What is the best secure email service?

[jeffpan]

What is the best secure email service?

With so many different types of users, there is no single “best secure email” service that will be the top choice for everyone. While some may prioritize maximum security and strong encryption, others may want convenience and simplicity with user-friendly apps on all their devices. Therefore this list is not in rank order because the “best” secure email service will be different for each user.

Here are just a few factors to consider when switching to a secure email provider:

• Jurisdiction – Where is the service located and how does this affect user privacy? Where is your data physically stored?
• PGP support – Some secure email providers support PGP, while others do not use PGP due to its vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
• Import feature – Can you import your existing emails and contacts?
• Email apps – Due to encryption, many secure email services cannot be used with third-party email clients, but some also offer dedicated apps.
• Encryption – Are the emails end-to-end encrypted in transit? Are emails and attachments encrypted at rest?
• Features – Some features you may want to consider are contacts, calendars, file storage, inbox search, collaboration tools, and support for DAV services.
• Security – What are the provider’s security standards and policies?
• Privacy – How does the email service protect your privacy? What data is being collected, for how long, and why?
• Threat model – How much privacy and security do you need and which service best fits those needs?

The goal of this guide is to help you find the best secure email solution for your unique needs. So let’s get started!

please refer this page: https://restoreprivacy.com/secure-email/

[rmannam]

Have you tried https://ctemplar.com/

[jeffpan]

Originally Posted by rmannam

Have you tried https://ctemplar.com/

Is this a mirror of msgsafe.io? they look very similiar.

[TenFour]

And, one huge consideration is whether or not the people you correspond with will also use the service or else any additional "security" is mostly an illusion. Remember, a very high percentage of hacked accounts begin with a phishing attempt, so for most of us the first and most important security step is spam/malicious email filtering.

[ioneja]

Curious if anyone else has any more thoughts on this topic? I know this is an older thread, but one of the few that mentions CTemplar, which I am trying out now. So I thought I'd resurrect the thread.

There's a good starting point at https://www.privacytools.io/providers/email/ if you haven't tested those yet. And jeffpan's suggested link is good too: https://restoreprivacy.com/secure-email/

Some of the providers I'm still testing/considering (or reconsidering even though I have used them for a while) include, not in any order:

KolabNow
ProtonMail
Mailbox.org
Posteo
Tutanota
Mailfence
CounterMail
CTemplar
Runbox

Of the ones on this list, I'm most impressed with Posteo, Mailbox.org, and Tutanota so far, but as has been mentioned, everyone has a different set of personal requirements, and especially security/threat model requirements. Those three jump out to me for features (which vary widely between them of course), price/value, and pretty good reputation overall. Tutanota has had some delivery issues from what I've read, and Posteo has a spam policy/feature that you may not like at all (among other limitations/policies/philosophies you may not like), and Mailbox.org is kind of slow sometimes, but otherwise, those three seem like pretty good options. I'm still testing and reading about them though.

KolabNow and ProtonMail seem like decent options too, but I think the three above suit my own needs better, and are a better value too. I have some unverified concerns about ProtonMail's ethics ( for example https://privacy-watchdog.io/protonmails-false-claims/ and there are other reports of concerns from other sources too), but for the most part, ProtonMail reviews are positive and I do like the interface. KolabNow was at the top of my list a few months ago, and might move up and be a contender again, but it sort of dropped down the list for me, hard to pinpoint exact reasons. Have to go back and test it more. It seemed pretty good.

My least favorites on this list are Mailfence (don't like the interface at all, had some issues with unintuitive features, surprised they had no DANE at the time of my testing, etc., among other things, but could have been a contender, the dev seems nice), Runbox (I really dislike both the old and new/beta interfaces, no native encryption, but otherwise trustworthy service IMO, good price, nice devs, so I'm not sure what to do with these guys), CounterMail (potentially bad reputation for the kind of users it supposedly attracts, plus not a fan of interface after initially liking its retro look), CTemplar (too new, too small, not enough track record yet to know if they will stick around? Are they still working out deliverability issues? What I've read over at reddit has not given me confidence - however, it does seem pretty good on paper, and I like the interface).

