Email today is more private than it was years ago. Your messages mostly travel using encrypted protocols. But your email app still has access, and securing your privacy isn’t the provider’s main concern. If you really want communication that no unauthorized party can read, you need an email encryption tool. SecureMyEmail lets you communicate privately with other users and outsiders using any existing email address. Better yet, it has a good free tier of service. That said, PreVeil is entirely free and Proton Mail offers more in the way of features, so they remain our Editors' choice winners.
How Much Does SecureMyEmail Cost?
Signing up for SecureMyEmail’s 30-day trial subscription is free. It also offers a free edition, no trial required. You don’t have to supply a credit card or any personal information beyond your email address. If the email address you want to protect is a Gmail, Yahoo, or Microsoft account, you can use SecureMyEmail indefinitely at no cost.
Protecting any other type of account with SecureMyEmail requires a paid subscription, as does using it to protect multiple accounts. In that case, your signup starts a 30-day free trial. After the trial, a subscription costs $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year. That subscription covers up to eight email addresses, which should be enough for most users.
The free edition is feature-complete, as is the 30-day trial (until it expires). PreVeil and Virtru for Google Gmail are totally free, so they’re likewise feature-complete at the free level.
Similar Products
PreVeil
Proton Mail
StartMail
Virtru for Google Gmail
Private-Mail
Tuta Mail
Private-Mail, Proton Mail, and Tuta Mail offer free tiers, but each has significant limitations. For free users, Proton Mail limits the number of messages per day, the size of the inbox, and the number of folders and tags. Private-Mail also limits storage and puts certain features out of reach. With Tuta Mail, there’s no limit on messages sent and received, but you can only search the latest 30 days of messages. Paying for Tuta Mail also unlocks several premium features.
A Tuta Mail Revolutionary account costs 36 euros per year, about $37.11 as of this writing. All the other paid subscriptions mentioned above also cost more than SecureMyEmail does. At $59.95 per year, StartMail’s price is roughly twice that of SecureMyEmail. Proton Mail doubles the price again, but its $119.88 yearly subscription also gets you Proton VPN, the Proton Pass password manager, and more.
Getting Started With SecureMyEmail
As a first step, you install the SecureMyEmail app on any Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS device. When I installed it on a Windows virtual machine, the Windows firewall blocked it and popped up a notification. It’s uncommon for Windows Firewall to block legitimate programs, but it does happen. I allowed the app to communicate on public and private networks.
Next, you create your account, entering the email address you want to secure and a strong password to protect the account. If you’re using SecureMyEmail with a Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft email address, the program allows you to create a free account or start a 30-day free trial. If you change your mind, you can upgrade from a free account to a paid one, but you can’t switch to the 30-day trial after starting at the free level. If there’s any chance that you’ll want to experiment with securing multiple email addresses, choose the 30-day trial.
SecureMyEmail uses PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) for encrypted communication, but it hides most of the aggravating features of PGP. If you already use PGP, you can import your existing keys. Not sure if you’re using PGP? As the app points out, “Trust us. You’d know.”
You do need to add a password or passphrase, distinct from your account password, to secure the public and private keys that the program generates. Your password manager should have captured the account login data, so just record this passphrase in the Notes field of that entry. One way or another, you need to retain the passphrase. Without it, you lose access to your encrypted conversations. In a “Pleading Reminder,” the app suggests you write it down and hide it.
Next, you get an option to upload your key to SecureMyEmail’s servers, which eases the process of installing it on other devices. True security geeks can choose to keep the keys local and manage them manually. Note that uploading the key to the server doesn’t give the company any access to your data. And if you decide not to upload initially, you can always upload the key later.
To wrap things up, you create a profile of information that’s only shown to your invited contacts. You can add a photo if you wish. There’s also an option to link with a social media account for verification. The app notes that it removed Facebook and LinkedIn from this feature because “users had privacy concerns,” leaving only Twitter. If you have privacy concerns about Twitter, now called X, you can skip this step.
