Conventional email providers like Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, and Yahoo don’t respect your inbox privacy. Without your consent, they share your email data with the government and law enforcement agencies. Thus, it has become essential to use a secure email provider.
Therefore, here’s the list of the 12 best secure email providers:
- Proton Mail – It belongs to Switzerland, and the free version offers up to 1 GB of monthly storage.
- StartMail – A Netherland-based email service with no free version but a 7-day trial offer.
- Tuta – A German-based end-to-end encrypted email service for businesses.
- Zoho – It uses AES-256-bit encryption to protect email data and offers a 15-day trial period.
- Thexyz.com – It supports IMAP, OpenPGP, and POP public end-to-end encryption to boost security.
- CounterMail – The provider uses robust OpenPGP protocol and 4096-bit encryption keys to shield your data.
- MailBox.org – A German-based provider that uses full PGP support and SSL/TLS encryption to protect your mail.
- MailFence – A Belgium-based email service that offers an integrated suite of tools.
- Posteo – Another German-based email encryption tool that underwent a log-audit process.
- RunBox – It uses PGP encryption, doesn’t display ads, and runs invasive scripts.
- HushMail – It’s best suited for professionals and thus offers plans for different industry sectors.
- Kolab – It uses end-to-end encryption and belongs to Switzerland; hence, it’s safe to use.
These are the best email providers, and they allow you to send anonymous and private emails anywhere you want.
Using any mainstream email provider can risk your digital privacy. One of the best ways to send anonymous emails is to use a secure email provider. These providers encrypt your messages, hide your metadata, and make it impossible for any third party to decrypt them.
In this article, we tested and hand-picked some of the best anonymous email providers that balance privacy and security so you can enjoy maximum email privacy.
12 Best secure email providers for email encryption
Check out the detailed description of each email encryption service and select the one that fits your requirements. Some providers offer a free and paid plan, so investing in a premium plan is not a bad idea considering the state of email security.
1. Proton Mail
- Website URL: proton.me/mail
- The free version offers up to 1GB of storage, while the paid offers 5-20GB
- Based in Switzerland
- Follows no-logs policy
- Encrypted messages
- Self-destructing emails
Proton Mail is one of the best secure email providers. It uses end-to-end encryption and zero-access encryption to ensure an anonymous mailing experience. The email service uses SSL encryption to add a layer of protection and ensure that your web pages aren’t tempered by a third party or hacker who’s intercepting your traffic, affecting your browser speeds.
The email provider has a modern and sleek interface. It offers various customization features like self-destructing messages. You can set an expiration time on Proton Mail emails and automatically delete them from your mailbox once they reach that time.
Proton Mail offers an anonymous email gateway that further strengthens your online security if you’re a social activist, journalist, or anyone with a sensitive profession. Moreover, Proton mail’s impressive add-ons, like the encrypted Proton Calendar and Proton Drive feature for secure file sharing and events management with E2EE, keep everything more private. The email provider also doesn’t track your emails to create your profiles or target you with personalized ads.
You can use Proton Mail for free. Its free version comes with up to 1GB of monthly storage, allowing only one user to send 150 emails daily. However, the support is limited and lacks features. Still, you can switch to plus, professional, or visionary plans, which start at $5/month.
Apart from this, Proton Mail belongs to a safe jurisdiction in Switzerland, which respects users’ privacy. Strict Swiss privacy laws protect all your data. Hence, it won’t record or share your data with anyone.
2. StartMail
- Website URL: www.startmail.com
- Storage limit up to 10GB
- Supports PGP encryption
- Easy to set up and configure
- Based in the Netherlands
- A seven-day trial period is available
StartMail is the best Gmail alternative. It is owned by the StartPage search engine and is headquartered in the Netherlands. The email provider thus adheres to the Dutch privacy laws, which are the strictest worldwide yet favor users’ right to digital privacy. However, as mentioned in their privacy policy, the email provider keeps some user data.
The email provider comes with fantastic features that guarantee an excellent user experience. For instance, it offers full support for IMAP and SMTP and allows you to catch up on your emails through your usual service. It will enable the users to use PGP encryption and ensure anonymous communication with other users while also keeping the emails encrypted at rest.
Another benefit of using StartMail is an email alias, which allows you to receive an email at a temporary address. You can later destroy it without messing up your existing email account. Besides this, it also provides compatibility with Tor. Users can sign up using the Tor browser for maximum anonymity and online protection.
The email interface is user-friendly and easy to use. Also, it offers an ad-free experience, so you won’t see any intrusive pop-up ads when browsing your inbox. The only thing users don’t like about StartMail is that it doesn’t have a free plan, and the prices of the premium plans are fairly high. However, it offers a 7-day free trial period to test its services, so you can take advantage of them and decide.
