diff --git a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/AuthenticationManager.java b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/AuthenticationManager.java
index 6ee6dc6..1ebbce9 100644
--- a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/AuthenticationManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/AuthenticationManager.java
@@ -72,7 +72,4 @@
         return "provider list: " + this.providers.toString();
     }
 
-    public abstract User getUser (String username, String method)
-            throws KustvaktException;
-
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/DummyAuthenticationManager.java b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/DummyAuthenticationManager.java
index 83b979c..21379b2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/DummyAuthenticationManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/DummyAuthenticationManager.java
@@ -62,12 +62,4 @@
         // TODO Auto-generated method stub
 
     }
-
-    @Override
-    public User getUser (String username, String method)
-            throws KustvaktException {
-        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
-        return null;
-    }
-
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/KustvaktAuthenticationManager.java b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/KustvaktAuthenticationManager.java
index e5f5a54..031c3c1 100644
--- a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/KustvaktAuthenticationManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/authentication/KustvaktAuthenticationManager.java
@@ -131,24 +131,6 @@
         //		return entHandler.getAccount(username);
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public User getUser (String username, String method)
-            throws KustvaktException {
-        KorAPUser user = new KorAPUser();
-        user.setUsername(username);
-        String email = null;
-        switch (method.toLowerCase()) {
-            case "ldap":
-                email = config.getTestEmail();
-                break;
-            default:
-                email = config.getTestEmail();
-                break;
-        }
-        user.setEmail(email);
-        return user;
-    }
-
     public TokenContext refresh (TokenContext context)
             throws KustvaktException {
         AuthenticationIface provider = getProvider(context.getTokenType(),
@@ -315,6 +297,7 @@
         return user;
     }
 
+    @Deprecated
     // todo: what if attributes null?
     private User authenticate (String username, String password,
             Map<String, Object> attr) throws KustvaktException {
diff --git a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/config/FullConfiguration.java b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/config/FullConfiguration.java
index 6a55ece..75c6162 100644
--- a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/config/FullConfiguration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/config/FullConfiguration.java
@@ -27,13 +27,6 @@
 
 public class FullConfiguration extends KustvaktConfiguration {
     public static Logger jlog = LogManager.getLogger(FullConfiguration.class);
-    // mail configuration
-    private boolean isMailEnabled;
-    private String testEmail;
-    private String noReply;
-    private String emailAddressRetrieval;
-
-    private String groupInvitationTemplate;
 
     private String ldapConfig;
 
@@ -85,7 +78,6 @@
 
         // EM: pattern for matching availability in Krill matches
         setLicensePatterns(properties);
-        setMailConfiguration(properties);
         ldapConfig = properties.getProperty("ldap.config");
 
         setSecurityConfiguration(properties);
@@ -149,21 +141,6 @@
                 .getProperty("oauth2.refresh.token.long.expiry", "365D")));
     }
 
-    private void setMailConfiguration (Properties properties) {
-        setMailEnabled(Boolean
-                .valueOf(properties.getProperty("mail.enabled", "false")));
-        if (isMailEnabled) {
-            // other properties must be set in the kustvakt.conf
-            setTestEmail(
-                    properties.getProperty("mail.receiver", "test@localhost"));
-            setNoReply(properties.getProperty("mail.sender"));
-            setGroupInvitationTemplate(
-                    properties.getProperty("template.group.invitation"));
-            setEmailAddressRetrieval(
-                    properties.getProperty("mail.address.retrieval", "test"));
-        }
-    }
-
     private void setLicensePatterns (Properties properties) {
         setFreeLicensePattern(compilePattern(getFreeOnlyRegex()));
         setPublicLicensePattern(compilePattern(
@@ -293,46 +270,6 @@
         this.allOnlyRegex = allOnlyRegex;
     }
 
