Technology Tales

Secure email services: Protecting your digital communications

Published on 21^st August 2025 Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

In an era where digital privacy faces increasing threats from corporate surveillance, government oversight and cyberattacks, traditional email services often fall short of protecting sensitive communications. Major providers frequently scan messages for advertising purposes and store data in ways that leave users vulnerable to breaches and unauthorised access.

The following three email services represent a different approach—one that prioritizes user privacy through robust encryption, transparent practices and a genuine commitment to data protection. Each offers end-to-end encryption that ensures only intended recipients can read messages, while employing various technical and legal safeguards to keep user data secure from third-party access.

From Belgium's court-order requirements to Switzerland's strong privacy laws and Germany's open-source transparency, these services demonstrate how geography, technology and philosophy combine to create truly private communication platforms that put users back in control of their digital correspondence.

Mailfence

This encrypted email service launched in 2013 by ContactOffice Group operates from Brussels, Belgium, providing users with OpenPGP-based end-to-end encryption and digital signature capabilities whilst maintaining servers under Belgian privacy protection laws that require court approval for any access requests. The platform generates private keys within the browser and encrypts them using AES-256 with user passphrases, ensuring the service provider cannot access user encryption keys and supports standard security protocols including SPF, DKIM, DMARC, TLS and two-factor authentication alongside anti-spam filtering. Beyond secure email functionality that works with POP, IMAP, SMTP and Exchange ActiveSync protocols, the service integrates calendar management with CalDAV support, contact organisation with various import and export formats, document storage with online editing through WebDAV access and group collaboration tools for sharing files and calendars.

Proton

Founded in 2014 by CERN scientists and now majority-owned by the non-profit Proton Foundation, this Swiss technology company has built a comprehensive suite of privacy-focused services that serve over 100 million users worldwide. The company's flagship service, Proton Mail, offers end-to-end encryption for secure email communication, ensuring that only senders and recipients can read messages whilst the company itself cannot access the content.

The ecosystem has expanded to include Proton VPN for secure internet browsing, Proton Drive for encrypted cloud storage, Proton Calendar for scheduling, Proton Pass as an open-source password manager and recently Lumo, a privacy-centred AI chatbot. All services operate under Swiss privacy laws and employ zero-access encryption technology. The company's mission centres on protecting user privacy against both authoritarian surveillance and big technology companies' data collection practices, offering an alternative to advertisement-supported services that typically monetise user information.

Tuta

Formerly known as Tutanota, this German-developed encrypted email service operates under a freemium model and was founded by Tutao GmbH in 2011, officially rebranding to Tuta in November 2023. The platform provides automatic end-to-end encryption for emails, subject lines, attachments and calendars using hybrid encryption including AES-256 and RSA-2048, whilst newer accounts benefit from post-quantum cryptography through the TutaCrypt protocol featuring algorithms like X25519 and Kyber-1024.

Registration requires no phone number and the service claims no IP logging, with private and public keys generated locally, and private keys encrypted by user passwords before storage. The open-source platform is accessible via webmail with applications for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux, and includes an encrypted calendar, contact storage, search functionality and two-factor authentication support. The service has received recognition for its strong encryption and privacy focus but has faced challenges including a significant drop in Google search visibility following Digital Markets Act implementation.