3. Tuta
- Website URL: tuta.com
- 1GB to 10GB of storage data
- Advanced features like an encrypted calendar and secure connect
- Follows a no-log policy
- Two-factor authentication support
- Dedicated apps for mobile devices
If you’re looking for a business email provider to help keep your business communication safe and private, you should try using Tuta. It is a German-based private email service provider that doesn’t compromise your security and enables secure communication. The service provider uses automatic end-to-end encryption so no one can see the content of your emails.
Moreover, Tuta uses security features like the 2FA to enhance email security. By enabling this feature, you’re warned about any unusual activity and can instantly change your password to prevent any mishap.
It is a great anonymous email provider because it is based in Germany. Despite being a member of the 14 Eyes alliance, it encrypts and saves all your email data on its German servers. Also, it follows a strict no-log policy that refrains from collecting any data logs or other sensitive information.
The email provider offers an easy-to-use interface with customizable options like a secure calendar and connection. If you enable these features, you can even encrypt your calendars and allow anyone whose email is not encrypted to connect with you safely.
An impressive feature of Tuta is that it protects your emails with both asymmetric and symmetric encryption to ensure you can send secure emails. When you email a non-Tuta user, it uses symmetric encryption; when you email another Tuta user, it uses asymmetric encryption.
Besides being a business email provider, it is still a great alternative to Gmail and Outlook, and you can use it for private purposes. It offers a limited version if you subscribe to personal service and various premium business plans depending on your needs. You can opt for a premium plan at the lowest price, 1 Euro for personal use and 2 Euro for business pro.
4. Zoho
- Website URL: www.zoho.com/mail
- Easy to use and set up
- Zoho streams
- Powerful control panel
- 5GB storage for each user in the free version
- Reports unusual activity
Zoho is a secure email service like Proton Mail, specifically targeting business professionals and users who want to enhance their email privacy. It uses AES-256-bit encryption and maintains and secures the keys using its own KMS (Key Management Service).
Moreover, it uses TLS encryption and strong ciphers, preventing anyone from intercepting your emails. All your emails are stored in an encrypted format in the Zoho mail servers.
It has served users for 25 years and is a reliable email service. Unlike Gmail or Yahoo Mail, this private email provider doesn’t scan your keywords and has no advertisement providers within its network. It also comes with other fantastic features that help you in your business work, like Rest API and Webhooks, domain branding, and web tabs.
You can use two-factor authentication to ensure your business data is protected and all users can access their accounts securely. ZohoMail’s powerful control panel is another feature that attracts professionals. You can add users, set up policies to monitor email content and set filters to organize your emails.
Like other secure email vendors, Zoho offers a free and premium version. It offers three different plans: basic, standard, and professional, which start from $49. However, you can also avail of the 15-day free trial.
5. Thexyz.com
- Website URL: www.thexyz.com
- Attach files up to 50MB
- Serves zero ads
- Spam protection
- Restore deleted messages
- Unlimited email storage and a 30GB cloud drive
Thexyz.com is a popular email provider that anyone can use to enjoy high privacy and security standards. It is an ad-free email service with full mobile synchronization that improves the email experience. All your emails are in transit using SSL/TLS encryption from invasion by privacy abuses.
If you want to enjoy a high level of security, Thexyz has a solution. It supports IMAP, OpenPGP, and POP public E2EE, which boosts security. However, these encryptions are not enabled by default, and you need to configure them using Mailvelope add-ons.
You can even turn on the 2FA feature to further protect your privacy. Moreover, an email archiving option automatically backs up your email data with their top-tier data centers. Thexyz is among the rare email providers offering 30GB of file storage and shared files.
Overall, Thexyz.com offers users excellent benefits but has some drawbacks. Its headquarters is in Canada, a prominent member of the Five Eyes Alliance. Furthermore, it doesn’t offer a free plan. It has three premium plans: premium webmail starts at $2.95/m, mobile sync plus cloud drive costs $4.95/m, and unlimited email archiving costs $9.95/m.
6. CounterMail
- Website URL: countermail.com
- OpenPGP encryption
- Anonymous email headers
- Password manager
- Diskless servers
- MITM protection
CounterMail is also among the private email providers that you can consider using. It is an easy-to-use email service with top-notch security measures for maximum protection. It automatically encrypts all your emails and makes your online communications private.
The email uses robust OpenPGP protocol and 4096-bit encryption keys to shield your data. In addition, all the servers are diskless and don’t have any hard drives, which means your IP address is not logged.
