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.
- 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
Nobody mentioning fastmail…sad times
i’ve been using purelymail.com since the google domains price hikes. They’re cheap and I never had a problem.
Proton mail
Been using this for years. Best thing is to get your own domain, that way if you later switch providers, you keep your email.
Been using my domain email more and more for that reason, and the setup with Proton was quite easy, integration is great too. I even set it up with Pass to generate privacy aliases on a subdomain of my domain.
Have a look at Proton and Tuta (used to be Tutanova)
I’m using runbox with custom domain. No issues.
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
I considered them, but had a problem with two things about them: they both a) don’t allow custom domains (which is fine for privacy) and b) recycle email addresses, meaning that if you move on later they will make your old email address available to others.
That’s going to be very interesting with persistent spam senders.
The security risk is the problem, right? If you can get a a new password sent to an email address for the person who owned it before you, that’s an interesting attack vector.
Proton Mail, Tuta mail, runbox.com, to name three.
I’ve been using fastmail.com for a long time and am satisfied, though it’s on the expensive side and I haven’t looked into every alternative.
If you want cheap email hosting for your own domain, mxroute.com has been around for a while and cranemail.com is new, but both are small companies run by people who know what they are doing (online acquaintances of mine if that matters).
For my own domains I’m using Migadu since they support unlimited domains per account. Quite happy with them…
Yes, I forgot Migadu. I played with it a little and it was nice, though I think it costs more now.
deleted by creator
I wonder if any comparable services don’t re-use the address when it’s on the service’s domain, maybe after a grace period. I use fastmail mostly for my own domains though I do have some addresses on theirs. Certainly if you let a domain expire, the registrar will sell it to someone else. Seems similar.
Someone once offered me a nice chunk of cash for one of my domains. I might have accepted it if they didn’t want the domain handed over immediately. It’s a domain I receive some email through, so would have wanted a shutdown period to prevent at least some of the email for ending up with the domain’s new owner.
deleted by creator
That’s the most absurd thing an email service can do,
that’s how i lost my first hotmail address 😢
deleted by creator
tuta mail or mailbox.org are the answer
Not proton the ceo is a right wing guy.
Proton mail.
Tuta 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
