Where’s my email? I have no idea, but my holidays are over, so it’s time to return to work. So difficult… Anyway, today I would like to write a few words about something basic. About email. Yes, that’s right. We heard a lot about PRISM, other governments spying systems, and the Polish financial minister’s ideas. Well, we’ve got a problem. And let’s make it clear. I don’t brake any law!

Now. I don’t brake any law, so why any government or company reads my emails? I’ve been using Gmail for years, but now I see that knowledge about me is just another product. I can’t accept it! Also, based on Guardian information US government has direct access to Google servers (and other companies), with any court agreement or something like this. So I decided to find another email service provider. So let’s do this.

Where should I keep my emails?

You will find a lot of discussions or ratings of email providers. And most of the best are free and based in the USA—for example, Gmail or Outlook.com. But let’s make it clear. If the service is free, they have to sell something else. YOU. The terms and conditions of these services are still changing. Right now, they will not sell direct information about you, only about your preferences. Still, I think it will be a matter of time before they sell information about you. There’s an excellent forum about email services. You will see that so many people from the US are looking for offshore providers. Yes, we all have been thinking that the US is a country where privacy is holy. That’s a lie! If any email provider server is in the US, they will probably be able to check your emails. Also, consider this. There’s a famous Canadian provider – HushMail. You will find information on their website that all information is encrypted. Maybe. But there were cases when the US court requested from them information about some mailboxes, and they gave all messages. Decrypted… It seems that now US companies don’t try to fight about customer privacy. You should think twice when moving your sensitive data to the cloud…

EU VS US. Or maybe another place?

Ok, let back to the email. Of course, EU law isn’t so awesome, but it is much better than the US. Also, there’re some really great solutions. Let’s take a look at CounterMail. Based on their information, all information is encrypted, and you are the only person with a private key. Also, they don’t store any logs. I didn’t find any information that they have broken this rule. And as they paid service (59$ per year), it will kill their business if they break the rules of the service. A similar service is NeoMailBox. It also looks safe and cheaper (49$ per year), but I found some complaints about their customer service quality.

Where’s my email – on RunBox

Finally I would like to present my choice. I’ve decided to move all my core email services to RunBox.com . Why?

Some email providers, unlike Runbox, screen email communication to display targeted advertisements to the user or store message contents and personal data to extract information that may be shared with third parties for commercial gain (“data mining“).

Also, email messages sent over company computers are generally considered company property and, therefore, accessible by the company’s management.

Intelligence agencies may utilize surveillance software to monitor email messages to combat espionage, facilitate political eavesdropping, or carry out other types of screening in the perceived interest of national security. It’s paid service, but I think that it’s worth it. I am not a product anymore…

They can find more information and a comparison between US and EU law on their website.

And for the trash emails (forums, some other law quality services ), I use yandex.com. That’s the right Russian company. I can’t imagine that a Russian company in an easy way, will give any information about me to Polish or US agency.