
+ * Get uncut message, if available.
+ *
+ * Delta Chat tries to break the message in simple parts as plain text or images
+ * that are retrieved using dc_msg_get_viewtype(), dc_msg_get_text(), dc_msg_get_file() and so on.
+ * This works totally fine for Delta Chat to Delta Chat communication,
+ * however, when the counterpart uses another E-Mail-client, this has limits:
+ *
+ * - even if we do some good job on removing quotes,
+ *   sometimes one needs to see them
+ * - HTML-only messages might lose information on conversion to text,
+ *   esp. when there are lots of embedded images
+ * - even if there is some plain text part for a HTML-message,
+ *   this is often poor and not nicely usable due to long links
+ *
+ * In these cases, dc_msg_has_html() returns 1
+ * and you can ask dc_get_msg_html() for some HTML-code
+ * that shows the uncut text (which is close to the original)
+ * For simplicity, the function _always_ returns HTML-code,
+ * this removes the need for the UI
+ * to deal with different formatting options of PLAIN-parts.
+ *
+ * **Note:** The returned HTML-code may contain scripts,
+ * external images that may be misused as hidden read-receipts and so on.
+ * Taking care of these parts
+ * while maintaining compatibility with the then generated HTML-code
+ * is not easily doable, if at all.
+ * Eg. taking care of tags and attributes is not sufficient,
+ * we would have to deal with linked content (eg. script, css),
+ * text (eg. script-blocks) and values (eg. javascript-protocol) as well;
+ * on this level, we have to deal with encodings, browser peculiarities and so on -
+ * and would still risk to oversee something and to break things.
+ *
+ * To avoid starting this cat-and-mouse game,
+ * and to close this issue in a sustainable way,
+ * it is up to the UI to display the HTML-code in an **appropriate sandbox environment** -
+ * that may eg. be an external browser or a WebView with scripting disabled.
+ *
+ * @memberof dc_context_t
+ * @param context The context object object.
+ * @param msg_id The message id for which the uncut text should be loaded
+ * @return Uncut text as HTML.
+ *     In case of errors, NULL is returned.
+ *     The result must be released using dc_str_unref().
+ */
+char*           dc_get_msg_html              (dc_context_t* context, uint32_t msg_id);
+
+
 /**
  * Get the raw mime-headers of the given message.
  * Raw headers are saved for incoming messages
@@ -3603,6 +3651,32 @@ int dc_msg_get_videochat_type (const dc_msg_t* msg);
 #define DC_VIDEOCHATTYPE_JITSI       2
 
 
+/**
+ * Checks if the message has a full HTML version.
+ *
+ * Messages have a full HTML version
+ * if the original message _may_ contain important parts
+ * that are removed by some heuristics
+ * or if the message is just too long or too complex
+ * to get displayed properly by just using plain text.
+ * If so, the UI should offer a button as
+ * "Show full message" that shows the uncut message using dc_get_msg_html().
+ *
+ * Even if a "Show full message" button is recommended,
+ * the UI should display the text in the bubble
+ * using the normal dc_msg_get_text() function -
+ * which will still be fine in many cases.
+ *
+ * @memberof dc_msg_t
+ * @param msg The message object.
+ * @return 0=Message as displayed using dc_msg_get_text() is just fine;
+ *     1=The message has a full HTML version,
+ *     should be displayed using dc_msg_get_text()
+ *     and a button to show the full version should be offered
+ */
+int dc_msg_has_html (dc_msg_t* msg);
+
+
 /**
  * Set the text of a message object.
  * This does not alter any information in the database; this may be done by dc_send_msg() later.
diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs b/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs
index 4d3f3253c..dfac0da21 100644
--- a/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs
@@ -1389,6 +1389,20 @@ pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_get_msg_info(
     block_on(message::get_msg_info(&ctx, MsgId::new(msg_id))).strdup()
 }
 
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_get_msg_html(
+    context: *mut dc_context_t,
+    msg_id: u32,
+) -> *mut libc::c_char {
+    if context.is_null() {
+        eprintln!("ignoring careless call to dc_get_msg_html()");
+        return ptr::null_mut();
+    }
+    let ctx = &*context;
+
+    block_on(MsgId::new(msg_id).get_html(&ctx)).strdup()
+}
+
 #[no_mangle]
 pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_get_mime_headers(
     context: *mut dc_context_t,
@@ -2861,6 +2875,16 @@ pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_msg_is_setupmessage(msg: *mut dc_msg_t) -> libc::c_i
     ffi_msg.message.is_setupmessage().into()
 }
 
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_msg_has_html(msg: *mut dc_msg_t) -> libc::c_int {
+    if msg.is_null() {
+        eprintln!("ignoring careless call to dc_msg_has_html()");
+        return 0;
+    }
+    let ffi_msg = &*msg;
+    ffi_msg.message.has_html().into()
+}
+
 #[no_mangle]
 pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_msg_get_videochat_url(msg: *mut dc_msg_t) -> *mut libc::c_char {
     if msg.is_null() {
diff --git a/examples/repl/cmdline.rs b/examples/repl/cmdline.rs
index cf1657bee..03ab5a681 100644
--- a/examples/repl/cmdline.rs
+++ b/examples/repl/cmdline.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ use deltachat::qr::*;
 use deltachat::sql;
 use deltachat::EventType;
 use deltachat::{config, provider};
+use std::fs;
 
 /// Reset database tables.
 /// Argument is a bitmask, executing single or multiple actions in one call.
@@ -185,7 +186,7 @@ async fn log_msg(context: &Context, prefix: impl AsRef<str>, msg: &Message) {
     let temp2 = dc_timestamp_to_str(msg.get_timestamp());
     let msgtext = msg.get_text();
     println!(
-        "{}{}{}{}: {} (Contact#{}): {} {}{}{}{}{} [{}]",
+        "{}{}{}{}: {} (Contact#{}): {} {}{}{}{}{}{} [{}]",
         prefix.as_ref(),
         msg.get_id(),
         if msg.get_showpadlock() { "🔒" } else { "" },
@@ -193,6 +194,7 @@ async fn log_msg(context: &Context, prefix: impl AsRef<str>, msg: &Message) {
         &contact_name,
         contact_id,
         msgtext.unwrap_or_default(),
+        if msg.has_html() { "[HAS-HTML]️" } else { "" },
         if msg.get_from_id() == 1 as libc::c_uint {
             ""
         } else if msg.get_state() == MessageState::InSeen {
@@ -384,6 +386,7 @@ pub async fn cmdline(context: Context, line: &str, chat_id: &mut ChatId) -> Resu
                  ===========================Message commands==\n\
                  listmsgs <query>\n\
                  msginfo <msg-id>\n\
+                 html <msg-id>\n\
                  listfresh\n\
                  forward <msg-id> <chat-id>\n\
                  markseen <msg-id>\n\
@@ -942,6 +945,16 @@ pub async fn cmdline(context: Context, line: &str, chat_id: &mut ChatId) -> Resu
             let res = message::get_msg_info(&context, id).await;
             println!("{}", res);
         }
+        "html" => {
+            ensure!(!arg1.is_empty(), "Argument <msg-id> missing.");
+            let id = MsgId::new(arg1.parse()?);
+            let file = dirs::home_dir()
+                .unwrap_or_default()
+                .join(format!("msg-{}.html", id.to_u32()));
+            let html = id.get_html(&context).await;
+            fs::write(&file, html)?;
+            println!("HTML written to: {:#?}", file);
+        }
         "listfresh" => {
             let msglist = context.get_fresh_msgs().await;
 
diff --git a/src/dc_receive_imf.rs b/src/dc_receive_imf.rs
index 191712830..237ee48b1 100644
--- a/src/dc_receive_imf.rs
+++ b/src/dc_receive_imf.rs
@@ -802,11 +802,24 @@ async fn add_parts(
     let mut parts = std::mem::replace(&mut mime_parser.parts, Vec::new());
     let server_folder = server_folder.as_ref().to_string();
     let is_system_message = mime_parser.is_system_message;
-    let mime_headers = if save_mime_headers {
+
+    // if indicated by the parser,
+    // we save the full mime-message and add a flag
+    // that the ui should show button to display the full message.
+    //
+    // (currently, we skip saving mime-messages for encrypted messages
+    // as there is probably no huge intersection between html-messages and encrypted messages,
+    // however, that should be doable, we need the decrypted mime-structure in this case)
+
+    // a flag used to avoid adding "show full message" button to multiple parts of the message.
+    let mut save_mime_modified = mime_parser.is_mime_modified && !mime_parser.was_encrypted();
+
+    let mime_headers = if save_mime_headers || save_mime_modified {
         Some(String::from_utf8_lossy(imf_raw).to_string())
     } else {
         None
     };
+
     let sent_timestamp = *sent_timestamp;
     let is_hidden = *hidden;
     let chat_id = *chat_id;
@@ -826,8 +839,9 @@ async fn add_parts(
                     "INSERT INTO msgs \
          (rfc724_mid, server_folder, server_uid, chat_id, from_id, to_id, timestamp, \
          timestamp_sent, timestamp_rcvd, type, state, msgrmsg,  txt, txt_raw, param, \
-         bytes, hidden, mime_headers,  mime_in_reply_to, mime_references, error, ephemeral_timer, ephemeral_timestamp) \
-         VALUES (?,?,?,?,?,?, ?,?,?,?,?,?, ?,?,?,?,?,?, ?,?, ?,?,?);",
+         bytes, hidden, mime_headers,  mime_in_reply_to, mime_references, mime_modified, \
+         error, ephemeral_timer, ephemeral_timestamp) \
+         VALUES (?,?,?,?,?,?,?, ?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?, ?,?,?,?,?,?, ?,?,?);",
                 )?;
 
                 let is_location_kml = location_kml_is
@@ -841,6 +855,12 @@ async fn add_parts(
                     }
                 }
 
+                let mime_modified = save_mime_modified && !part.msg.is_empty();
+                if mime_modified {
+                    // Avoid setting mime_modified for more than one part.
+                    save_mime_modified = false;
+                }
+
                 if part.typ == Viewtype::Text {
                     let msg_raw = part.msg_raw.as_ref().cloned().unwrap_or_default();
                     txt_raw = format!("{}\n\n{}", subject, msg_raw);
@@ -854,7 +874,9 @@ async fn add_parts(
                 } else {
                     match ephemeral_timer {
                         EphemeralTimer::Disabled => 0,
-                        EphemeralTimer::Enabled { duration } => rcvd_timestamp + i64::from(duration)
+                        EphemeralTimer::Enabled { duration } => {
+                            rcvd_timestamp + i64::from(duration)
+                        }
                     }
                 };
 
