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I recently switched to Runbox and so far so good. Before switching I tried out the following 1. Fastmail: tried and stopped using because of Australian law tha

by kovac 4y ago

I recently switched to Runbox and so far so good. Before switching I tried out the following 1. Fastmail: tried and stopped using because of Australian law that is relatively more hostile to privacy and is more expensive that Runbox when adjusted to features (e.g. alias count limit for personal domains) 2. Mailbox.org: Tried and stopped using because firstly they made a payment routing mistake when I upgraded to a paid account during the trial and blocked sending of emails. Took a few days to get it cleared. Also, there are important features you can't try on a free trial like sensing emails to non-mailbox.org domains, configuring your own domains, etc. They quote alleviating spam account risk but it doesn't feel right when runbox allows you to try these features for free before signing up. Also, mailbox.org forces cloud drive, video calls, etc on you. I don't need that crap. Just need a solid mail service. If you want encryption, you have to upload/let them generate the private key for you. While this is technically necessary to encrypt your mail box using pgp, I don't think this is a good idea. I think entrusting the key and the lock to the same people defeats the purpose of encryption. 3. Posteo: doesn't allow personal domains. This is a deal breaker for me. 4. Soverin: I ran into some issue with Soverin. Can't remember what that was. I really wanted to use them otherwise since they seem like a small team and I like supporting small businesses. Finally I settled for runbox because they show a decent level of commitment to privacy, cheaper for the set of features they offer (unlimited aliases on your own domain, catch all, etc), let you try all their features on free account which I think is a very good sales posture, there's a fantastic deal right now that gives you a two year subscription for the price of one. I do not have any affiliation with runbox btw. I highly recommend using your own domain in case you need to lift and shift at some point, use pgp keys for privacy whenever possible and take a principled stand against bullshit laws like those in Australia if you care about privacy. Overall, right now, runbox will give you the best set of features and comparable privacy guarantees to their competitors for a better price.

roydivision 4y ago
+1 for Runbox. I’ve been a client for over ten years, no problems.
bachmeier 4y ago
> tried and stopped using because of Australian law that is relatively more hostile to privacy I see this kind of thing all the time. I could understand if you emailed a lot of stuff to yourself, but privacy is ultimately going to be determined by both email providers. It seems in this case that email is being used as a substitute for secure file sharing and secure chat.
- kovac 4y ago
  Yes, I agree with you. It's more of a matter of principles because otherwise there's no point to using a paid, private email service at all since most of the market share is with Gmail and outlook free emails and most people don't use PGP. But I don't think that should be a reason for governments to pass bills that are hostile to privacy while adding nothing to national security compared to similar laws in, say Europe.
skrause 4y ago
> Also, mailbox.org forces cloud drive, video calls, etc on you. I don't need that crap. Huh? I've been a mailbox.org user for years now and didn't even know that they have a cloud drive and video calls. How are they forcing it on you?
- kovac 4y ago
  Not sure how it was when your first signed up, but right now these extra stuff comes with the paid subscription. You can't buy just the email service and you can't use even the basic features like emailing an external domain on a free mailbox.org account. Their Web interface has all these features so I'm not sure how you'd miss them...

by kovac 4y ago

roydivision 4y ago

+1 for Runbox. I’ve been a client for over ten years, no problems.

bachmeier 4y ago

> tried and stopped using because of Australian law that is relatively more hostile to privacy I see this kind of thing all the time. I could understand if you emailed a lot of stuff to yourself, but privacy is ultimately going to be determined by both email providers. It seems in this case that email is being used as a substitute for secure file sharing and secure chat.

kovac 4y ago
Yes, I agree with you. It's more of a matter of principles because otherwise there's no point to using a paid, private email service at all since most of the market share is with Gmail and outlook free emails and most people don't use PGP. But I don't think that should be a reason for governments to pass bills that are hostile to privacy while adding nothing to national security compared to similar laws in, say Europe.

skrause 4y ago

> Also, mailbox.org forces cloud drive, video calls, etc on you. I don't need that crap. Huh? I've been a mailbox.org user for years now and didn't even know that they have a cloud drive and video calls. How are they forcing it on you?

kovac 4y ago
Not sure how it was when your first signed up, but right now these extra stuff comes with the paid subscription. You can't buy just the email service and you can't use even the basic features like emailing an external domain on a free mailbox.org account. Their Web interface has all these features so I'm not sure how you'd miss them...