Top 5 Privacy focused Email Services

Although Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are the most popular email services, clearly not the most secure email providers. None of them encrypt our messages end-to-end, and hardly take our privacy very seriously. Some users are still surprised to learn that Google and others scan your emails for keywords to show more personalized ads. They have their fair share of criticism in how user data are shared.

Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives on the market. Here are some of the well-known email providers, not all of them have free options though.

• ProtonMail – An open-source, end-to-end encrypted, freemium platform with zero-knowledge and zero access technology. This open-source service has a strict no-logs policy and uses end-to-end encryption. Features: Swiss Privacy, End-to-End Encryption, Calendar & Drive.
  • Free Version: Yes.
  1. 500MB free storage as well as 150 emails per day
  2. Use your very own domain
  3. Two-step verification
  4. End-to-end encryption
  5. Free and paid options
  6. Self-destruct message functionality
  7. Mobile apps (Android and iOS)
  8. Swiss-based servers, hence excellent protection from Swiss privacy
  9. Zero-access construction
• Tutanota – Top-notch encryption standards with a user-friendly interface. However, lacks inclusive search features. It is widely used by journalists and human rights activists to encrypt their communications, a testament to its security and privacy.
  • Free Version: Yes
  1. Applications for iOS and Android.
  2. No phone number required for verification.
  3. Automatic encryption of the entire mailbox and address book.
  4. Includes 1 GB of storage space.
  5. Opensource.
  6. The subject line, headers, body, metadata, and all attachments are automatically encrypted; the IP address is deleted.
  7. Support for spam filtering.
• Mailfence – End-to-end encrypted email service supporting encrypted email messages to non-PGP recipients too.
  • Free Version: Yes
  1. Digital email signatures prove the authorship of the author.
  2. Supports two-factor authentication.
  3. Includes a spam blocker.
  4. Import contacts from Outlook, a CSV file, vCard, LDIF, or Gmail.
  5. Includes a calendar and storage for documents.
• CounterMail – Stores emails on temporary servers in encrypted form; supports additional protection with USB key.
  • Paid service only
  1. Supports IMAP.
  2. Does not keep IP address logs.
  3. Includes an integrated password manager (called Safebox).
  4. All emails and attachments stored encrypted on secure servers (and without logbooks) in Sweden.
  5. Compatibility with custom domains.
  6. Message filter and autoresponder functions.
• Hushmail – Easy-to-use encrypted email service with a premium model and free trial; supports personal and business uses alike.
  • Paid service only
  1. Supports IMAP and POP.
  2. Optional two-step verification.
  3. Contacts can be imported using a CSV file.
  4. Includes spam filter and autoresponder.
  5. 10 GB of storage.