@@ -877,9 +899,14 @@ async fn add_parts(
                     part.param.to_string(),
                     part.bytes as isize,
                     is_hidden,
-                    mime_headers,
+                    if save_mime_headers || mime_modified {
+                        mime_headers.clone()
+                    } else {
+                        None
+                    },
                     mime_in_reply_to,
                     mime_references,
+                    mime_modified,
                     part.error.take().unwrap_or_default(),
                     ephemeral_timer,
                     ephemeral_timestamp
diff --git a/src/dehtml.rs b/src/dehtml.rs
index 3464fef85..2eae9547a 100644
--- a/src/dehtml.rs
+++ b/src/dehtml.rs
@@ -390,9 +390,10 @@ mod tests {
         let input = include_str!("../test-data/message/gmx-quote-body.eml");
         let dehtml = dehtml(input).unwrap();
         println!("{}", dehtml);
-        let (msg, forwawded, top_quote) = simplify(dehtml, false);
+        let (msg, forwarded, cut, top_quote) = simplify(dehtml, false);
         assert_eq!(msg, "Test");
-        assert_eq!(forwawded, false);
+        assert_eq!(forwarded, false);
+        assert_eq!(cut, false);
         assert_eq!(top_quote.as_deref(), Some("test"));
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/headerdef.rs b/src/headerdef.rs
index cadb300aa..f349df5b9 100644
--- a/src/headerdef.rs
+++ b/src/headerdef.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ pub enum HeaderDef {
     InReplyTo,
     Precedence,
     ContentType,
+    ContentId,
     ChatVersion,
     ChatGroupId,
     ChatGroupName,
diff --git a/src/html.rs b/src/html.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d33d2c529
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/html.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,396 @@
+///! # Get message as HTML.
+///!
+///! Use `Message.has_html()` to check if the UI shall render a
+///! corresponding button and `MsgId.get_html()` to get the full message.
+///!
+///! Even when the original mime-message is not HTML,
+///! `MsgId.get_html()` will return HTML -
+///! this allows nice quoting, handling linebreaks properly etc.
+use futures::future::FutureExt;
+use std::future::Future;
+use std::pin::Pin;
+
+use lettre_email::mime::{self, Mime};
+
+use crate::context::Context;
+use crate::error::Result;
+use crate::headerdef::{HeaderDef, HeaderDefMap};
+use crate::message::{Message, MsgId};
+use crate::mimeparser::parse_message_id;
+use crate::plaintext::PlainText;
+use mailparse::ParsedContentType;
+
+impl Message {
+    /// Check if the message can be retrieved as HTML.
+    /// Typically, this is the case, when the mime structure of a Message is modified,
+    /// meaning that some text is cut or the original message
+    /// is in HTML and `simplify()` may hide some maybe important information.
+    /// The corresponding ffi-function is `dc_msg_has_html()`.
+    /// To get the HTML-code of the message, use `MsgId.get_html()`.
+    pub fn has_html(&self) -> bool {
+        self.mime_modified
+    }
+}
+
+/// Type defining a rough mime-type.
+/// This is mainly useful on iterating
+/// to decide whether a mime-part has subtypes.
+enum MimeMultipartType {
+    Multiple,
+    Single,
+    Message,
+}
+
+/// Function takes a content type from a ParsedMail structure
+/// and checks and returns the rough mime-type.
+async fn get_mime_multipart_type(ctype: &ParsedContentType) -> MimeMultipartType {
+    let mimetype = ctype.mimetype.to_lowercase();
+    if mimetype.starts_with("multipart") && ctype.params.get("boundary").is_some() {
+        MimeMultipartType::Multiple
+    } else if mimetype == "message/rfc822" {
+        MimeMultipartType::Message
+    } else {
+        MimeMultipartType::Single
+    }
+}
+
+/// HtmlMsgParser converts a mime-message to HTML.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+struct HtmlMsgParser {
+    pub html: String,
+    pub plain: Option<PlainText>,
+}
+
+impl HtmlMsgParser {
+    /// Function takes a raw mime-message string,
+    /// searches for the main-text part
+    /// and returns that as parser.html
+    pub async fn from_bytes(context: &Context, rawmime: &[u8]) -> Result<Self> {
+        let mut parser = HtmlMsgParser {
+            html: "".to_string(),
+            plain: None,
+        };
+
+        let parsedmail = mailparse::parse_mail(rawmime)?;
+
+        parser.collect_texts_recursive(context, &parsedmail).await?;
+
+        if parser.html.is_empty() {
+            if let Some(plain) = &parser.plain {
+                parser.html = plain.to_html().await;
+            }
+        } else {
+            parser.cid_to_data_recursive(context, &parsedmail).await?;
+        }
+
+        Ok(parser)
+    }
+
+    /// Function iterates over all mime-parts
+    /// and searches for text/plain and text/html parts and saves the
+    /// last one found
+    /// in the corresponding structure fields.
+    /// Usually, there is at most one plain-text and one HTML-text part.
+    fn collect_texts_recursive<'a>(
+        &'a mut self,
+        context: &'a Context,
+        mail: &'a mailparse::ParsedMail<'a>,
+    ) -> Pin<Box<dyn Future<Output = Result<()>> + 'a + Send>> {
+        // Boxed future to deal with recursion
+        async move {
+            match get_mime_multipart_type(&mail.ctype).await {
+                MimeMultipartType::Multiple => {
+                    for cur_data in mail.subparts.iter() {
+                        self.collect_texts_recursive(context, cur_data).await?
+                    }
+                    Ok(())
+                }
+                MimeMultipartType::Message => {
+                    let raw = mail.get_body_raw()?;
+                    if raw.is_empty() {
+                        return Ok(());
+                    }
+                    let mail = mailparse::parse_mail(&raw).unwrap();
+                    self.collect_texts_recursive(context, &mail).await
+                }
+                MimeMultipartType::Single => {
+                    let mimetype = mail.ctype.mimetype.parse::<Mime>()?;
+                    if mimetype == mime::TEXT_HTML {
+                        if let Ok(decoded_data) = mail.get_body() {
+                            self.html = decoded_data;
+                            return Ok(());
+                        }
+                    } else if mimetype == mime::TEXT_PLAIN {
+                        if let Ok(decoded_data) = mail.get_body() {
+                            self.plain = Some(PlainText {
+                                text: decoded_data,
+                                flowed: if let Some(format) = mail.ctype.params.get("format") {
+                                    format.as_str().to_ascii_lowercase() == "flowed"
+                                } else {
+                                    false
+                                },
+                                delsp: if let Some(delsp) = mail.ctype.params.get("delsp") {
+                                    delsp.as_str().to_ascii_lowercase() == "yes"
+                                } else {
+                                    false
+                                },
+                            });
+                            return Ok(());
+                        }
+                    }
+                    Ok(())
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        .boxed()
+    }
+
+    /// Replace cid:-protocol by the data:-protocol where appropriate.
+    /// This allows the final html-file to be self-contained.
+    fn cid_to_data_recursive<'a>(
+        &'a mut self,
+        context: &'a Context,
+        mail: &'a mailparse::ParsedMail<'a>,
+    ) -> Pin<Box<dyn Future<Output = Result<()>> + 'a + Send>> {
+        // Boxed future to deal with recursion
+        async move {
+            match get_mime_multipart_type(&mail.ctype).await {
+                MimeMultipartType::Multiple => {
+                    for cur_data in mail.subparts.iter() {
+                        self.cid_to_data_recursive(context, cur_data).await?;
+                    }
+                    Ok(())
+                }
+                MimeMultipartType::Message => {
+                    let raw = mail.get_body_raw()?;
+                    if raw.is_empty() {
+                        return Ok(());
+                    }
+                    let mail = mailparse::parse_mail(&raw).unwrap();
+                    self.cid_to_data_recursive(context, &mail).await
+                }
+                MimeMultipartType::Single => {
+                    let mimetype = mail.ctype.mimetype.parse::<Mime>()?;
+                    if mimetype.type_() == mime::IMAGE {
+                        if let Some(cid) = mail.headers.get_header_value(HeaderDef::ContentId) {
+                            if let Ok(cid) = parse_message_id(&cid) {
+                                if let Ok(replacement) = mimepart_to_data_url(&mail).await {
+                                    let re_string = format!(
+                                        "(<img[^>]*src[^>]*=[^>]*)(cid:{})([^>]*>)",
+                                        regex::escape(&cid)
+                                    );
+                                    match regex::Regex::new(&re_string) {
+                                        Ok(re) => {
+                                            self.html = re
+                                                .replace_all(
+                                                    &*self.html,
+                                                    format!("${{1}}{}${{3}}", replacement).as_str(),
+                                                )
+                                                .as_ref()
+                                                .to_string()
+                                        }
+                                        Err(e) => warn!(
+                                            context,
+                                            "Cannot create regex for cid: {} throws {}",
+                                            re_string,
+                                            e
+                                        ),
+                                    }
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                    Ok(())
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        .boxed()
+    }
+}
+
+/// Convert a mime part to a data: url as defined in [RFC 2397](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2397).
+async fn mimepart_to_data_url(mail: &mailparse::ParsedMail<'_>) -> Result<String> {
+    let data = mail.get_body_raw()?;
+    let data = base64::encode(&data);
+    Ok(format!("data:{};base64,{}", mail.ctype.mimetype, data))
+}
+
+impl MsgId {
+    /// Get HTML from a message-id.
+    /// This requires `mime_headers` field to be set for the message;
+    /// this is the case at least when `Message.has_html()` returns true
+    /// (we do not save raw mime unconditionally in the database to save space).
+    /// The corresponding ffi-function is `dc_get_msg_html()`.
+    pub async fn get_html(self, context: &Context) -> String {
+        let rawmime: Option<String> = context
+            .sql
+            .query_get_value(
+                context,
+                "SELECT mime_headers FROM msgs WHERE id=?;",
+                paramsv![self],
+            )
+            .await;
+
+        if let Some(rawmime) = rawmime {
+            match HtmlMsgParser::from_bytes(context, rawmime.as_bytes()).await {
+                Err(err) => format!("parser error: {}", err),
+                Ok(parser) => parser.html,
+            }
+        } else {
+            format!("parser error: no mime for {}", self)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::test_utils::*;
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_htmlparse_plain_unspecified() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_plain_unspecified.eml");
+        let parser = HtmlMsgParser::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            parser.html,
+            r##"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+This message does not have Content-Type nor Subject.<br/>
+<br/>
+</body></html>
+"##
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_htmlparse_plain_iso88591() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_plain_iso88591.eml");
+        let parser = HtmlMsgParser::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            parser.html,
+            r##"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+message with a non-UTF-8 encoding: äöüßÄÖÜ<br/>
+<br/>
+</body></html>
+"##
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_htmlparse_plain_flowed() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_plain_flowed.eml");
+        let parser = HtmlMsgParser::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(parser.plain.unwrap().flowed);
+        assert_eq!(
+            parser.html,
+            r##"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+This line ends with a space and will be merged with the next one due to format=flowed.<br/>
+<br/>
+This line does not end with a space<br/>
+and will be wrapped as usual.<br/>
+<br/>
+</body></html>
+"##
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_htmlparse_alt_plain() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_alt_plain.eml");
+        let parser = HtmlMsgParser::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            parser.html,
+            r##"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+mime-modified should not be set set as there is no html and no special stuff;<br/>
+although not being a delta-message.<br/>
+test some special html-characters as &lt; &gt; and &amp; but also &quot; and &#x27; :)<br/>
+<br/>
+<br/>
+</body></html>
+"##
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_htmlparse_html() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_html.eml");
+        let parser = HtmlMsgParser::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+
+        // on windows, `\r\n` linends are returned from mimeparser,
+        // however, rust multiline-strings use just `\n`;
+        // therefore, we just remove `\r` before comparison.
+        assert_eq!(
+            parser.html.replace("\r", ""),
+            r##"
+<html>
+  <p>mime-modified <b>set</b>; simplify is always regarded as lossy.</p>
+</html>"##
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_htmlparse_alt_html() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_alt_html.eml");
+        let parser = HtmlMsgParser::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            parser.html.replace("\r", ""), // see comment in test_htmlparse_html()
+            r##"<html>
+  <p>mime-modified <b>set</b>; simplify is always regarded as lossy.</p>
+</html>
+
+"##
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_htmlparse_alt_plain_html() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_alt_plain_html.eml");
+        let parser = HtmlMsgParser::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            parser.html.replace("\r", ""), // see comment in test_htmlparse_html()
+            r##"<html>
+  <p>
+    this is <b>html</b>
+  </p>
+</html>
+
+"##
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_htmlparse_apple_cid_jpg() {
+        // load raw mime html-data with related image-part (cid:)
+        // and make sure, Content-Id has angle-brackets that are removed correctly.
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/apple_cid_jpg.eml");
+        let test = String::from_utf8_lossy(raw);
+        assert!(test
+            .find("Content-Id: <8AE052EF-BC90-486F-BB78-58D3590308EC@fritz.box>")
+            .is_some());
+        assert!(test
+            .find("cid:8AE052EF-BC90-486F-BB78-58D3590308EC@fritz.box")
+            .is_some());
+        assert!(test.find("data:").is_none());
+
+        // parsing converts cid: to data:
+        let parser = HtmlMsgParser::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(parser.html.find("<html>").is_some());
+        assert!(parser.html.find("Content-Id:").is_none());
+        assert!(parser
+            .html
+            .find("data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQ")
+            .is_some());
+        assert!(parser.html.find("cid:").is_none());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index c21980b55..251891eaf 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -76,6 +76,8 @@ pub mod stock;
 mod token;
 #[macro_use]
 mod dehtml;
+pub mod html;
+pub mod plaintext;
 