-    public String getTestEmail () {
-        return testEmail;
-    }
-
-    public void setTestEmail (String testEmail) {
-        this.testEmail = testEmail;
-    }
-
-    public boolean isMailEnabled () {
-        return isMailEnabled;
-    }
-
-    public void setMailEnabled (boolean isMailEnabled) {
-        this.isMailEnabled = isMailEnabled;
-    }
-
-    public String getNoReply () {
-        return noReply;
-    }
-
-    public void setNoReply (String noReply) {
-        this.noReply = noReply;
-    }
-
-    public String getGroupInvitationTemplate () {
-        return groupInvitationTemplate;
-    }
-
-    public void setGroupInvitationTemplate (String groupInvitationTemplate) {
-        this.groupInvitationTemplate = groupInvitationTemplate;
-    }
-
-    public String getEmailAddressRetrieval () {
-        return emailAddressRetrieval;
-    }
-
-    public void setEmailAddressRetrieval (String emailAddressRetrieval) {
-        this.emailAddressRetrieval = emailAddressRetrieval;
-    }
-
     public EncryptionIface.Encryption getSecureHashAlgorithm () {
         return secureHashAlgorithm;
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/config/KustvaktConfiguration.java b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/config/KustvaktConfiguration.java
index a1ccd11..0482d7e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/config/KustvaktConfiguration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/config/KustvaktConfiguration.java
@@ -62,7 +62,6 @@
     private int returnhits;
     private String keystoreLocation;
     private String keystorePassword;
-    private Properties mailProperties;
     private String host;
     private String shibUserMapping;
     private String userConfig;
@@ -71,10 +70,6 @@
     private long loginAttemptNum;
     private boolean allowMultiLogIn;
     private int loadFactor;
-    @Deprecated
-    private int validationStringLength;
-    @Deprecated
-    private int validationEmaillength;
     
     // EM: determine if search and match info services restricted 
     // to logged in users. This replaces @SearchResourceFilters
@@ -212,10 +207,6 @@
 
         loadFactor = Integer.valueOf(
                 properties.getProperty("security.encryption.loadFactor", "15"));
-        validationStringLength = Integer.valueOf(properties
-                .getProperty("security.validation.stringLength", "150"));
-        validationEmaillength = Integer.valueOf(properties
-                .getProperty("security.validation.emailLength", "40"));
 
         sharedSecret = properties.getProperty("security.sharedSecret", "")
                 .getBytes();
diff --git a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/service/MailAuthenticator.java b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/service/MailAuthenticator.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 21f2202..0000000
--- a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/service/MailAuthenticator.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-package de.ids_mannheim.korap.service;
-
-import jakarta.mail.Authenticator;
-import jakarta.mail.PasswordAuthentication;
-
-/**
- * Defines Authenticator for creating javax.mail.Session.
- * 
- * @see src/main/resources/default-config.xml
- * 
- * @author margaretha
- *
- */
-public class MailAuthenticator extends Authenticator {
-
-    private PasswordAuthentication passwordAuthentication;
-
-    public MailAuthenticator (String username, String password) {
-        passwordAuthentication = new PasswordAuthentication(username, password);
-
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    protected PasswordAuthentication getPasswordAuthentication () {
-        return passwordAuthentication;
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/service/MailService.java b/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/service/MailService.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 7619a25..0000000
--- a/src/main/java/de/ids_mannheim/korap/service/MailService.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,91 +0,0 @@
-package de.ids_mannheim.korap.service;
-
-import java.io.StringWriter;
-import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
-
-import org.apache.logging.log4j.LogManager;
-import org.apache.logging.log4j.Logger;
-import org.apache.velocity.VelocityContext;
-import org.apache.velocity.app.VelocityEngine;
-import org.apache.velocity.context.Context;
-import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
-import org.springframework.mail.javamail.JavaMailSender;
-import org.springframework.mail.javamail.MimeMessageHelper;
-import org.springframework.mail.javamail.MimeMessagePreparator;
-import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
-
-import de.ids_mannheim.korap.authentication.AuthenticationManager;
-import de.ids_mannheim.korap.config.FullConfiguration;
-import de.ids_mannheim.korap.exceptions.KustvaktException;
-import de.ids_mannheim.korap.user.User;
-import de.ids_mannheim.korap.utils.ParameterChecker;
-import jakarta.mail.internet.InternetAddress;
-import jakarta.mail.internet.MimeMessage;
-
-/**
- * Manages mail related services, such as sending group member
- * invitations per email.
- * 
- * @author margaretha
- *
- */
-@Service
-public class MailService {
-
-    public static Logger jlog = LogManager.getLogger(MailService.class);
-    public static boolean DEBUG = false;
-
-    @Autowired
-    private AuthenticationManager authenticationManager;
-    @Autowired
-    private JavaMailSender mailSender;
-    @Autowired
-    private VelocityEngine velocityEngine;
-    @Autowired
-    private FullConfiguration config;
-
-    public void sendMemberInvitationNotification (String inviteeName,
-            String groupName, String inviter) throws KustvaktException {
-
-        ParameterChecker.checkStringValue(inviteeName, "inviteeName");
-        ParameterChecker.checkStringValue(groupName, "groupName");
-        ParameterChecker.checkStringValue(inviter, "inviter");
-
-        MimeMessagePreparator preparator = new MimeMessagePreparator() {
-
-            public void prepare (MimeMessage mimeMessage) throws Exception {
-
-                User invitee = authenticationManager.getUser(inviteeName,
-                        config.getEmailAddressRetrieval());
-
-                MimeMessageHelper message = new MimeMessageHelper(mimeMessage);
-                message.setTo(new InternetAddress(invitee.getEmail()));
-                message.setFrom(config.getNoReply());
-                message.setSubject("Invitation to join " + groupName);
-                message.setText(prepareGroupInvitationText(inviteeName,
-                        groupName, inviter), true);
-            }
-
-        };
-        mailSender.send(preparator);
-    }
-
-    private String prepareGroupInvitationText (String username,
-            String groupName, String inviter) {
-        Context context = new VelocityContext();
-        context.put("username", username);
-        context.put("group", groupName);
-        context.put("inviter", inviter);
-
-        StringWriter stringWriter = new StringWriter();
-
-        velocityEngine.mergeTemplate(
-                "templates/" + config.getGroupInvitationTemplate(),
-                StandardCharsets.UTF_8.name(), context, stringWriter);
-
-        String message = stringWriter.toString();
-        if (DEBUG)
-            jlog.debug(message);
-        return message;
-    }
-}
diff --git a/src/main/resources/default-config.xml b/src/main/resources/default-config.xml
index 0e12214..08a2a65 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/default-config.xml
+++ b/src/main/resources/default-config.xml
@@ -289,40 +289,4 @@
 		<!-- <property name="dataSource" ref="c3p0DataSource" /> -->
 	</bean>
 
