Despite being giants in the industry, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google, believe it or not, are not the most secure email providers if you are wary about the kind of text you exchange with your clients or otherwise. Here are the top five best mail providers to protect your privacy.
1. Zoho Mail
This certainly is not a big name in the mail world, but it definitely offers the most secure way to exchange information on the web. With servers located in all corners of the globe, Zoho mail has proven to be a secure email hosting solution with a sharp focus on data encryption and user-friendliness.
Apart from offering usual email services with enough spam and mail filters, Zoho mail provides amazing features like a calendar, a contract portal, and even a task manager.
But security comes second to nothing when using Zoho mail. It offers an encrypted environment ensuring data remains safe whether on the move or stationary. Even the best of hackers would spend a record time trying to infiltrate it, with near-zero chances of success.
The data stored on Zoho’s servers can still be accessed by the company and subpoenaed by relevant government agencies, but this can only be done through very strict and specific protocols, which must be adhered to the very end.
Zoho mail provides three paid option plans. The three plans are-
- Mail Lite– Featuring 5GB of storage space per user.
- Mail Premium– Featuring 50GB of space per user
- The third plan is tailor-made for users who would like to have access to other solutions offered by the company. This may include web-based word processing and presentation software.
Zoho offers a handful of IT solutions. This includes a password manager, so the service works best when combining it with other products. This amazing service also comes with secure data centers accessible only through biometric authentication.
Secure features don’t end there—there is malware and spam protection, and end-to-end encryption on all the data. You are not getting this kind of security in any other service.
2.ProtonMail
Now, this is a recently launched product, but in the few years of its existence, it has proven to be the giant in the room. Founded in 2014 at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, ProtonMail has since proven over and again to be a secure email provider featuring end-to-end encryption and a zero-access guarantee; say that again, zero!
ProtonMail was created to respond to damaging leaks from Edward Snowden, the now 38-year-old journalist and computer intelligence analyst following his 2013 leakage of highly classified information from the National Security Agency, NSA.
ProtonMail has its data centers safely housed in an underground banker somewhere in Switzerland. The bunker itself is strong enough to survive a nuclear attack; yes, that’s how serious the security of ProtonMail information is safeguarded.
One of the most talked-about features of ProtonMail is its ‘self-destructing’ email service, which automatically removes certain mails from the recipient’s inbox after a given duration of time. The best part is, before signing up for this service, you are asked not to divulge any sensitive information.
ProtonMail has a free plan that comes with limited storage and messages, but users needing more have the choice of upgrading to any of its tiered premium plans. The free plan supports 500MB of email storage and limits users to 150 messages a day. Clearly, that is more than enough for individual users.
3. Tutanota
With well over 2 million clients, Tutanota is an open-source, end-to-end secure mail provider enabling users to take advantage of their unrivaled level of encryption.
Tutanota is based in Germany. Despite offering a maximum level of mail security, Tutanota remains an easy-to-use service and has quality features. Its web interphase is easy to use and navigate, allowing users to make email private or non-private with just a single click.
However, one of the notable downsides of the service is that it lacks the search option, meaning it would take an eternity to search for previous emails, especially when handling a high-volume line.
Tutanota encrypts the name of the sender, the receiver, and the subject line, meaning they are dead serious when it comes to privacy matters. Emails and IP addresses are deleted from the heading metadata just to protect the users.
To put the icing on the cake, this service is available on Windows, macOS, IOS, and Android.
4.PrivateMail
PrivateMail has its servers based in the United States. Therefore, it remains subject to certain legal restrictions, meaning it doesn’t offer the same level of privacy from law enforcement and government agencies compared to email providers in countries like Germany or Switzerland.
Still, PrivateMail offers end-to-end encryption and extremely secure cloud storage. Additionally, this service boasts some really strong security practices.
The cloud storage feature is one to die for, giving users options to synchronize files between different devices and with a specific folder on your computer. On top of that, there is a business calendar that really comes in handy for business users.
PrivateMail Standard offers 10GB each of email and cloud storage, whereas PrivateMail Pro provides 20GB each of email and cloud storage. There is a plan that offers up to 100GB of storage and custom domain for big businesses.
5. Posteo
Finally, another German-based email service, Posteo, is designed to serve both businesses and individuals. It is also the best choice for digital crusaders and activists. And despite not offering end-to-end encryption like others, all data on its servers remain secured, whether stationary or on the move.
To top it up, Posteo uses a technology called DANE, DNS-based Authentication of Named Entities. This feature protects against hackers who may try to impersonate the sender or the recipient in order to gain access to sensitive information.
Posteo doesn’t have a free version, but on a small monthly fee, users can get to enjoy all the security features it offers.
Conclusion If you are looking for a secure way to send or receive mail on the web, the five mail services will do justice to your quest. The choice is yours; stay secure