 pub mod dc_receive_imf;
 pub mod dc_tools;
diff --git a/src/message.rs b/src/message.rs
index d35a437d2..c62cfb24a 100644
--- a/src/message.rs
+++ b/src/message.rs
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ impl MsgId {
         context
             .sql
             .execute(
-                "UPDATE msgs SET chat_id=?, txt='', txt_raw='', from_id=0, to_id=0, param='' WHERE id=?",
+                "UPDATE msgs SET chat_id=?, txt='', txt_raw='', mime_headers='', from_id=0, to_id=0, param='' WHERE id=?",
                 paramsv![chat_id, self],
             )
             .await?;
@@ -264,6 +264,7 @@ pub struct Message {
     pub(crate) server_folder: Option<String>,
     pub(crate) server_uid: u32,
     pub(crate) is_dc_message: MessengerMessage,
+    pub(crate) mime_modified: bool,
     pub(crate) chat_blocked: Blocked,
     pub(crate) location_id: u32,
     error: Option<String>,
@@ -305,6 +306,7 @@ impl Message {
                     "    m.state AS state,",
                     "    m.error AS error,",
                     "    m.msgrmsg AS msgrmsg,",
+                    "    m.mime_modified AS mime_modified,",
                     "    m.txt AS txt,",
                     "    m.param AS param,",
                     "    m.hidden AS hidden,",
@@ -335,6 +337,7 @@ impl Message {
                     let error: String = row.get("error")?;
                     msg.error = Some(error).filter(|error| !error.is_empty());
                     msg.is_dc_message = row.get("msgrmsg")?;
+                    msg.mime_modified = row.get("mime_modified")?;
 
                     let text;
                     if let rusqlite::types::ValueRef::Text(buf) = row.get_raw("txt") {
diff --git a/src/mimeparser.rs b/src/mimeparser.rs
index 31e34b6b9..474fb6689 100644
--- a/src/mimeparser.rs
+++ b/src/mimeparser.rs
@@ -65,6 +65,10 @@ pub struct MimeMessage {
     pub(crate) group_avatar: Option<AvatarAction>,
     pub(crate) mdn_reports: Vec<Report>,
     pub(crate) failure_report: Option<FailureReport>,
+
+    // if this flag is set, the parts/text/etc. are just close to the original mime-message;
+    // clients should offer a way to view the original message in this case
+    pub is_mime_modified: bool,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
@@ -223,6 +227,7 @@ impl MimeMessage {
             user_avatar: None,
             group_avatar: None,
             failure_report: None,
+            is_mime_modified: false,
         };
         parser.parse_mime_recursive(context, &mail).await?;
         parser.maybe_remove_bad_parts();
@@ -598,6 +603,12 @@ impl MimeMessage {
                         }
                     }
                 }
+                if any_part_added && mail.subparts.len() > 1 {
+                    // there are other alternative parts, likely HTML,
+                    // so we might have missed some content on simplifying.
+                    // set mime-modified to force the ui to display a show-message button.
+                    self.is_mime_modified = true;
+                }
             }
             (mime::MULTIPART, "encrypted") => {
                 // we currently do not try to decrypt non-autocrypt messages
@@ -727,20 +738,26 @@ impl MimeMessage {
 
                         let mut dehtml_failed = false;
 
-                        let (simplified_txt, is_forwarded, top_quote) = if decoded_data.is_empty() {
-                            ("".to_string(), false, None)
-                        } else {
-                            let is_html = mime_type == mime::TEXT_HTML;
-                            let out = if is_html {
-                                dehtml(&decoded_data).unwrap_or_else(|| {
-                                    dehtml_failed = true;
-                                    decoded_data.clone()
-                                })
+                        let (simplified_txt, is_forwarded, is_cut, top_quote) =
+                            if decoded_data.is_empty() {
+                                ("".to_string(), false, false, None)
                             } else {
-                                decoded_data.clone()
+                                let is_html = mime_type == mime::TEXT_HTML;
+                                let out = if is_html {
+                                    self.is_mime_modified = true;
+                                    dehtml(&decoded_data).unwrap_or_else(|| {
+                                        dehtml_failed = true;
+                                        decoded_data.clone()
+                                    })
+                                } else {
+                                    decoded_data.clone()
+                                };
+                                simplify(out, self.has_chat_version())
                             };
-                            simplify(out, self.has_chat_version())
-                        };
+
+                        self.is_mime_modified = self.is_mime_modified
+                            || ((is_forwarded || is_cut || top_quote.is_some())
+                                && !self.has_chat_version());
 
                         let is_format_flowed = if let Some(format) = mail.ctype.params.get("format")
                         {
@@ -2562,4 +2579,67 @@ On 2020-10-25, Bob wrote:
         assert_eq!(msg.get_height(), 64);
         assert_eq!(msg.get_filemime().unwrap(), "image/png");
     }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_mime_modified_plain() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_plain_unspecified.eml");
+        let mimeparser = MimeMessage::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(!mimeparser.is_mime_modified);
+        assert_eq!(
+            mimeparser.parts[0].msg,
+            "This message does not have Content-Type nor Subject."
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_mime_modified_alt_plain_html() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_alt_plain_html.eml");
+        let mimeparser = MimeMessage::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(mimeparser.is_mime_modified);
+        assert_eq!(
+            mimeparser.parts[0].msg,
+            "mime-modified test – this is plain"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_mime_modified_alt_plain() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_alt_plain.eml");
+        let mimeparser = MimeMessage::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(!mimeparser.is_mime_modified);
+        assert_eq!(
+            mimeparser.parts[0].msg,
+            "mime-modified test – \
+        mime-modified should not be set set as there is no html and no special stuff;\n\
+        although not being a delta-message.\n\
+        test some special html-characters as < > and & but also \" and ' :)"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_mime_modified_alt_html() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_alt_html.eml");
+        let mimeparser = MimeMessage::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(mimeparser.is_mime_modified);
+        assert_eq!(
+            mimeparser.parts[0].msg,
+            "mime-modified test – mime-modified *set*; simplify is always regarded as lossy."
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_mime_modified_html() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        let raw = include_bytes!("../test-data/message/text_html.eml");
+        let mimeparser = MimeMessage::from_bytes(&t.ctx, raw).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(mimeparser.is_mime_modified);
+        assert_eq!(
+            mimeparser.parts[0].msg,
+            "mime-modified test – mime-modified *set*; simplify is always regarded as lossy."
+        );
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/plaintext.rs b/src/plaintext.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e78d3f85a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plaintext.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,252 @@
+///! Handle plain text together with some attributes.
+use crate::simplify::split_lines;
+use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct PlainText {
+    pub text: String,
+
+    /// Text may "flowed" as defined in [RFC 2646](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2646).
+    /// At a glance, that means, if a line ends with a space, it is merged with the next one
+    /// and the first leading spaces is ignored
+    /// (to allow lines starting with `>` that normally indicates a quote)
+    pub flowed: bool,
+
+    /// If set together with "flowed",
+    /// The space indicating merging two lines is removed.
+    pub delsp: bool,
+}
+
+impl PlainText {
+    /// Convert plain text to HTML.
+    /// The function handles quotes, links, fixed and floating text paragraphs.
+    pub async fn to_html(&self) -> String {
+        static LINKIFY_MAIL_RE: Lazy<regex::Regex> =
+            Lazy::new(|| regex::Regex::new(r#"\b([\w.\-+]+@[\w.\-]+)\b"#).unwrap());
+
+        static LINKIFY_URL_RE: Lazy<regex::Regex> = Lazy::new(|| {
+            regex::Regex::new(r#"\b((http|https|ftp|ftps):[\w.,:;$/@!?&%\-~=#+]+)"#).unwrap()
+        });
+
+        let lines = split_lines(&self.text);
+
+        let mut ret =
+            "<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" /></head><body>\n".to_string();
+
+        for line in lines {
+            let is_quote = line.starts_with('>');
+
+            // we need to do html-entity-encoding after linkify, as otherwise encapsulated links
+            // as <http://example.org> cannot be handled correctly
+            // (they would become &lt;http://example.org&gt; where the trailing &gt; would become a valid url part).
+            // to avoid double encoding, we escape our html-entities by \r that must not be used in the string elsewhere.
+            let line = line.to_string().replace("\r", "");
+
+            let mut line = LINKIFY_MAIL_RE
+                .replace_all(&*line, "\rLTa href=\rQUOTmailto:$1\rQUOT\rGT$1\rLT/a\rGT")
+                .as_ref()
+                .to_string();
+
+            line = LINKIFY_URL_RE
+                .replace_all(&*line, "\rLTa href=\rQUOT$1\rQUOT\rGT$1\rLT/a\rGT")
+                .as_ref()
+                .to_string();
+
+            // encode html-entities after linkify the raw string
+            line = escaper::encode_minimal(&line);
+
+            // make our escaped html-entities real after encoding all others
+            line = line.replace("\rLT", "<");
+            line = line.replace("\rGT", ">");
+            line = line.replace("\rQUOT", "\"");
+
+            if self.flowed {
+                // flowed text as of RFC 3676 -
+                // a leading space shall be removed
+                // and is only there to allow > at the beginning of a line that is no quote.
+                line = line.strip_prefix(" ").unwrap_or(&line).to_string();
+                if is_quote {
+                    line = "<em>".to_owned() + &line + "</em>";
+                }
+
+                // a trailing space indicates that the line can be merged with the next one;
+                // for sake of simplicity, we skip merging for quotes (quotes may be combined with
+                // delsp, so `> >` is different from `>>` etc. see RFC 3676 for details)
+                if line.ends_with(' ') && !is_quote {
+                    if self.delsp {
+                        line.pop();
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    line += "<br/>\n";
+                }
+            } else {
+                // normal, fixed text
+                if is_quote {
+                    line = "<em>".to_owned() + &line + "</em>";
+                }
+                line += "<br/>\n";
+            }
+
+            ret += &*line;
+        }
+        ret += "</body></html>\n";
+        ret
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_plain_to_html() {
+        let html = PlainText {
+            text: r##"line 1
+line 2
+line with https://link-mid-of-line.org and http://link-end-of-line.com/file?foo=bar%20
+http://link-at-start-of-line.org
+"##
+            .to_string(),
+            flowed: false,
+            delsp: false,
+        }
+        .to_html()
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(
+            html,
+            r##"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+line 1<br/>
+line 2<br/>
+line with <a href="https://link-mid-of-line.org">https://link-mid-of-line.org</a> and <a href="http://link-end-of-line.com/file?foo=bar%20">http://link-end-of-line.com/file?foo=bar%20</a><br/>
+<a href="http://link-at-start-of-line.org">http://link-at-start-of-line.org</a><br/>
+<br/>
+</body></html>
+"##
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_plain_to_html_encapsulated() {
+        let html = PlainText {
+            text: r#"line with <http://encapsulated.link/?foo=_bar> here!"#.to_string(),
+            flowed: false,
+            delsp: false,
+        }
+        .to_html()
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(
+            html,
+            r#"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+line with &lt;<a href="http://encapsulated.link/?foo=_bar">http://encapsulated.link/?foo=_bar</a>&gt; here!<br/>
+</body></html>
+"#
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_plain_to_html_nolink() {
+        let html = PlainText {
+            text: r#"line with nohttp://no.link here"#.to_string(),
+            flowed: false,
+            delsp: false,
+        }
+        .to_html()
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(
+            html,
+            r#"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+line with nohttp://no.link here<br/>
+</body></html>
+"#
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_plain_to_html_mailto() {
+        let html = PlainText {
+            text: r#"just an address: foo@bar.org another@one.de"#.to_string(),
+            flowed: false,
+            delsp: false,
+        }
+        .to_html()
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(
+            html,
+            r#"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+just an address: <a href="mailto:foo@bar.org">foo@bar.org</a> <a href="mailto:another@one.de">another@one.de</a><br/>
+</body></html>
+"#
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_plain_to_html_flowed() {
+        let html = PlainText {
+            text: "line \nstill line\n>quote \n>still quote\n >no quote".to_string(),
+            flowed: true,
+            delsp: false,
+        }
+        .to_html()
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(
+            html,
+            r#"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+line still line<br/>
+<em>&gt;quote </em><br/>
+<em>&gt;still quote</em><br/>
+&gt;no quote<br/>
+</body></html>
+"#
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_plain_to_html_flowed_delsp() {
+        let html = PlainText {
+            text: "line \nstill line\n>quote \n>still quote\n >no quote".to_string(),
+            flowed: true,
+            delsp: true,
+        }
+        .to_html()
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(
+            html,
+            r#"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+linestill line<br/>
+<em>&gt;quote </em><br/>
+<em>&gt;still quote</em><br/>
+&gt;no quote<br/>
+</body></html>
+"#
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_plain_to_html_fixed() {
+        let html = PlainText {
+            text: "line \nstill line\n>quote \n>still quote\n >no quote".to_string(),
+            flowed: false,
+            delsp: false,
+        }
+        .to_html()
+        .await;
+        assert_eq!(
+            html,
+            r#"<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /></head><body>
+line <br/>
+still line<br/>
+<em>&gt;quote </em><br/>
+<em>&gt;still quote</em><br/>
+ &gt;no quote<br/>
+</body></html>
+"#
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/simplify.rs b/src/simplify.rs
index 6c46414e1..bf6f75cba 100644
--- a/src/simplify.rs
+++ b/src/simplify.rs
@@ -17,13 +17,16 @@ pub fn escape_message_footer_marks(text: &str) -> String {
 }
 