Any other thoughts?

[evfrson]

I have tried pretty much all those in your list and decided in the end on Tutanota.

It has a nice simple interface which is my preference, is always lightning fast, regular updates/new features and the company are committed to privacy.

Posteo I had problems with their webmail displaying HTML messages, I had to keep refreshing the web page to display the whole message which was annoying the hell out of me and also their product(s) doesn't seem to be being developed anymore.

Runbox I have grown to hate their webmail interface (both old and new) and they always take forever to get things out of beta which is why I have given up on them.

ProtonMail I just hate their webmail design it is very old-fashioned to me and I cannot stand to use it.

[ioneja]

Originally Posted by evfrson

I have tried pretty much all those in your list and decided in the end on Tutanota.

It has a nice simple interface which is my preference, is always lightning fast, regular updates/new features and the company are committed to privacy.

Agree, and in my case, definitely a contender, notwithstanding some features that I'd like to see soon. Have you had any problems with delivery -- either receiving or sending? I haven't seen that myself in my short use so far, but I've read of some users that have had issues with major services rejecting email, or Tutanota not receiving. Not sure what other factors might be involved or how widespread that might be though.

Originally Posted by evfrson

Posteo I had problems with their webmail displaying HTML messages, I had to keep refreshing the web page to display the whole message which was annoying the hell out of me and also their product(s) doesn't seem to be being developed anymore.

I haven't seen these issues, but I'm still pretty new with Posteo. I'll have to test HTML messages more. I didn't get the impression that development is halted or stalled though, on the contrary, my interaction with a tech over there was positive on that note, seems like it's active, sustainable, and they have a staff of at least 10 people so they have mouths to feed and they say they are debt-free with no outside investors, which if true is quite good for a small email provider like that. The same can't be said of some of their direct competitors. Their interface does look a little dated though, and I wish they would implement a horizontal design at some point, instead of the current old-school layout. But otherwise pretty decent experience with them so far. Their spam approach is potentially an issue, but in practice I haven't been affected that I know of.

Originally Posted by evfrson

Runbox I have grown to hate their webmail interface (both old and new) and they always take forever to get things out of beta which is why I have given up on them.

Agreed on the interfaces and insanely long beta periods. Their 2FA implementation took a very long time too, but this new v7 interface is taking *forever*, but even after all the user feedback and slow painful progress, it just is unpleasant for me to use, in some ways more unpleasant than v6. The whole design, execution, not great IMO. They seem like really decent devs though, and they have a solid track record of being around for years, sustainable, and consistent (even consistent in how long they take with their beta process!), so they are "trustworthy" IMO. But their web interfaces... not great.

Originally Posted by evfrson

ProtonMail I just hate their webmail design it is very old-fashioned to me and I cannot stand to use it.

I like their webmail design, but the potential ethics issues bug me. I don't like what I've read, but it can be tough to see through opinions to the facts in things like this, without having first-hand info, so I don't want to count them out yet. Some critics just have an axe to grind, but there may be some legit concerns.

[ankupan]

No One is perfect for everyone requirements.

We need to choose the closest one as per need.

If Gmail is sharing data or reading them, protonmail or others are close to our requirement, but not 100% perfect.

Something is good, till 100% score is not matched.

[ioneja]

Originally Posted by ankupan

No One is perfect for everyone requirements.

We need to choose the closest one as per need.

If Gmail is sharing data or reading them, protonmail or others are close to our requirement, but not 100% perfect.

Something is good, till 100% score is not matched.

All true 👍

[evfrson]

Originally Posted by ioneja

Agree, and in my case, definitely a contender, notwithstanding some features that I'd like to see soon. Have you had any problems with delivery -- either receiving or sending? I haven't seen that myself in my short use so far, but I've read of some users that have had issues with major services rejecting email, or Tutanota not receiving. Not sure what other factors might be involved or how widespread that might be though.

I did have problems in the early days with delivery but for the past couple of years I have had no problems at all with Tutanota delivery. If you are are worried about this obviously don't commit long time with a lengthy subscription.