It is one of the best available private email providers because it protects from MITM attacks. Again, thanks go to OpenPGP, which encrypts email content and makes it impossible for anyone to decipher it. The email provider offers many features that boost security and improve user experience.
For example, you can turn on message filters and email notifications and create passwords. Its password manager feature enables you to create complex passwords and reduces the chances of email compromises.
They’ve mentioned that they’re soon launching new features, such as encrypted chat clients, password-based encryption, one-time messages, and time-delayed sending, to further improve your user experience.
CounterMail also supports Android devices. If you are a business professional or an individual who wants a secure inbox, you can get it for the lowest price of $3.29 per month for two years and enjoy 4000MBs. Also, if you join CounterMail via a referral link, you can use it for free for ten days.
7. MailBox
- Website URL: mailbox.org/en/
- Ad-free experience
- Uses state-of-the-art encryption
- Servers based in Germany
- Anonymous registration process
- Spam filters and virus protection
Mailbox.org is an anonymous email service that prioritizes security and privacy. It encrypts your email data at rest using full PGP support, Secure-Socket-Layer, and Transport Layer Security encryption, and perfect forward secrecy. The email provider values users’ privacy and thus has an anonymous registration process. It’s not necessary to provide the recovery email address or phone number.
It is a German-based email provider that stores data on its own secure German servers. It also follows a no-log policy that refrains from collecting your IP address and other email-related details. The email provider underwent an SSL test by Qualys SSL Labs and was awarded an A+ for proving its credibility. Thus, it is a trustworthy email provider that doesn’t compromise your online security and privacy.
Besides this, Mailbox provides an encrypted email account with several features that ensure digital safety and excellent user experience. For example, it uses an advanced Tor Exit Node with Hidden Onion Services to make you more anonymous online. If you belong to a sensitive profession, this feature gives you the ability to send secure emails.
Moreover, its spam filter technology benefits users. It ensures that spam doesn’t enter your systems or reach your inbox. You can also use the virus protection feature to stop viruses from entering and harming your device.
Mailbox also offers an ad-free browsing experience and generates revenue only from selling their premium plans. The email provider has a decent and easy-to-use interface with several calendar, Tasks, book, drive, webchat, and spreadsheet features.
It offers a 30-day trial, and the basic plan starts at €1, which is affordable.
8. Mailfence
- Website URL: mailfence.com
- No tracking
- Uses Open PGP encryption
- Supports 2FA
- Sleek and easy-to-use interface
- Belongs from Belgium
Mailfence is another highly secure email provider that uses AES-256-bit encryption and SSL/TLS certificates to protect your data and allows no one to decipher the messages. SSL/TLS encryption prevents tampering and anyone from spying on your emails. The email provider even uses perfect forward secrecy for secure HTTPS connections and saves the email data in case of a data breach.
It belongs to Belgium and follows strong data protection laws and the EU’s GDPR to maintain users’ privacy. Moreover, it follows a no-log policy and doesn’t track and share your data with anyone, so it’s reliable despite being a member of the 14 Eyes countries. To prove that Mailfence is a secure email service, it issues transparency reports highlighting all the data requests that the company receives, including those they’ve denied.
The email provider offers an integrated suite of tools, including contacts, calendars, and documents, resulting in a better user experience. It allows you to send unlimited messages and also has a filter option that prevents spam emails from landing in your inbox. The interface is clean and similar to Microsoft Outlook.
Besides being a private email service, MailFence is also secure. It uses password-encrypted messages that enable you to send encrypted emails. The receiver gets a link to decrypt the messages. Also, it provides a digital feature that displays absolute authenticity to your email messages.
MailFence offers free and three different premium plans. The free plan comes with 500MB, while the pro versions offer 5GB to 50GB of email data. You can get it at a starting price of €2.50 and even pay in Bitcoins to protect your identity further.
9. Posteo
- Website URL: posteo.de
- Supports two-factor authentication
- Follows a zero-logging policy
- Line up features like calendar, contacts, messages, and notes
- German-based servers
- Multiple device compatibility
Posteo is also ranked as the best private email service that safely stores data on private German servers, so it’s inaccessible to a third party. The email provider follows a strict zero-logging policy and has even undergone a third-party log audit process by Cure53, the same company that audited ExpressVPN. The audit reports also confirm that it doesn’t keep logs and goes to great lengths to protect your data.
One impressive feature of Posteo is IP stripping, which does not show your local or public IP address when sending emails. Moreover, it protects emails and your metadata as long as another email server supports TLS-encrypted transmission.
