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ioneja · 12 Aug 2020, 12:39 AM

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?

12 Aug 2020, 12:39 AM	#5
ioneja Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 713	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? Last edited by ioneja : 12 Aug 2020 at 12:51 AM.