-	<!-- mail -->
-	<bean id="authenticator"
-		class="de.ids_mannheim.korap.service.MailAuthenticator">
-		<constructor-arg index="0" value="${mail.username}" />
-		<constructor-arg index="1" value="${mail.password}" />
-	</bean>
-	<bean id="smtpSession" class="jakarta.mail.Session"
-		factory-method="getInstance">
-		<constructor-arg index="0">
-			<props>
-				<prop key="mail.smtp.submitter">${mail.username}</prop>
-				<prop key="mail.smtp.auth">${mail.auth}</prop>
-				<prop key="mail.smtp.host">${mail.host}</prop>
-				<prop key="mail.smtp.port">${mail.port}</prop>
-				<prop key="mail.smtp.starttls.enable">${mail.starttls.enable}</prop>
-				<prop key="mail.smtp.connectiontimeout">${mail.connectiontimeout}</prop>
-			</props>
-		</constructor-arg>
-		<constructor-arg index="1" ref="authenticator" />
-	</bean>
-	<bean id="mailSender"
-		class="org.springframework.mail.javamail.JavaMailSenderImpl">
-		<property name="username" value="${mail.username}" />
-		<property name="password" value="${mail.password}" />
-		<property name="session" ref="smtpSession" />
-	</bean>
-	<bean id="velocityEngine"
-		class="org.apache.velocity.app.VelocityEngine">
-		<constructor-arg index="0">
-			<props>
-				<prop key="resource.loader">class</prop>
-				<prop key="class.resource.loader.class">org.apache.velocity.runtime.resource.loader.ClasspathResourceLoader
-				</prop>
-			</props>
-		</constructor-arg>
-	</bean>
 </beans>
diff --git a/src/main/resources/kustvakt.conf b/src/main/resources/kustvakt.conf
index e90c513..96a5823 100644
--- a/src/main/resources/kustvakt.conf
+++ b/src/main/resources/kustvakt.conf
@@ -21,15 +21,6 @@
 server.port=8089
 server.host=localhost
 
-# mail settings
-mail.enabled = false
-mail.receiver = test@localhost
-mail.sender = noreply@ids-mannheim.de
-mail.address.retrieval = test
-
-# mail.templates
-template.group.invitation = notification.vm
-
 # default foundries for specific layers
 default.foundry.partOfSpeech = tt
 default.foundry.lemma = tt
diff --git a/src/main/resources/properties/mail.properties b/src/main/resources/properties/mail.properties
deleted file mode 100644
index 29d1ca1..0000000
--- a/src/main/resources/properties/mail.properties
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-mail.host = localhost
-mail.port = 25
-mail.connectiontimeout = 3000
-mail.auth = false
-mail.starttls.enable = false
-mail.username = username
-mail.password = password
\ No newline at end of file