 /// Remove standard (RFC 3676, §4.3) footer if it is found.
+/// Returns `(lines, is_footer_removed)` tuple;
+/// `is_footer_removed` is set to `true` if the footer was actually removed from `lines`
+/// (which is equal to the input array otherwise).
 #[allow(clippy::indexing_slicing)]
-fn remove_message_footer<'a>(lines: &'a [&str]) -> &'a [&'a str] {
+fn remove_message_footer<'a>(lines: &'a [&str]) -> (&'a [&'a str], bool) {
     let mut nearly_standard_footer = None;
     for (ix, &line) in lines.iter().enumerate() {
         match line {
             // some providers encode `-- ` to `-- =20` which results in `--  `
-            "-- " | "--  " => return &lines[..ix],
+            "-- " | "--  " => return (&lines[..ix], true),
             // some providers encode `-- ` to `=2D-` which results in only `--`;
             // use that only when no other footer is found
             // and if the line before is empty and the line after is not empty
@@ -37,13 +40,15 @@ fn remove_message_footer<'a>(lines: &'a [&str]) -> &'a [&'a str] {
         }
     }
     if let Some(ix) = nearly_standard_footer {
-        return &lines[..ix];
+        return (&lines[..ix], true);
     }
-    lines
+    (lines, false)
 }
 
-/// Remove nonstandard footer and a boolean indicating whether such
-/// footer was removed.
+/// Remove nonstandard footer and a boolean indicating whether such footer was removed.
+/// Returns `(lines, is_footer_removed)` tuple;
+/// `is_footer_removed` is set to `true` if the footer was actually removed from `lines`
+/// (which is equal to the input array otherwise).
 #[allow(clippy::indexing_slicing)]
 fn remove_nonstandard_footer<'a>(lines: &'a [&str]) -> (&'a [&'a str], bool) {
     for (ix, &line) in lines.iter().enumerate() {
@@ -60,20 +65,25 @@ fn remove_nonstandard_footer<'a>(lines: &'a [&str]) -> (&'a [&'a str], bool) {
     (lines, false)
 }
 
-fn split_lines(buf: &str) -> Vec<&str> {
+pub(crate) fn split_lines(buf: &str) -> Vec<&str> {
     buf.split('\n').collect()
 }
 
 /// Simplify message text for chat display.
 /// Remove quotes, signatures, trailing empty lines etc.
-pub fn simplify(mut input: String, is_chat_message: bool) -> (String, bool, Option<String>) {
+/// Returns `(text, is_forwarded, is_cut, quote)` tuple,
+/// returning the simplified text and some additional information gained from the input.
+pub fn simplify(mut input: String, is_chat_message: bool) -> (String, bool, bool, Option<String>) {
+    let mut is_cut = false;
+
     input.retain(|c| c != '\r');
     let lines = split_lines(&input);
     let (lines, is_forwarded) = skip_forward_header(&lines);
 
     let (lines, mut top_quote) = remove_top_quote(lines);
     let original_lines = &lines;
-    let lines = remove_message_footer(lines);
+    let (lines, footer_removed) = remove_message_footer(lines);
+    is_cut = is_cut || footer_removed;
 
     let text = if is_chat_message {
         render_message(lines, false)
@@ -88,6 +98,7 @@ pub fn simplify(mut input: String, is_chat_message: bool) -> (String, bool, Opti
         if lines.iter().all(|it| it.trim().is_empty()) {
             render_message(original_lines, false)
         } else {
+            is_cut = is_cut || has_nonstandard_footer || bottom_quote.is_some();
             render_message(lines, has_nonstandard_footer || bottom_quote.is_some())
         }
     };
@@ -95,11 +106,13 @@ pub fn simplify(mut input: String, is_chat_message: bool) -> (String, bool, Opti
     if !is_chat_message {
         top_quote = top_quote.map(|quote| {
             let quote_lines = split_lines(&quote);
-            let quote_lines = remove_message_footer(&quote_lines);
+            let (quote_lines, footer_removed) = remove_message_footer(&quote_lines);
+            is_cut = is_cut || footer_removed;
+
             render_message(quote_lines, false)
         });
     }
-    (text, is_forwarded, top_quote)
+    (text, is_forwarded, is_cut, top_quote)
 }
 