Originally Posted by ioneja

I haven't seen these issues, but I'm still pretty new with Posteo. I'll have to test HTML messages more. I didn't get the impression that development is halted or stalled though, on the contrary, my interaction with a tech over there was positive on that note, seems like it's active, sustainable, and they have a staff of at least 10 people so they have mouths to feed and they say they are debt-free with no outside investors, which if true is quite good for a small email provider like that. The same can't be said of some of their direct competitors. Their interface does look a little dated though, and I wish they would implement a horizontal design at some point, instead of the current old-school layout. But otherwise pretty decent experience with them so far. Their spam approach is potentially an issue, but in practice I haven't been affected that I know of.

Try and test Posteo with HTML messages that contain a few largish images in them. I found that when I displayed such messages the whole message would not be displayed first time and I had to refresh the web page to get the complete message to be displayed. As far as I remember Posteo use a tailored version of Roundcube for their webmail and I hate Roundcube so that is why I didn't like their interface. As you say their spam handling is not configurable by the user at all, just have to rely on filters.

Originally Posted by ioneja

on the interfaces and insanely long beta periods. Their 2FA implementation took a very long time too, but this new v7 interface is taking *forever*, but even after all the user feedback and slow painful progress, it just is unpleasant for me to use, in some ways more unpleasant than v6. The whole design, execution, not great IMO. They seem like really decent devs though, and they have a solid track record of being around for years, sustainable, and consistent (even consistent in how long they take with their beta process!), so they are "trustworthy" IMO. But their web interfaces... not great.

Yes Runbox seems to be losing their way and not really keeping up with the competition. They don't really offer encrypted email and with Norway becoming more of a surveillance state they weren't an option for me.

Originally Posted by ioneja

I like their webmail design, but the potential ethics issues bug me. I don't like what I've read, but it can be tough to see through opinions to the facts in things like this, without having first-hand info, so I don't want to count them out yet. Some critics just have an axe to grind, but there may be some legit concerns.

You are right there is something not quite right with Protonmail but I can't for definite put my finger on it. A lot of the stories you read could be BS but as they say there is no smoke without fire. Also in my experience their development time for new features can be rather slow.

[ioneja]

@evfrson

Good to hear re: your experience with Tutanota -- I already paid for a year, but even if it didn't work out great for me, I was happy to support their development since the price was so affordable and their approach/philosophy/service seems pretty good so far.

And thanks, will test Posteo some more as suggested with HTML + large images, etc.

Re: Runbox, yes, they seem to march to a different drummer. Can be good in some ways, but agreed they definitely have fallen behind in some key areas. As for Norway, everyone has different threat models of course. But I understand why you'd want to choose a different jurisdiction.

Originally Posted by evfrson

You are right there is something not quite right with Protonmail but I can't for definite put my finger on it....

This is exactly how I feel... there's just something off about it for me that I can't quite figure out. And I just don't like the consistency of overly enthusiastic reviews/articles that seem to overlook some of the concerns, while sometimes criticizing similar or smaller issues/concerns of a competing provider. It just seems like the coverage of ProtonMail out there is possibly.... influenced or even sanitized. I could be completely wrong so I'm trying to keep an open mind as I read and test them out.

[evfrson]

Just another snippet of info showing how committed Tutanota are to privacy and their quick development time.
From Twitter they recently announced (July 8) they have developed an encrypted calendar in 2 months.
It is still in beta but I have been using it and it is like a finished product.
Quite a contrast to Runbox!

[ioneja]

Indeed, they're on a roll! .👍

[TenFour]

there's just something off about it for me that I can't quite figure out. And I just don't like the consistency of overly enthusiastic reviews/articles that seem to overlook some of the concerns, while sometimes criticizing similar or smaller issues/concerns of a competing provider. It just seems like the coverage of ProtonMail out there is possibly.... influenced or even sanitized.

Seems awfully tinfoil hat to me. Being one of the larger, if not the largest, providers of encrypted email I would imagine they are much more thoroughly vetted than most of the others. What exactly worries you about them?

[evfrson]

NordVPN has written an interesting article in their blog comparing Tutanota with ProtonMail.


https://nordvpn.com/blog/tutanota/