PrivacyTools.io Recommends Startmail as a Private Email Provider

We have good news to share with our current and potential StartMail users! 

StartMail has been listed as a recommended email provider on the PrivacyTools website. PrivacyTools is best known for their recommendations about the best services and tools to protect online privacy from third-party intrusion and global mass surveillance.

PrivacyTools developed a strict set of requirements for an email service to be recommended on their site. These requirements include having modern technology and implementing industry best practices according to jurisdiction, technology, privacy, security, and more. After making infrastructure changes and implementing the most recent PrivacyTools 2020 requirements, StartMail has been relisted.    

2019

In 2019, PrivacyTools.io informed us they were working on an updated email section for their website that involved assessing private email providers and their technical status. They published early recommendations to nudge email providers in a certain security direction. This resulted in StartMail implementing various technical changes on our system such as phasing out legacy TLS versions.

2020

In 2020, PrivacyTools came up with a list of requirements that email providers needed to remain on the Recommended Email Services list. We met most of the requirements such as offering two-factor authentication (2FA) and being on the STARTTLS-Everywhere list. While we were able to implement the majority of requirements before the deadline, we weren’t able to meet one of the requirements: DANE implementation. DANE is an internet security protocol that binds public key certificates to domain names.

At the time, our DNS provider did not offer DANE. So we decided to switch to a DNS provider that did. This was a high-risk change because, as an email provider, we didn’t want any network interruptions. It took some time to prepare for this change and we’re pleased that it was successful. After completing this final requirement we requested and received relisting on the PrivacyTools Recommended Email Services list.        

Receiving recognition from PrivacyTools motivates our team to continue building a product that empowers people to take back their online privacy!

Want to try StartMail’s private email for yourself? Get started now with a free 7-Day StartMail trial account!