diff --git a/config.py b/config.py
index aff16fc..0dd5315 100644
--- a/config.py
+++ b/config.py
@@ -1,2 +1,9 @@
 ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS = {'png', 'jpg', 'jpeg', 'gif'}
-MAX_FILE_SIZE = 5 * 1024 * 1024  # 5 MB
\ No newline at end of file
+MAX_FILE_SIZE = 5 * 1024 * 1024  # 5 MB
+
+USE_EXTERNAL_SMTP = False
+SMTP_SERVER = 'smtp.example.com'
+SMTP_PORT = 587
+SMTP_USE_TLS = True
+SMTP_SENDER_EMAIL = 'your_email@example.com'
+SMTP_SENDER_PASSWORD = 'your_email_password'
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/utils.py b/utils.py
index 326d970..64031a5 100644
--- a/utils.py
+++ b/utils.py
@@ -14,21 +14,32 @@ def generate_password(length=10):
     return ''.join(random.choice(characters) for _ in range(length))
 
 def send_email(recipient_email, subject, body):
-    sender_email = "your_email@example.com"
-    sender_password = "your_email_password"
+    if config.USE_EXTERNAL_SMTP:
+        sender_email = config.SMTP_SENDER_EMAIL
+        sender_password = config.SMTP_SENDER_PASSWORD
 
-    msg = MIMEText(body)
-    msg['Subject'] = subject
-    msg['From'] = sender_email
-    msg['To'] = recipient_email
+        msg = MIMEText(body)
+        msg['Subject'] = subject
+        msg['From'] = sender_email
+        msg['To'] = recipient_email
 
-    try:
-        with smtplib.SMTP('smtp.gmail.com', 587) as server:
-            server.starttls()
-            server.login(sender_email, sender_password)
-            server.send_message(msg)
-    except Exception as e:
-        print(f"Failed to send email: {e}")
+        try:
+            with smtplib.SMTP(config.SMTP_SERVER, config.SMTP_PORT) as server:
+                if config.SMTP_USE_TLS:
+                    server.starttls()
+                server.login(sender_email, sender_password)
+                server.send_message(msg)
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"Failed to send email via external SMTP: {e}")
+    else:
+        try:
+            process = os.popen(f"/usr/sbin/sendmail -t")
+            process.write(f"To: {recipient_email}\n")
+            process.write(f"Subject: {subject}\n")
+            process.write(f"\n{body}")
+            process.close()
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"Failed to send email via local sendmail: {e}")
 
 def is_file_allowed(file):
     return '.' in file.filename and file.filename.rsplit('.', 1)[1].lower() in config.ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS