6 Email Services to Send Encrypted Email (2018).
Privacy is a big problem on the Internet, and the only sure way to keep your information private is by using encryption. However, if you want your emails to remain private, you should send encrypted emails instead. There are many services out there that will allow you to send encrypted emails, and in this post, we list six of the best email services that offer end-to-end encryption for your emails.
Note. These email services can encrypt your data, but they cannot be used for illegal purposes. The service company may still decrypt emails and view their contents if any legal action is taken against you.
Related: What You Should Know About Email Encryption
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1. Mailfence
Mailfence is one of the most popular email encryption services that offers a complete solution for sending and receiving encrypted emails. The service is based in Belgium, so it is not subject to US laws that are known to compel companies to provide data. If you are about to send an email to another Mailfence user, encryption is applied automatically and all data is stored on Mailfence’s servers. However, if the recipient is using any other email service, you will have to encrypt the email with a key, and the recipient must use that key to open the email.
Email isn’t the only thing that MailFence can encrypt, it can also encrypt your contacts, calendar entries, and even documents. I found the MailFence interface to be very intuitive and pleasing to the eye. With a few clicks, you are ready to send an encrypted email using a user-friendly email editor. You can also improve your account security by enabling two-factor authentication.
Pricing: With a free MailFence account, you get 500 MB of space for email, 500 MB for documents and only 2 users can manage the account. But if you want more, Mailfence offers two different plans called Entry and Pro for € 2.5 / month and € 7.5 / month, respectively.
Paid plans increase your storage limit and give you access to additional features like support for POP, IMAP, SMTP, iOS, Android, Exchange, and custom domains.
2. Hushmil
Hushmail offers separate solutions for both individuals and businesses, so it’s easier for you to get what you really want. There are not many confusing options in the personal account that can overwhelm you. The service works like any other email service, allowing you to send encrypted emails to both Hushmail users and users using other email services.
If you send an email to another Hushmail user, the encrypted email will be sent immediately without any manual intervention on your part. If the recipient uses any other email service, you will need to provide a security question and answer that both you and the recipient should know. The recipient can answer the question to open the email in the secure Hushmail interface (no registration required).
For businesses, Hushmail offers various features such as – HIPAA compliance, administration tools, multiple accounts under the same address, and many customized solutions depending on the nature of the business.
Pricing: Hushmail is a paid service that costs $ 49.98 per year for personal accounts and customized rates for business accounts. While it also has a free service, it only offers 25MB of space and phone confirmation, which many won’t like.
3. SCRYPTmail
This is a fairly new service and is still in beta testing, but it is improving rapidly. I really liked SCRYPTmail’s lightweight and simple approach, which doesn’t impose too many restrictions on the use of the account. You just register and you are ready to send encrypted emails.
As with the other services on this list, all emails for SCRYPTmail users are encrypted by default, but you will need to provide a PIN to encrypt emails sent to other email services. Interestingly, if the recipient enters the wrong PIN 3 times, the encrypted message is deleted instead – a good security step, I would say.
Pricing: SCRYPTmail used to be free, but they stopped the free plan back in May 2017. To use SCRYPTmail, you need to pay $ 2 per month. Apart from this, the service also offers flexible plans so that you can choose which features you want to pay for. If you’d like to test the service, a free 7-day trial is available.
4. ProtonMail (recommended)
If you don’t trust the above services, you might be interested in an open source email encryption service. ProtonMail is an open source email service that offers awesome features for free. ProtonMail is subject to strict Swiss laws, so you should count on robust privacy and security features. In addition, it does not ask for any identifying information to create your account. Just create a new email account and start sending encrypted emails; they won’t even track your IP address.
Its interface is not as simple as the others on this list, but it is very interactive and should be easy to master with little effort. Encryption works similarly to other services, but it has an interesting self-destruct feature that allows you to destroy the sent email from the recipient’s access after a certain time. A free account will suit most users. Although you can opt for the paid version to get more storage and custom domains.
Price: The basic account is free, gives you 500MB of storage, and has a hard limit of 150 messages per day, which is good enough for any casual user. To increase your limits, you can choose the Plus, Professional or Visionary plan which costs € 5 per month, € 8 per month and € 30 per month. Depending on which plan you choose, you will get increased storage, addresses, and users. You can find out more about prices here.
6. CounterMail
While the site looks dated, CounterMail is one of the best out there offering encrypted email services. Like other services on this list, CounterMail uses 4096-bit OpenPGP email encryption for secure communications. What makes CounterMail special is that it is located in Sweden, where privacy laws are strict, and unlike other services, CounterMail does not store your emails on hard drives or data banks. Instead, they only store and use CD-ROMs, which is completely safe from data leaks and data leaks.
Other CounterMail features include, but are not limited to, two-factor authentication with a USB key, dynamic aliases, IMAP support, the ability to use your own domain, secure forms, dynamic aliases, MITM (Man in the Middle) attack protection, etc.
Cost: CounterMail is a completely paid service. There is only one plan, and depending on the length of the plan, the price can range from $ 19 (for 3 months) to $ 59 (for 12 months). You will get 250 MB of storage for each account. If you need additional storage space, you will need to pay a lump sum, depending on the storage size. For more information, you can visit this page.
Packaging
I like ProtonMail for its open source and privacy as it is in compliance with Swiss law. Although SCRYPTmail is also a great new service for sending encrypted emails. If you’re not paranoid yet, CounterMail is worth a look.
Which of these email encryption services do you like? Share with us in the comments.