howto: email providers                  rev 24 aug 2019

....................................................... 
the providers:

  Fastmail 
    * extra features.
    https://www.fastmail.com/
    features:  https://www.fastmail.com/features/
    security:  https://www.fastmail.com/help/ourservice/security.html
    pricing:   https://www.fastmail.com/pricing/
    wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FastMail
    other:     https://www.reddit.com/r/fastmail/
                  a lot of good general email info here as well.
               https://twitter.com/fastmail

  Hushmail
    * oriented towards businesses - secure forms, ...
    * extra features.
    https://www.hushmail.com/
    features:  https://www.hushmail.com/personal/
               https://www.hushmail.com/personal/features/
    security:  https://help.hushmail.com/hc/en-us/sections/202595543-Security-privacy
               https://help.hushmail.com/hc/en-us/articles/213267743-Security-Analysis
               https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hushmail#Compromises_to_email_privacy
    pricing:   https://www.hushmail.com/personal/
    wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hushmail
    other:     https://www.reddit.com/r/hushmail/
               https://twitter.com/hushmail

  Protonmail
    * created specifically to combat spying.
    * most socially/ethically oriented of the three.
    * extra features.
    https://www.protonmail.com/
    features:  https://protonmail.com/signup
               ProtonMail Bridge application
                 https://protonmail.com/bridge/
    security:  https://protonmail.com/security-details
    pricing:   https://protonmail.com/signup
    wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ProtonMail
               https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ProtonMail#Encryption
    other:     https://www.reddit.com/r/protonmail/
               https://www.reddit.com/user/protonmail_support/
               https://twitter.com/protonmail
               https://www.lifewire.com/protonmail-review-4107075
                 jun 2019
                   
  Tutanota
    https://tutanota.com
    features:  https://tutanota.com/pricing
    security:  https://tutanota.com/howto/#email-encryption
    pricing:   https://tutanota.com/pricing
    wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutanota
    other:     https://tutanota.com/faq
               https://tutanota.com/howto/
               https://www.reddit.com/r/tutanota/
               https://twitter.com/TutanotaTeam

  Other recommended providers:
        https://www.pobox.com
            50gb
            US
        https://mailbox.org/en/
            5gb
            Germany


....................................................... 
other info:

  Always maintain two independent email systems. One is main use, other is reserve.

  Use a domain email, so you can keep same address even if you change providers.
  But use a provider email for registration and hosting accounts,
    because you don't want them to depend on your domain working.

.........................................................................................................
as of 18 aug 2019      *Fastmail*       Hushmail        Protonmail              Tutanota      |     gmail
.........................................................................................................
Price                   $50/yr          $50/yr          $53/yr                  $67/yr              free
                        Standard        Premium         Plus                    Pro
                                        
Basic features
  storage:              *25gb*          10gb            5gb                     10gb                15gb
  attachment limit:     *50mb*          20/50mb         25mb                    25mb                ??
  folders:              unlimited       unlimited       unlimited?                ?                    unlimited
  aliases:              unlimited       unlimited       5
  imap:                 yes             yes             no - only with Bridge   no                  yes
    thunderbird:        yes             with Bridge             no -                yes
                                                                             use their client

Privacy/security
  servers:              US,NL           Canada         *Switzerland*           *Germany*            US
  encryption:           on-disk         on-disk        *end-to-end*            *end-to-end*         no
  keep ip logs:         unknown         yes            *no*                    *no*                 yes
  ads, tracking         no              no              no                      no?                 massive
  anon account          ?               no              yes                     ?                   no
  open source           ?               no?             yes                     ?                   no

More features
  own domain:           yes             Business        difficult               yes                 yes
  full-text search:     yes             yes             headers only            yes                 yes
                                                          full w/client and Bridge.

App                     yes             iphone only     yes                     yes                 yes
                                   ~ can use phone mail client w/imap ~

Import/export
  import contacts:      yes             yes             yes                     yes                 ??
  export contacts:      yes             no              yes?                    yes                 ??

  import emails:        yes                             yes                     no                  yes
  export emails:        yes?            difficult       yes                     yes                 yes

Support:                not great.     *good*           not great.              good                ok
  help pages:           good.          

Notes:                                                  Limited search and                          No privacy at all.
                                                         organization features.   
                                                        Cumbersome integration with 
                                                         other email clients.
.........................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................


.......................................................
compare:

  Comparison of webmail providers
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_webmail_providers

  The 5 Best Secure Email Services for 2019 
    https://www.lifewire.com/best-secure-email-services-4136763
    aug 2019

  Thoughts on ProtonMail vs FastMail
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18008062
    sep 2018

  Nine of the Most Secure Email Providers
    https://www.techjunkie.com/most-secure-email-providers/
    may 2019
     
  Email Comparison
    https://thatoneprivacysite.net/email-comparison/
    may 2018

.......................................................
sources:

  * https://www.pcgamer.com/10-secure-gmail-alternatives/
      [2015]

  * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_webmail_providers

  * https://blog.encyro.com/best-email-encryption-services/
      detailed comparison, esp concerning encryption.
      summary section at end.
      [2018]

  * https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/4s1ocd/anonymous_email_providers_hushmailprotonmailetc/
      maybe some useful info
      [2016]

  * https://www.wired.com/2007/11/encrypted-e-mai/
      [2007]


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