When it comes to email, we find much value in utilizing solutions that offer privacy and security. Free email often comes at a cost and usually that cost is privacy. Many of the free email providers utilize email for profiling, targeted marketing, advertisements and unwanted news feeds. There have been several leaks regarding privacy violations with the “tech giants” over the years.
Privacy concerns
Often one will say, that they have nothing to hide or that they are not concerned with others being able to view their emails. Aside from the many security concerns that imposes, our focus here is around privacy. Privacy is often viewed as freedom of thought. Personal data is collected to learn behavioral patterns and can be used to influence decisions and shape future behavioral patterns. Email is one of the many methods that can be used to learn patterns, influence and/or target users. Several whistleblowers have exposed more information around this topic in great depth. As noted in our post, alternative search engines, using a alternative search engine provides more information around topics such as this, as it allows for you to bypass big tech censorship.
Privacy and change
Contrary to popular beliefs, people are not static, each individual changes and grows throughout their life at their own pace. There is great value in reflecting on experiences, to learn and change, and privacy allows for this. The intention here is not to make changes based on the fear of personal data being collected or manipulated, but rather to make informed decisions around the use of your personal information and how it can be used. Through awareness and inquiry one begins to see through these patterns and trends.
Providers and solutions
There are several providers that support privacy without targeted advertisements. Several of the following options have a free plan available, and/or allow you to test their services before choosing a paid plan. Since our conversion to email providers like the following, we’ve found much benefit in spam reduction, privacy, security and reliability. The following lists a few email providers that are well known for privacy and security. We have no affiliation with any of the following providers or links shared.
ProtonMail
ProtonMail (protonmail.com) is incorporated and located in Switzerland, helping to protect user data due to their strict privacy laws. They offer end-to-end email encryption with great security. They do require the use of a middle layer application (Bridge) but they integrate fine with existing mail clients such as Mail or Outlook. They offer two-factor authentication (2FA) for account security and several options for configuring custom domains and enterprise email. We have several customers utilizing this as their solution with great success. They also offer VPN options as an add-on to their email solutions and depending on your plan might be included at no additional cost. Their support is equally great to work with.
Lavabit
Lavabit (lavabit.com) offers secure end-to-end encryption and are known for private and secure email communication. They have been around since 2004, started with the notion of providing a more reliable and secure solution after privacy violations with Google. Lavabit is known for their strong security and ethics. They support a variety of existing mail clients and also offer their own email client for a more secure solution. They do not have a trial option, but it might be possible to reach out and request a code for testing their service. They offer great security and also support 2FA.
Tutanota
Tutanota (tutanota.com) is based out of Germany with strict privacy laws, also known for strong privacy and security. They offer end-to-end encryption and are open source for complete transparency. They support custom domains and offer an encrypted calendar with encrypted event notifications, which is an excellent feature. Another nice feature is they offer secure business email with many whitelabel customizations. In addition, they have secure encrypted contact form solution for your website. They do not support existing mail clients, so you’ll have to use their client but they have a nice user interface that makes for a positive user experience. They also have a free plan available and support 2FA.
Mailfence
Mailfence (mailfence.com) was founded in 1999 and are based in Belgian with strict privacy laws. They offer end-to-end email encryption with great security. They support calendars, documents, and contact grouping. These features are extremely beneficial for any user, and provide more flexibility for business configurations that require use of shared resources. They have several secure email options as indicated on their site. They also have a free plan available with two-factor authentication (2FA) for account security.
These are but a few of the many options available for private and secure email solutions. All of these providers support custom domains as well. If you’d like assistance with custom domain configuration or support, contact us for a free consultation.