Posteo offers a basic email interface that’s not troublesome and includes all the necessary features you’d be looking for, like an address book, calendar, attachment browser with a stream, and notes. It regularly backs up your data and ensures it doesn’t get lost. It has a spam filter that protects your inbox from unknown spam sources. You can configure this feature by navigating to the settings menu. Besides enabling this feature, you can also create a safelist of email addresses you don’t want the spam filter to block.
This private email service respects users’ privacy and thus offers an anonymous signup process that doesn’t require you to enter any personal information. The only thing that users don’t like about Posteo is its plans. It doesn’t support a custom domain and has no free version. However, since it costs $1.17 per month and has 2GB of storage, you shouldn’t have any issue investing in Posteo and securing your email data.
10. Runbox
- Website URL: runbox.com
- Uses PGP and SSL/TLS encryption
- Synchronize easily with other email clients
- No ads
- Intuitive and sleek interface
- 60-day money-back guarantee offer
Runbox is an anonymous email provider that you should try to enhance your email security. It is a Norway-based email provider that is safe to use despite being a member of the 14 Eyes country. It owns private servers in Norway and stores your data there. This email service uses PGP, SSL encryption, 2FA, and perfect forward secrecy to secure your emails as they are transferred between you and the servers. However, it doesn’t offer built-in support for encrypting your mailbox, and you need to manually configure it.
It ensures an excellent user experience by not displaying ads and running invasive scripts. Moreover, it is a featured-packed email provider with impressive features like SMTP/POP/IMAP support and easy integration into other email clients. You can also find the contacts and file option, which allows you to protect your important documents and contacts from any unauthorized attempt.
Runbox has a window menu manager with various customizable options like retrieve, filter, and access. You can easily import messages by enabling the retrieve option, while with the filter option, you can prevent spam and virus-embedded messages.
The email provider offers four premium plans starting at $1.66/m and 2GB of email storage. If you’re unsatisfied with the service or features, you can take advantage of the 60-day money-back guarantee offer on all initial subscriptions. You can also take advantage of the special offer now and use Runbox free for a year.
11. HushMail
- Website URL: www.hushmail.com
- Encrypted emails
- HIPAA compliant
- Private message center
- Digital signature
- Secure web forms
HushMail is also among the private email service providers that offer a good user experience. It encrypts your email communication using PGP and SSL/TLS encryption and offers several necessary options like spam filters, virus protection, contacts, calendar, and more.
Hushmail offers premium plans for industry sectors like healthcare, law, small business, custom solutions, and personal use. The prices and features vary according to your needs. For business purposes, Hushmail costs $5.99 per user/month on the simple small business plan and $7.99 per user/month on the small business plus plan.
The most significant drawbacks of using Hushmail are its jurisdiction and logging policy. It has its headquarters in Canada and is a prominent member of the Five Eyes Alliance, so it can log in or share your data. Also, it logs some information like your browser type and IP address when you sign in to your account. But there hasn’t been any data logging or sharing report, so it’s safe to use.
12. KolabNow
- Website URL: kolabnow.com
- Based in Switzerland
- Free and open-source software
- No tracking and no data sharing
- It supports perfect forward secrecy
- Accepts anonymous payment methods
KolabNow is a safe email provider based in Switzerland that neither tracks nor logs or shares your data. The email service is a privacy-friendly country that doesn’t fall within the jurisdiction of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes countries and follows strong data privacy laws that don’t violate users’ privacy.
KolabNow uses E2EE to safeguard your real email address from being stolen. It also offers basic features like calendars, contacts, files, tasks, and notes.
The email provider offers two subscription plans: one for email and the other for full Kolab. The prices are a bit high: the first plan costs CHF 5/m, while the other costs CHF 9.90 per month. However, you can try the free trial before paying.
How to send an anonymous email
When you send an email, your name and email address are automatically included in the message’s header. That can be a problem if you want to send a message anonymously. If someone traced the email back to you where to find it, they could track down your identity easily.
One way to send anonymous emails is to use an anonymous email provider. These providers allow you to send messages without revealing your identity, which is a great way to communicate with others without fear of being discovered.
- Choose any best secure Email provider from the above list
- Signup the service
- Download the client Or use a Web App
Following these steps, you can easily send and receive private anonymous emails with the best encryption, and nobody else can read and intercept any of your communications.
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About the Author
Farwa is an experienced InfoSec writer and cybersecurity journalist skilled in writing articles related to cybersecurity, AI, DevOps, Big Data, Cloud security, VPNs, IAM, and Cloud Computing. Also a contributor on Tripwire.com, Infosecurity Magazine, Security Boulevard, DevOps.com, and CPO Magazine.
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