Not a recomendation… i just like to recall that it seems pointless to me to use a private/secure mail provider just to end up communicating with gmail users. There are other private/secure means of communication over the internet, just not so much through emails.
I’m far from a privacy expert, but here are some things that I have been considering while researching this for myself:
- Zero-knowledge encryption providers like Proton and Tuta are great for privacy at the expense of convenience, like possibly not being able to use common IMAP email clients. Proton has a bridge app for their paid plans that allows this on Windows and Mac but not
Linux ormobile, and last time I checked, Tuta doesn’t have this on any platform. This means that your email can only be accessed from their client, and more importantly, if a bridge app is not available for your provider on your preferred platform, all your email will be stuck in your mailbox forever with no ability to archive locally. - What are the privacy, security, and law enforcement/intelligence cooperation policies of the provider and country where the provider’s legal entity and IT infrastructure are located? If located in a country with bad policies, spying on your email is much easier, especially if it’s not a zero-knowledge encryption provider.
- While using the provider’s own domain for your address is better than using a custom domain, most providers appear to have a policy of making your address available to others after you leave them. Mailbox, Posteo, and Fastmail do this. One of the only providers I’ve found that has a policy of not doing this is Runbox.
- Does the provider have a good reputation for email deliverability? This is a tricky one that requires some research. First, look at the provider’s DMARC policies with a tool like DMARC Check Tool. Mailbox and Runbox appear to pass all tests, but Posteo and Fastmail fail the DMARC quarantine/reject policy test, which apparently makes it easier to spoof your email and could make your emails less likely to be delivered. Also search the web for comments on users’ experience with email delivery, like “<provider name> email delivery issues”, to find out what people have said.
Proton bridge is available for Linux as well.
Thanks for the correction, I didn’t see it mentioned on their page. I’ve edited my post.
- Zero-knowledge encryption providers like Proton and Tuta are great for privacy at the expense of convenience, like possibly not being able to use common IMAP email clients. Proton has a bridge app for their paid plans that allows this on Windows and Mac but not
tuta mail or mailbox.org are the answer
Not proton the ceo is a right wing guy.
If you want to use clients other than a webmail tuta wont fit your needs. But, to that end, try both, they are both excellent in their own ways, see what suits you.
mailbox.org is a treasure, signed up for mail but it’s so much more useful than that. It’s a true replacement for me of what Google and Microsoft offers additionally to mail.
i’ve been using purelymail.com since the google domains price hikes. They’re cheap and I never had a problem.
proton.me is not bad.
Proton mail.
‘Safe’ is a bit too vague: what are you looking for?
- If you just need an email that doesn’t belong to GAFAM and is not subjected to US privacy-less laws but need no extra security (no end to end encryption): Infomaniak KSuite(Swiss) is available both as a free plan (20GB email + 15GB Cloud free) and as a paid version (unlimited email storage and 1To Cloud). They also offer just the email, if you don’t need cloud: Kmail ;) . There is also mailbox.org (Germany)
- End to end encryption: Tuta (German), Proton (Swiss).
Edit: moved mailbox out of the E2EE section.
Tuta is German no?
Thx (to both of you), edited my post to reflect that. I was convinced they were French.
No worries, I was fully ready to discover they were French
I’m using runbox with custom domain. No issues.
Been with Posteo for years now. They’re very solid.
I’ve been with Mailbox for years now too. Also very solid.
Have a look at Proton and Tuta (used to be Tutanova)
Used to be Tutanota*
Oops. Correct 👍
Afaik, Proton and Tuta are the only free ones with zero-knowledge encryption
Proton allows only one free email address, which is what taught me to be wary of unexpected restrictions on services. I’ve got to say the only one I trust fully is my own, with complete certainty of security and features are all only limited by the hardware. Whenever someone talks about paying per month to get more addresses, aliases, calendar or storage - nah. Self-host. DuckDuckGo email is a good firewall layer as well - it forwards all mail to your chosen actual address after trying its best to strip the mail of trackers.
Login into Proton-Pass for 10 free aliases… but, it doesn’t require your ID or anything to create an email, you can create how many you want :S
Tuta mail
I am using mailbox.org for years now.
One thing to consider about mailbox.org is that if you don’t use your own custom domain and keep an @mailbox.org address (which afaik is considered a best practice for privacy because it lets you “hide” in the crowd), if you decide to move on later they will make your old address available to others later.
Proton Mail, Tuta mail, runbox.com, to name three.