Multi-Factor Authentication for Added Security
You don’t need to log in to SecureMyEmail with a master password every time you use it, but installing it on a new device requires many levels of security. First, you must log in to your SecureMyEmail account. You may need to repeat the process of giving SecureMyEmail access to your protected email accounts. And before you can encrypt or decrypt any messages, you must supply either your PGP keys or (more likely) the passphrase to download those keys.
Like PreVeil and Virtru, SecureMyEmail doesn’t technically require you to log in with a master password once you’ve completed that initial authentication. Proton Mail, Private-Mail, StartMail, and Tuta Mail use a more traditional username/password login system, and these three also support multi-factor authentication.
New since my last review, SecureMyEmail also supports multi-factor authentication. Open Security in the Settings menu and click the Enable Two-Factor Authentication button. Snap the QR code with your authenticator app, and you’re ready to go. Now, logging in to your account requires both the account password and the code supplied by your authenticator app. Even if someone shoulder-surfs the password, they won’t get into your account without the unique code from that app.
Connect Your Email to SecureMyEmail
Even though you used an email address to create your SecureMyEmail account, you must give the app full access to each email account where you want to use encryption. If it’s a Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft address, setup is a snap. The app takes care of everything.
At this point, you’re ready to roll. The app notes that the initial sync process may take a while if you have a lot of messages, but you can immediately start sending and receiving new messages.
If you selected a paid subscription or 30-day trial, you can configure additional email addresses now or later. When you choose an address other than the three main supported types, SecureMyEmail offers some advice. It points out that you might have to enable IMAP for the account if it’s not already active. It notes that two-factor authentication could interfere with the syncing process. It also links to an explanation of the app-specific password required for linking Apple accounts.
In testing, I had no trouble associating SecureMyEmail with a Gmail or Outlook account. However, when I tried a Yahoo mail account, it stuck repeatedly at the connection stage. My company contact confirmed that this sometimes happens. “Yahoo’s systems seem to be ‘non-robust’ in our experience,” he said. “Usually works fine, but they are inconsistent and make changes without alerting developers.” If you plan on using this service with a Yahoo account, try the free edition first.
With Private-Mail, Proton Mail, StartMail, and Tuta Mail, the onboarding process is rather different, as you must create a new, secure email address for your encrypted conversations. That’s a deal-breaker for some. Like PreVeil, SecureMyEmail lets you keep using your existing email address. The only qualifier is that your email account must support IMAP, which most do. Virtru Email Protection for Gmail also doesn’t make you change your address, but it only works with Gmail, and only if you log in using Chrome.
Encrypting and Signing Messages
If you’ve ever used any web-based email service, SecureMyEmail will look familiar. A list of message folders and personal folders runs down the left side. Most of the window is taken up by the list of messages in the selected folder. And there’s a big button at the top left to compose a new message. Simple!
The message list has a couple of columns you won’t find in other webmail services. A lock icon means the message is encrypted, and a shield icon means it’s digitally signed. In testing, I did find that the green shield’s appearance was inconsistent. The same message might show a shield at some times, not show it at others. My company contact explained that messages are encrypted thoroughly enough that the shield status isn’t known until you decrypt the message.
PreVeil installs as an add-in for Gmail or Outlook, and Virtru works within Gmail. SecureMyEmail is a separate webmail app. That makes sense, given that you can switch between different secured email accounts within the app.
Sending mail to another SecureMyEmail user is simple. You simply enter the address or choose from your contacts, ensure the Encrypt and Sign/Verify switches are turned on (as they are by default), and compose your message using the rich text editor. I mention the rich text editor because the encryption system used by Private-Mail strips out all formatting, leaving plain, unadorned text. Drop in any attachments you like, hit Send, and you’re done.
Sending mail to recipients who don’t use the product is almost as simple. I’ll discuss the precise details below. The most important point is that SecureMyEmail doesn’t make you do anything special. You can send mail to fellow users, non-users, or both at once. The app itself checks each address and determines how to handle it.
Emailing Contacts Who Don’t Use SecureMyEmail
A secure messaging system that required the recipient to purchase an encryption app would be too limiting. Email encryption services take various approaches to messaging non-users. For example, PreVeil is free, so messages to non-users come with instructions for setting up a free account.
