If You Don’t Want Microsoft or Google, Use These Open-Source Email Providers Instead
We all need to use email technology, but while some people simply opt to keep the usual tools like Gmail from Google or Outlook from Microsoft, some people especially worried about privacy on the Internet will prefer to use different service providers.
In order to have a democratized Internet, is good to have different options available and different from the ones that the biggest tech companies in the world offer us, not because they necessarily do something bad with our information, but because we are inadvertently giving them so much power.
That is why, same as with other aspects of tech, some people rely on open-source email providers or managers to avoid Google’s or Microsoft’s ecosystems. In the following, we will talk about three good email providers that we can download for free, which are open source, and that can give us the same utilities as the more known tools we have been using until today.
ProtonMail
With servers based in Switzerland, ProtonMail is, no doubt, one of the most well known alternative email providers. They are not fully open source (not on the servers side) as they argue, for safety reasons, but their system is fairly open and trustworthy.
They offer end-to-end encryption and count with over 100 million users worldwide. Creating an account is free and they also have mobile and desktop apps to use in every one of our devices.
One of its most notable characteristics is the lack of personal information that they ask from us when opening an account. They also encrypt our contacts and allow the sending of self-destructive emails.
Tuta
Tuta, known before as Tutanota, is a German email service with end-to-end encryption, open-sourced since 2014. By registering with Tuta, we can enter into an email manager that makes protection, privacy, and security their main focus.
Just like ProtonMail, Tuta also counts with an app in Android’s Play Store, so that we can also check our email from our phone. It has also very good reviews: a 4,3 out of 5 punctuation, with more than half a million downloads.
They have two-factor authentication and offer us 1 GB of free storage, which is good to start with. The fact that they are based in Germany also serves as a warranty of compliance with UE data regulations, a plus for user tranquility.
Mailpile
Mailpile is not as polished as the other two commented, but it is going to be liked by any privacy-conscious person. It does not have smartphone apps, but in desktop, it allows us to get more control over our communications providing encryption. It does not issue emails or horst emails on its own, so it functions as a layer solution for your current address, like Gmail.
To use it does require a bit more of technological knowledge, but the benefit is a more personalized use of encryption. Also, it is completely open-source. A key function is the PGP encryption with a public/private key pair, which allows you to communicate securely with another person.
Using popular services such as Google or Microsoft makes it possible to start working rapidly, but being conscious of the services we use online will make an impact in the long term. Just the same as you being aware of the quality and characteristics of the food you buy in the supermarket.
