Best Gmail Alternatives [2021]— That Respect Your Privacy

Unquestionably one of the leaders in email, with more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, Gmail is actually very greedy for personal data and totally at odds with digital privacy. Like us, you are concerned about your privacy on the web and want to protect your personal data and especially your emails from prying eyes? You’ve come to the right place! In this article, we present you with a list of the best more private, and secure alternatives to Gmail.

The Disadvantages Of Gmail

Thanks to its many built-in features, Gmail is one of the most versatile and convenient email platforms on the web. Because it’s free, it’s no surprise that it’s the most popular email application on the planet. Of course, all this comes at a price, although it is indirect, and very few people realize it. Here are some examples of how Gmail does not fully respect your privacy:

It analyzes the content of your incoming emails to establish your commercial profile and thus offers you advertising that matches your needs.

It keeps track of your online purchases in its history from the invoices received in your mailbox.

The application’s artificial intelligence has been developed to generate “smart replies” so that you can respond more quickly to your recipients. In order to offer these answers, Gmail has previously analyzed the content received.

List of best Gmail Alternatives to Protect Your Privacy

To bypass the exploration and collection of data related to Gmail, a multitude of mailboxes more respectful of personal data have developed. We have selected 3 of them to allow you to benefit from totally secure email exchanges.

1. PROTONMAIL

Open-source software, ProtonMail protects your privacy with a secure email service. The ProtonMail platform is complete with very advanced features:

Servers located in Switzerland: all data of ProTonMail users are protected by Swiss laws, one of the most intransigent on privacy.

End-to-end encryption on all messages received, sent, and archived: no one, not even the solution, can intercept and decrypt the content of your messages.

Private messaging: confidentiality is fully respected from account creation to regular connection. Indeed, to create a ProTonMail account, no personal information is required. Moreover, the IPs linked to the email account remain private.

An accessible and optimized interface: the solution can be used on any device (computer, tablet, mobile) without the need to install software or the mobile application. The inbox is optimized to save you time in reading, sorting, and sending your emails.

An encrypted calendar: ProtonCalendar is the first fully encrypted online calendar. Specifically, all the events created (titles, descriptions, participants, locations) are encrypted directly on the device and are not transmitted to ProtonMail servers.

In terms of price, ProTonMail offers a free version and three monthly and annual subscription plans:

Free version: an excellent alternative to discover the tool before switching to a subscription system. The version gives access to one user, offers a storage capacity limited to 500MB (which is already more than enough for classic use), and allows to deliver up to 150 messages per day. However, the domain is not customizable and remains by default @protonmail.com

Subscription Plus: an accessible offer for small budgets. It includes 1 user account, a customizable domain, 5GB of storage, and 5 addresses associated with the user account. The number of messages sent is limited to 1000 per day and a maximum of 200 folders can be created. It also allows you to filter messages and program an automatic reply. Available for €5/month (monthly subscription) or €48/year (annual subscription).

Professional subscription: a formula specially designed for professionals and can accommodate from 1 to 5000 users. The tool provides storage of 5GB, availability of 5 addresses per user as well as unlimited creation of folders and sending of e-mails. It also has the features of message filters, automatic message scheduling, catch-all email, and support. Depending on the subscription chosen, the rate is degressive for an annual subscription (75€/month/user) versus monthly (8€/month/user).

Visionary Subscription: the most accomplished formula that includes 6 users, 20 GB storage space, 50 addresses, and 10 personalized domains. There is no limit to the number of folders and emails you can send. It includes all the features of the professional subscription (message filters, automatic scheduling, catch-all email, support) and gives access to ProTonVPN protection. Available for €30/month (monthly subscription) or €288/month (annual subscription).

2. TUTANOTA

Tutanota email is known for transmitting end-to-end encrypted emails and many features such as enabling or disabling the “end-to-end encryption” feature. The solution is free for basic use. Different paid packages starting at 12 euros per year are offered depending on the storage space required and the customization required.

3. POSTEO

Posteo is a “green” email provider that protects and secures your data. Its price is very affordable, starting at 1€ per month for all available features. Some options can be added and allow to have a tailor-made use according to the expected needs. The small drawback: the interface is much less intuitive than its competitors.

IN CONCLUSION

To conclude, it is quite possible to protect your email exchanges and, consequently, your personal data without necessarily going through the big machines of the web. The three solutions we have just presented are easy to use and reliable to secure your emails. From now on, it’s up to you to determine which one will best suit your needs and expectations according to your budget.