With Tuta Mail Premium, you convey a password to the recipient using SMS, a phone call, or any channel other than email. Clicking a link in the encrypted message and entering that password opens a web-based page with the decrypted message. Private-Mail, StartMail, and Proton Mail user a similar system. However, these three also include the option to import PGP keys and communicate directly with others who also use services that support PGP. To be fair, the process of importing a PGP key can be awkward. You probably don't have a PGP key if you’re not an encryption nerd already.
Sending a secure message to someone who doesn’t use SecureMyEmail is effortless. In the background, the app creates keys specific to the conversation. Once the recipient verifies their email address, the decrypted message appears as a web page with the option for a secure reply. By default, such a message expires in 30 days.
You can dig into a message’s settings to shorten the expiry time, though you can’t configure expiry for longer than 30 days. You can also choose the Encrypted+ option for more security but less convenience. This mode works like competing products, requiring you to create a password and transmit it to the recipient via another channel. It also encrypts your messages using the advanced ChaCha20-Poly1305 cipher suite.
Managing Secure Contacts
The point of using email encryption is to protect conversations with your most important contacts. It makes sense to invite those people into your circle of secure contacts. When you try, you see two options: Invite Contacts via Email and Sync Contacts from Email Provider Accounts. The second option pulls in contacts from your associated email account but doesn’t actively make them secure contacts.
Recipients of a secure contact invitation have two choices. They can create a free or trial SecureMyEmail account or set up a PGP key exchange to secure the conversation. Again, if you’re not already an encryption nerd, the PGP key exchange option is probably beyond your ken. To be fair, SecureMyEmail makes the key exchange as simple as possible.
SecureMyEmail Runs on Other Platforms
As noted, SecureMyEmail has Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS apps. It supports macOS 10.12 (Sierra) and later. I ran into some minor difficulties on Mac during my previous review, but everything went smoothly this time around. As always, installing on a new device requires that you repeat the steps of giving access to your email account. You must also enter the password that unlocks your uploaded PGP keys or supply the keys directly if you choose not to upload them.
When I last reviewed this service, I griped that it lacked an app specific to iPadOS. All you’d see is an undersized window designed for an iPhone. You could double its size to make it fill the space, but you wouldn’t get any more detail. I’m pleased to see that there’s now an app that takes full advantage of the bigger iPad screen.
I also installed SecureMyEmail on a Google Pixel 6. During my last review, I encountered some significant problems getting started on Android. As with the Mac installation, this time, everything worked smoothly.
What’s Not in SecureMyEmail?
Encrypting your messages is one essential way to protect your privacy. Concealing your email address is another. Private-Mail and StartMail include a limited temporary email address feature that creates email aliases. Online merchants and other recipients get the alias, not your actual email. If an alias starts getting spam, you know who to blame and can just turn it off. Not surprisingly, the tools that offer this also require you to start fresh with a new email address. If that kind of privacy is your aim, you’re better off with a product like IronVest or ManyMe, one that focuses on masking rather than encryption.
Encryption services that replace your existing email address often replace related features as well. Proton Mail, Private-Mail, and Tuta Mail let you create email filter rules. You can set an out-of-office message in Proton Mail and Private-Mail. Tuta Mail and Private-Mail come with an encrypted calendar. With SecureMyEmail, you’d handle all such tasks in the underlying email account.
Verdict: Easy Cross-Platform Encrypted Email
SecureMyEmail provides a smooth and simple path to encrypting your email communication. Its free tier is fully functional, and it has no trouble handling mail to other users of the app, non-users, or both at once. Unlike many competitors, it doesn’t require you to spin up a totally new email address. It’s especially useful for securing Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft email addresses, as there’s no charge for these email types. By contrast, PreVeil is completely free, earning it our Editors' Choice award, while Proton Mail offers a wealth of bonus features, also making it an Editors' Choice winner.
SecureMyEmail easily encrypts your email communications without making you switch to a new email address, and its free tier is fully functional.
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