Free email providers have been under massive pressure since the NSA affair: they cannot guarantee secure message transmission. But there are smaller providers who, for a small fee, make electronic mail traffic anonymous again. We show you three providers that protect your privacy.
aikQ – You decide what data the email provider receives
With the email provider aikQ, you set up a secure mail cockpit for yourself: You can easily take your previous addresses – for example from Googlemail – with you and manage them via aikQ. In addition, the provider makes you a pleasant promise: “All the data you give us, you give to us voluntarily. Nevertheless, we don’t pass on anything and keep everything you let us know under lock and key.”
- aikQ sends all your mail using SSL or TLS encryption. By default, a 256-bit level two SSL certificate is used. This is more secure than some online banking.
- You can easily register with aikQ under a pseudonym. Nobody checks your data or is interested in your contacts. The servers only save the date and time when you log in, nothing else.
- Of course, it is also possible to integrate your mailbox into mail clients such as Outlook or Thunderbird without any problems. You can even check your messages on the go on aikQ’s mobile site.
- aikQ costs one euro per month. For this, you can use additional mail addresses under up to ten aliases and receive a monthly cancellable mailbox with 10 GB of storage space. In addition, your account is completely ad-free and spam-protected.
- You can pay for your account via PayPal, bank transfer or letter. The latter is completely anonymous, as you don’t have to give your e-mail or correct address – money and order number are sufficient.
- Practical is the free trial period at aikQ: You can use many of the provider’s functions for 30 days and then decide. To do so, log in on the aikQ mail page with the address “demo@aikq.de” and the password “demo”.
Posteo – the sustainable email provider for more privacy
The Berlin-based mail provider Posteo has received a lot of attention, especially after the NSA affair. The provider’s servers are powered by 100 percent renewable energy and all financial transactions go through green environmental banks. In addition, Posteo offers users maximum security:
- At Posteo, your mails are also encrypted with SSL certificates and the Berliners go one step further: Using Perfect Forward Secrecy, every data traffic receives a new key.
- Similar to aikQ, you can also register with Posteo using a pseudonym. Personal data is not required.
- Posteo creates backups of your data and stores them for seven days. However, you can also save all data locally on your PC and then delete it from Posteo. The decision is yours.
- You can also integrate your address into mail clients at Posteo. Access via mobile devices is possible without any problems.
- The mail provider also offers you a calendar function: you can integrate up to five external calendar feeds into your mail account or create your own appointment planner at Posteo. This can even be encrypted with AES so that only you have access to it.
- For one euro, Posteo gives you a monthly mailbox with 2 GB of memory and two alias addresses. You can upgrade both: 20 GB of storage space and alias addresses are possible. You pay ten cents per alias per month, while a gigabyte costs an additional 25 cents per month. This provider is also ad- and spam-free.
- Payment is just as anonymous with Posteo: in addition to bank transfer and PayPal, you can also pay cash by post. In all three cases, a payment code is sufficient. Moreover, the employees at the green mail provider are contractually bound to secrecy. Every incoming letter is shredded after payment.
JP-Berlin – the traditional e-mail provider can do more
The hoster JPBerlin has been around for 25 years. In addition to secure e-mail traffic, the provider has also specialised in web content.
- JPBerlin has set itself the goal of guaranteeing anonymity to especially politically motivated users: Your data is securely encrypted using SSL/TLS procedures and Perfect Forward Secrecy.
- Unfortunately, you have to give JPBerlin your name and address. However, JPBerlin provides you with tips on how to best secure your electronic mail on the FAQ page.
- For one euro per month, JPBerlin provides you with a P.O. box with 1 GB of storage space. You can optionally order more storage space.
- The JPBerlin is particularly specialised in political groups. That’s why the provider offers you even more than just mail addresses: For example, you can claim your own domain. It is also possible to set up mailing lists or have secure websites hosted directly.
- The Berlin mail provider recommends mail access via the free client Roundcube.
Free insider tips: RiseUp and ProtonMail
In addition to aikQ, posteo and JPBerlin, there are other initiatives that advocate more data security and anonymity on the net. The providers RiseUp and ProtonMail even provide free accounts for secure email traffic.
- RiseUp is an organisation dedicated to establishing a free democratic society without surveillance and state despotism. For this purpose, the activists provide mailboxes with TLS encryption. To register, you only have to enter a username and password – all other information is optional. Once you have opened an account, you can create several additional aliases. In addition, RiseUp promises not to store your IP address or pass it on to third parties and not to create any log files.
- ProtonMail also offers everyone the opportunity to create a free e-mail account. The Swiss company attaches great importance to data protection. In addition, the entire code is open source, which means that anyone who wants to can take a look at it.
- Note: Since neither Autistici nor ProtonMail charge for their mail accounts, both organisations rely on donations. Misuse of these offerings can quickly lead to the providers being unable to cover their costs and provide secure mailboxes.
Manage e-mails securely even when mobile
Now that you have protected your mail traffic against unauthorised access, you should also take a look at your mobile phone. If you cannot use the same technology there, your mails will remain insecure.
One solution to this problem is p≡p. The app encrypts all your connections, whether mails or WhatsApp chats. Currently, the app is only available for Android and costs 59 cents once.
