Nobody mentioning fastmail...sad times
this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2025
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Privacy
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Not a recomendation... i just like to recall that it seems pointless to me to use a private/secure mail provider just to end up communicating with gmail users. There are other private/secure means of communication over the internet, just not so much through emails.
tuta mail or mailbox.org are the answer
Not proton the ceo is a right wing guy.
If you want to use clients other than a webmail tuta wont fit your needs. But, to that end, try both, they are both excellent in their own ways, see what suits you.
mailbox.org is a treasure, signed up for mail but it's so much more useful than that. It's a true replacement for me of what Google and Microsoft offers additionally to mail.
Been with Posteo for years now. They're very solid.
I've been with Mailbox for years now too. Also very solid.
I'm using runbox with custom domain. No issues.
Have a look at Proton and Tuta (used to be Tutanova)
Used to be Tutanota*
Oops. Correct 👍
I'm far from a privacy expert, but here are some things that I have been considering while researching this for myself:
- Zero-knowledge encryption providers like Proton and Tuta are great for privacy at the expense of convenience, like possibly not being able to use common IMAP email clients. Proton has a bridge app for their paid plans that allows this on Windows and Mac but not ~~Linux or~~ mobile, and last time I checked, Tuta doesn't have this on any platform. This means that your email can only be accessed from their client, and more importantly, if a bridge app is not available for your provider on your preferred platform, all your email will be stuck in your mailbox forever with no ability to archive locally.
- What are the privacy, security, and law enforcement/intelligence cooperation policies of the provider and country where the provider's legal entity and IT infrastructure are located? If located in a country with bad policies, spying on your email is much easier, especially if it's not a zero-knowledge encryption provider.
- While using the provider's own domain for your address is better than using a custom domain, most providers appear to have a policy of making your address available to others after you leave them. Mailbox, Posteo, and Fastmail do this. One of the only providers I've found that has a policy of not doing this is Runbox.
- Does the provider have a good reputation for email deliverability? This is a tricky one that requires some research. First, look at the provider's DMARC policies with a tool like DMARC Check Tool. Mailbox and Runbox appear to pass all tests, but Posteo and Fastmail fail the DMARC quarantine/reject policy test, which apparently makes it easier to spoof your email and could make your emails less likely to be delivered. Also search the web for comments on users' experience with email delivery, like " email delivery issues", to find out what people have said.
Proton bridge is available for Linux as well.
Thanks for the correction, I didn't see it mentioned on their page. I've edited my post.
Afaik, Proton and Tuta are the only free ones with zero-knowledge encryption
Proton allows only one free email address, which is what taught me to be wary of unexpected restrictions on services. I've got to say the only one I trust fully is my own, with complete certainty of security and features are all only limited by the hardware. Whenever someone talks about paying per month to get more addresses, aliases, calendar or storage - nah. Self-host. DuckDuckGo email is a good firewall layer as well - it forwards all mail to your chosen actual address after trying its best to strip the mail of trackers.
You can create as many free email accounts with ProtonMail as you like.
Proton now is a non-profit but their employees still need salary. Throw them a couple bucks if you like their service.
Do that with anyone whose services you enjoy. That's how you help them survive.
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Proton mail.
I am using mailbox.org for years now.
One thing to consider about mailbox.org is that if you don't use your own custom domain and keep an @mailbox.org address (which afaik is considered a best practice for privacy because it lets you "hide" in the crowd), if you decide to move on later they will make your old address available to others later.
proton.me is not bad.
Proton Mail, Tuta mail, runbox.com, to name three.
'Safe' is a bit too vague: what are you looking for?
- If you just need an email that doesn't belong to GAFAM and is not subjected to US privacy-less laws but need no extra security (no end to end encryption): Infomaniak KSuite(Swiss) is available both as a free plan (20GB email + 15GB Cloud free) and as a paid version (unlimited email storage and 1To Cloud). They also offer just the email, if you don't need cloud: Kmail ;) . There is also mailbox.org (Germany)
- End to end encryption: Tuta (German), Proton (Swiss).
Edit: moved mailbox out of the E2EE section.
Proton mail
Been using this for years. Best thing is to get your own domain, that way if you later switch providers, you keep your email.
Been using my domain email more and more for that reason, and the setup with Proton was quite easy, integration is great too. I even set it up with Pass to generate privacy aliases on a subdomain of my domain.
Tuta mail
I considered them, but had a problem with two things about them: they both a) don't allow custom domains (which is fine for privacy) and b) recycle email addresses, meaning that if you move on later they will make your old email address available to others.
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i've been using purelymail.com since the google domains price hikes. They're cheap and I never had a problem.
I've been using fastmail.com for a long time and am satisfied, though it's on the expensive side and I haven't looked into every alternative.
If you want cheap email hosting for your own domain, mxroute.com has been around for a while and cranemail.com is new, but both are small companies run by people who know what they are doing (online acquaintances of mine if that matters).
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Purelymail. Really good and cheap it all you need is email. No extra cost to bring your own domain.
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