Today it is very difficult for us not to need email at work or at an educational level. This has become something vital that allows us to send and receive all kinds of information in a matter of seconds. Like everything, most people use the same free email services, but these may not be the best option if you are looking for an “extra” privacy . For this, the best options are ProtonMail and Tutanota, and in this article we will tell you more about both.
It is very possible that an average user does not know either of these two emails, but as we say they are two of the safest options that we can find on the Internet . These have their greatest incentive precisely in security, since, as we will see a little later, they offer many more privacy options to their users.
What does ProtonMail offer?
The first option we are going to see is ProtonMail. This secure email based in Switzerland seeks to offer a very simple experience to the user such as that of Google’s Gmail, but adding security levels that are not within the reach of this other email service. This service offers end-to-end encryption with zero access , so not even the platform itself will be able to see the content of the emails you receive or send. The fact that it is based in Switzerland is quite important, as we will see later.
If this encryption is not enough for you, the messages that we have in our inbox or those that we send can be protected with a password, making it even more difficult to intercept them. A very interesting feature that it has is the possibility of sending messages that self-destruct , something that works both for emails that we send to other ProtonMail accounts and to any other email service. Of course, our data will also be encrypted in such a way that not even the company will have an easy time decrypting it.
ProtonMail Service.
This service also has its own VPN service , one that is also tremendously complete and works very well. With it we can access websites and services that would be banned without VPN, but also the platform does not publish or sell our browsing history to third parties. In addition, ProtonMail uses the Tor network to be able to give the user an anonymous email route that does not allow their personal data or IP to be identified. By using such a network we will also be less prone to attacks from cybercriminals, especially the so-called Man-in-the-Middle and DDoS attacks.
This is Tutanota
Tutanota in this case is based in Germany , and like its “adversary” it also has end-to-end encryption that will secure our data. Contrary to what happens with ProtonMail, Tutanota does not use PGP, a system to encrypt messages and information that is quite basic and that most emails use. Tutanota uses a system that is based on PGP, but is more secure.
One of the most interesting things at the user level that Tutanota has is that it allows us to create a password as long as we want to be able to access our account. This will not be sent to any server, but only a hash (an algorithm that does not include that information) is sent. In the event that we forget our password, the only way to be able to restore or recover it is to use the recovery codes , thus eliminating other forms that offer services such as Outlook or Gmail.
Tutanota.
As stated on the website of this service, its main objective is ” to protect journalists, whistleblowers and human rights activists, as well as citizens around the world “.
And the winner is…
Declaring one of the two services as the absolute winner in this contest is practically impossible. Both ProtonMail and Tutanota offer email services with high levels of privacy, and although they have quite subtle differences , the truth is that both are two great options. These differences can be listed fairly quickly, although they are so small that it is difficult for them to make one of these services the winner.
Both services have paid versions, but you don’t need to pay anything to be able to enjoy the most basic versions of both emails. Tutanota, for example, offers a free account with 1 GB of storage for a single user, limited search and a single calendar, although without restrictions when sending emails. ProtonMail in that sense is somewhat more restrictive, since it also offers 1 GB for each user, but with a limit of 150 messages per day and three labels and folders to organize the mail.
One of the things that we have to take into account is, as we have said before, the country where the service is based. The privacy laws applicable to our data will depend directly on where our mail is located, and if we talk about these it is clear that those in Germany are much stricter than those currently in Switzerland. In fact, in the German country what governs is the European General Data Protection Regulation. Although Switzerland has its regulations, the truth is that both offer a fairly high level of privacy .
Ensure the privacy of your data with both services.
To finish, two relevant details. The first is the storage of the IPs, since at this point we must say that ProtonMail temporarily maintains these addresses. This causes that in the event that the Swiss authorities declare that it is important to know them to solve a crime, ProtonMail will be obliged to deliver said information (something that does not happen to Tutanota). We are going to find the other one in the spam filters, since Tutanota has some very basic ones that are below those of ProtonMail.
Having said all this, it is only worth adding that the two mail services are the best you can find on the Internet, and that since both are free in their simplest versions, we recommend that you try both to see which is the one that best convinces you. you . Whichever you choose, your data will be very safe.