 /// Skips "forwarded message" header.
@@ -254,7 +267,7 @@ mod tests {
         #[test]
         // proptest does not support [[:graphical:][:space:]] regex.
         fn test_simplify_plain_text_fuzzy(input in "[!-~\t \n]+") {
-            let (output, _is_forwarded, _) = simplify(input, true);
+            let (output, _is_forwarded, _, _) = simplify(input, true);
             assert!(output.split('\n').all(|s| s != "-- "));
         }
     }
@@ -262,38 +275,42 @@ mod tests {
     #[test]
     fn test_dont_remove_whole_message() {
         let input = "\n------\nFailed\n------\n\nUh-oh, this workflow did not succeed!\n\nlots of other text".to_string();
-        let (plain, is_forwarded, _) = simplify(input, false);
+        let (plain, is_forwarded, is_cut, _) = simplify(input, false);
         assert_eq!(
             plain,
             "------\nFailed\n------\n\nUh-oh, this workflow did not succeed!\n\nlots of other text"
         );
         assert!(!is_forwarded);
+        assert!(!is_cut);
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn test_chat_message() {
         let input = "Hi! How are you?\n\n---\n\nI am good.\n-- \nSent with my Delta Chat Messenger: https://delta.chat".to_string();
-        let (plain, is_forwarded, _) = simplify(input, true);
+        let (plain, is_forwarded, is_cut, _) = simplify(input, true);
         assert_eq!(plain, "Hi! How are you?\n\n---\n\nI am good.");
         assert!(!is_forwarded);
+        assert!(is_cut);
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn test_simplify_trim() {
         let input = "line1\n\r\r\rline2".to_string();
-        let (plain, is_forwarded, _) = simplify(input, false);
+        let (plain, is_forwarded, is_cut, _) = simplify(input, false);
 
         assert_eq!(plain, "line1\nline2");
         assert!(!is_forwarded);
+        assert!(!is_cut);
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn test_simplify_forwarded_message() {
         let input = "---------- Forwarded message ----------\r\nFrom: test@example.com\r\n\r\nForwarded message\r\n-- \r\nSignature goes here".to_string();
-        let (plain, is_forwarded, _) = simplify(input, false);
+        let (plain, is_forwarded, is_cut, _) = simplify(input, false);
 
         assert_eq!(plain, "Forwarded message");
         assert!(is_forwarded);
+        assert!(is_cut);
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -335,41 +352,50 @@ mod tests {
     #[test]
     fn test_remove_message_footer() {
         let input = "text\n--\nno footer".to_string();
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(input, true);
+        let (plain, _, is_cut, _) = simplify(input, true);
         assert_eq!(plain, "text\n--\nno footer");
+        assert!(!is_cut);
 
         let input = "text\n\n--\n\nno footer".to_string();
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(input, true);
+        let (plain, _, is_cut, _) = simplify(input, true);
         assert_eq!(plain, "text\n\n--\n\nno footer");
+        assert!(!is_cut);
 
         let input = "text\n\n-- no footer\n\n".to_string();
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(input, true);
+        let (plain, _, _, _) = simplify(input, true);
         assert_eq!(plain, "text\n\n-- no footer");
 
         let input = "text\n\n--\nno footer\n-- \nfooter".to_string();
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(input, true);
+        let (plain, _, is_cut, _) = simplify(input, true);
         assert_eq!(plain, "text\n\n--\nno footer");
+        assert!(is_cut);
 
         let input = "text\n\n--\ntreated as footer when unescaped".to_string();
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(input.clone(), true);
+        let (plain, _, is_cut, _) = simplify(input.clone(), true);
         assert_eq!(plain, "text"); // see remove_message_footer() for some explanations
+        assert!(is_cut);
         let escaped = escape_message_footer_marks(&input);
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(escaped, true);
+        let (plain, _, is_cut, _) = simplify(escaped, true);
         assert_eq!(plain, "text\n\n--\ntreated as footer when unescaped");
+        assert!(!is_cut);
 
         // Nonstandard footer sent by https://siju.es/
         let input = "Message text here\n---Desde mi teléfono con SIJÚ\n\nQuote here".to_string();
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(input.clone(), false);
+        let (plain, _, is_cut, _) = simplify(input.clone(), false);
         assert_eq!(plain, "Message text here [...]");
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(input.clone(), true);
+        assert!(is_cut);
+        let (plain, _, is_cut, _) = simplify(input.clone(), true);
         assert_eq!(plain, input);
+        assert!(!is_cut);
 
         let input = "--\ntreated as footer when unescaped".to_string();
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(input.clone(), true);
+        let (plain, _, is_cut, _) = simplify(input.clone(), true);
         assert_eq!(plain, ""); // see remove_message_footer() for some explanations
+        assert!(is_cut);
 
         let escaped = escape_message_footer_marks(&input);
-        let (plain, _, _) = simplify(escaped, true);
+        let (plain, _, is_cut, _) = simplify(escaped, true);
         assert_eq!(plain, "--\ntreated as footer when unescaped");
+        assert!(!is_cut);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/sql.rs b/src/sql.rs
index 4c4fe98c5..b9c16078b 100644
--- a/src/sql.rs
+++ b/src/sql.rs
@@ -224,6 +224,31 @@ impl Sql {
         .await
     }
 
+    /// Check if a column exists in a given table.
+    pub async fn col_exists(
+        &self,
+        table_name: impl AsRef<str>,
+        col_name: impl AsRef<str>,
+    ) -> Result<bool> {
+        let table_name = table_name.as_ref().to_string();
+        let col_name = col_name.as_ref().to_string();
+        self.with_conn(move |conn| {
+            let mut exists = false;
+            // `PRAGMA table_info` returns one row per column,
+            // each row containing 0=cid, 1=name, 2=type, 3=notnull, 4=dflt_value
+            conn.pragma(None, "table_info", &table_name, |row| {
+                let curr_name: String = row.get(1)?;
+                if col_name == curr_name {
+                    exists = true;
+                }
+                Ok(())
+            })?;
+
+            Ok(exists)
+        })
+        .await
+    }
+
     /// Execute a query which is expected to return zero or one row.
     pub async fn query_row_optional<T, F>(
         &self,
@@ -1413,6 +1438,17 @@ CREATE INDEX devmsglabels_index1 ON devmsglabels (label);
 
             sql.set_raw_config_int(context, "dbversion", 71).await?;
         }
+        if dbversion < 72 {
+            info!(context, "[migration] v72");
+            if !sql.col_exists("msgs", "mime_modified").await? {
+                sql.execute(
+                    "ALTER TABLE msgs ADD COLUMN mime_modified INTEGER DEFAULT 0;",
+                    paramsv![],
+                )
+                .await?;
+            }
+            sql.set_raw_config_int(context, "dbversion", 72).await?;
+        }
 
         // (2) updates that require high-level objects
         // (the structure is complete now and all objects are usable)
@@ -1468,6 +1504,7 @@ async fn prune_tombstones(context: &Context) -> Result<()> {
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod test {
     use super::*;
+    use crate::test_utils::TestContext;
 
