Emails are still one of the fastest means of communication today with more than a billion users across the globe sending over a million emails to each other daily. With the arrival of Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo and other email services, the world has seen a big boom in communication.
According to Radicati’s 2016 Email Statistics report, email will be used by 3 billion people by 2020. That’s almost half of the world’s population. (Out of the other half not using email, 1.6 billion people still don’t have electricity.)
However, one fact remains when it comes to using Emails: insecurity. Thousands of email accounts are hacked daily with others worried about being spied upon without their consent. Secure email providers such as Lavabit and Silent Circle back in 2013, decided to suspend operations and shut down their servers because they believed they were vulnerable to surveillance by NSA.
With that said, below is a compiled list of our top 5 best secure email services that you can trust to keep your information safe from prying eyes;
1. ProtonMail
ProtonMail is a free, open-source, encrypted email provider based in Switzerland and has been ranked as one of the top-most secure email providers. It offers built-in security for user protection against scammers and snooping eyes, end-to-end encryption for all messages, self-destruct emails and an improved user interface.
However, if you want to opt in for their premium account options, the rates are a bit expensive plus their email service doesn’t allow you to send encrypted messages to users on other email services. It also offers limited cloud storage.
2. Mailfence
Mailfence is a Belgium-based encrypted email service provider launched in 2013 that uses the OpenPGP standard to offer users end-to-end encryption and digital signing. It was started by ContactOffice Group, which has been managing an online collaborative suite for professionals, universities and other organizations since 1999. The coolest thing about Mailfence is that it allows users to freely communicate securely with anyone, whether with other Mailfence users, or any other email service compliant with the OpenPGP protocol.
Mailfence is well suited for professionals and teams as it integrates a calendar, document storage, user groups, and instant messaging that allow for sharing of data and group collaboration. This means one can access mail with IMAP and SMTP using secured SSL/TLS connections with the email program of your choice.
Besides the OpenPGP encryption, Mailfence also allows you to send encrypted messages to people who do not use OpenPGP with password-encrypted emails. Mailfence recently launched mobile apps for Android and iOS. This native app comes in addition to the progressive web app that was already available.
Here’s what the co-founder of Mailfence, Patrick De Schutter had to say when we asked him what he thinks about the future of secure email platforms in the ever-evolving digital landscape and growing online threats to everyday users:
The future of secure email platforms is bright as more and more people and businesses see the importance of a secure and privacy-respecting solution. We will likely see a shift towards more usage of multi-factor authentication to bolster account security and mitigate phishing attacks. I also foresee that enhanced user education programs about digital hygiene and threat awareness will become standard, aiming to empower users to recognize and avoid security risks.
Patrick De Schutter, co-founder – Mailfence
3. CounterMail
If you’re seriously worried about your privacy, then CounterMail is the right choice for you. It offers a thoroughly secure implementation of OpenPGP encrypted email via a browser. Only encrypted emails are stored on CounterMail servers and focus mainly on user security which is why it doesn’t have a good-looking user interface.
However, the service is regularly updated and provides email security which is second to none with end-to-end encryption. It also uses diskless data servers, meaning nobody can read or write anything you send through these servers.
4. Hushmail
Hushmail is another top-rated secure email provider that uses advanced encryption techniques so that no one can read your messages. The best thing about Hushmail is that you can send encrypted messages to anyone including users of Gmail, Outlook or any other email service provider. It also has a user-friendly interface and allows you to choose from a range of addresses like @hush.com, @hushmail.me, @hush.ai, etc.
HushMail also offers a two-step verification, supports email signature, comes with 10GB of email storage and an auto-response feature can be enabled. However, one should note that it has a free 14-day trial after which you must pay $49.98 a year.
5. Tutanota
Tutanota originates from Germany and is a web-based open-source secure email service that focuses on providing the best security and experience to its users while adding a variety of features and solutions.
The pricing options for Tutanota are considered to be one of the most affordable with a paid version starting at only 1 euro per month. The free account offers you 1GB of space, free Ads and a few other cool options. The service also provides an unlimited number of sent messages per day, end-to-end encryption and is compatible with all browsers
The developers of Tutanota declare that they do not use PGP in their encryption because for them the encryption of the matter is also important. Therefore they have developed a proprietary solution based on AES and RSA that encrypts attachments, text and subject. They do not record IPs or email addresses, which are deleted.
Other notable secure email providers include Runbox, Posteo, Kolab Now, LuxSci and SCRYPTmail which all offer a bundle of exciting features from encrypted email to privacy protection.
One should however note that the security of their email lies in their hands and must endeavor to protect their user login details to avoid access from intruders.
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