     #[test]
     fn test_maybe_add_file() {
@@ -1494,4 +1531,19 @@ mod test {
         assert!(!is_file_in_use(&files, Some(".txt"), "hello"));
         assert!(is_file_in_use(&files, Some("-suffix"), "world.txt-suffix"));
     }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_table_exists() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        assert!(t.ctx.sql.table_exists("msgs").await.unwrap());
+        assert!(!t.ctx.sql.table_exists("foobar").await.unwrap());
+    }
+
+    #[async_std::test]
+    async fn test_col_exists() {
+        let t = TestContext::new().await;
+        assert!(t.ctx.sql.col_exists("msgs", "mime_modified").await.unwrap());
+        assert!(!t.ctx.sql.col_exists("msgs", "foobar").await.unwrap());
+        assert!(!t.ctx.sql.col_exists("foobar", "foobar").await.unwrap());
+    }
 }
diff --git a/test-data/message/apple_cid_jpg.eml b/test-data/message/apple_cid_jpg.eml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..322403ffb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-data/message/apple_cid_jpg.eml
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+From: =?utf-8?Q?Bj=C3=B6rn_Petersen?= <somewhere-apple@me.com>
+Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
+	boundary="Apple-Mail=_19251BCB-E12B-423A-9553-5A68560C2AFD"
+Mime-Version: 1.0 (Mac OS X Mail 13.4 \(3608.120.23.2.4\))
+Subject: a jpeg
+Message-Id: <BC47DA72-6C78-443A-8EBF-2CD199ABAD09@me.com>
+Date: Sat, 9 Jan 2021 00:36:11 +0100
+To: somewhere-nonapple@testrun.org
+X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.3608.120.23.2.4)
+
+
+--Apple-Mail=_19251BCB-E12B-423A-9553-5A68560C2AFD
+Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
+Content-Type: text/plain;
+	charset=us-ascii
+
+
+a jpeg
+--Apple-Mail=_19251BCB-E12B-423A-9553-5A68560C2AFD
+Content-Type: multipart/related;
+	type="text/html";
+	boundary="Apple-Mail=_4C3710FD-D75D-47FB-8D41-983220390856"
+
+
+--Apple-Mail=_4C3710FD-D75D-47FB-8D41-983220390856
+Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
+Content-Type: text/html;
+	charset=us-ascii
+
+<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><base></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><base class=""><div class="Apple-Mail-URLShareUserContentTopClass"><br class=""></div><div class="Apple-Mail-URLShareWrapperClass"><blockquote type="cite" style="border-left-style: none; color: inherit; padding: inherit; margin: inherit;" class="">a jpeg
+	<img apple-inline="yes" id="118F6150-5EF5-4DE8-917F-1851EC94FB7C" src="cid:8AE052EF-BC90-486F-BB78-58D3590308EC@fritz.box" class=""></blockquote></div></body></html>
+--Apple-Mail=_4C3710FD-D75D-47FB-8D41-983220390856
+Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
+Content-Disposition: inline;
+	filename=small.jpg
+Content-Type: image/jpeg;
+	x-unix-mode=0666;
+	name="small.jpg"
+Content-Id: <8AE052EF-BC90-486F-BB78-58D3590308EC@fritz.box>
+
+/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEBLAEsAAD/2wBDABELDA8MChEPDg8TEhEUGSobGRcXGTMkJh4qPDU/Pjs1
+OjlDS2BRQ0daSDk6U3FUWmNma2xrQFB2fnRofWBpa2f/2wBDARITExkWGTEbGzFnRTpFZ2dnZ2dn
+Z2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2dnZ2f/wgARCAAIAAgDAREA
+AhEBAxEB/8QAFAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABP/EABUBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMF/9oADAMB
+AAIQAxAAAAF8s//EABQQAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQEAAQUCf//EABQRAQAAAAAAAAAA
+AAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQMBAT8Bf//EABQRAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQIBAT8Bf//EABQQ
+AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQEABj8Cf//EABQQAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQEA
+AT8hf//aAAwDAQACAAMAAAAQ3//EABQRAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQMBAT8Qf//EABQR
+AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQIBAT8Qf//EABQQAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQEA
+AT8Qf//Z
+--Apple-Mail=_4C3710FD-D75D-47FB-8D41-983220390856--
+
+--Apple-Mail=_19251BCB-E12B-423A-9553-5A68560C2AFD--
diff --git a/test-data/message/text_alt_html.eml b/test-data/message/text_alt_html.eml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dde1b9ed2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-data/message/text_alt_html.eml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+Subject: mime-modified test
+Message-ID: 12345@testrun.org
+Date: Sat, 07 Dec 2019 19:00:27 +0000
+To: recp@testrun.org
+From: sender@testrun.org
+Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="==BREAK=="
+
+
+--==BREAK==
+Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
+
+<html>
+  <p>mime-modified <b>set</b>; simplify is always regarded as lossy.</p>
+</html>
+
+--==BREAK==--
diff --git a/test-data/message/text_alt_plain.eml b/test-data/message/text_alt_plain.eml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aeed9b886
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-data/message/text_alt_plain.eml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+Subject: mime-modified test
+Message-ID: 12345@testrun.org
+Date: Sat, 07 Dec 2019 19:00:27 +0000
+To: recp@testrun.org
+From: sender@testrun.org
+Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="==BREAK=="
+
+
+--==BREAK==
+Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
+
+mime-modified should not be set set as there is no html and no special stuff;
+although not being a delta-message.
+test some special html-characters as < > and & but also " and ' :)
+
+--==BREAK==--
diff --git a/test-data/message/text_alt_plain_html.eml b/test-data/message/text_alt_plain_html.eml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..596499778
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-data/message/text_alt_plain_html.eml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+Subject: mime-modified test
+Message-ID: 12345@testrun.org
+Date: Sat, 07 Dec 2019 19:00:27 +0000
+To: recp@testrun.org
+From: sender@testrun.org
+Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="==BREAK=="
+
+
+--==BREAK==
+Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
+
+this is plain
+
+--==BREAK==
+Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
+
+<html>
+  <p>
+    this is <b>html</b>
+  </p>
+</html>
+
+--==BREAK==--
diff --git a/test-data/message/text_html.eml b/test-data/message/text_html.eml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..93c667de4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-data/message/text_html.eml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+Subject: mime-modified test
+Message-ID: 12345@testrun.org
+Date: Sat, 07 Dec 2019 19:00:27 +0000
+To: recp@testrun.org
+From: sender@testrun.org
+Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
+
+
+<html>
+  <p>mime-modified <b>set</b>; simplify is always regarded as lossy.</p>
+</html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test-data/message/text_plain_flowed.eml b/test-data/message/text_plain_flowed.eml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7bb4235b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-data/message/text_plain_flowed.eml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+Message-Id: <lkjsdf01u@example.org>
+Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2019 19:00:13 +0200
+From: lmn <x@tux.org>
+To: abc <abc@bcd.com>
+Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
+
+This line ends with a space 
+and will be merged with the next one due to format=flowed.
+
+This line does not end with a space
+and will be wrapped as usual.
diff --git a/test-data/message/text_plain_iso88591.eml b/test-data/message/text_plain_iso88591.eml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6432c91e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-data/message/text_plain_iso88591.eml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+Message-Id: <lkjsdf01u@example.org>
+Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2019 19:00:13 +0200
+From: lmn <x@tux.org>
+To: abc <abc@bcd.com>
+Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
+
+message with a non-UTF-8 encoding: �������
diff --git a/test-data/message/text_plain_unspecified.eml b/test-data/message/text_plain_unspecified.eml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cefdf8457
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-data/message/text_plain_unspecified.eml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+Message-Id: <lkjsdf01u@example.org>
+Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2019 19:00:13 +0200
+From: lmn <x@tux.org>
+To: abc <abc@bcd.com>
+
+This message does not have Content-Type nor Subject.