Does anyone here use StartMail?
September 26, 2019 4:37 PM Subscribe
I want to break away from the Google octopus. I already use Startpage as my search engine, and recently noticed that they're offering an email service for $59 per year. (I've already signed up for their 30-day trial.)
Can I get any "amens" about StartMail?
Never heard of StartMail. I use Fastmail as my Google getaway.
posted by lhauser at 6:43 PM on September 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by lhauser at 6:43 PM on September 26, 2019 [1 favorite]
After I did my research on this subject over a year ago, I ultimately chose https://mailbox.org/en/
Startmail is just too expensive for what they offer. I’m paying about $12.00 a year and I get more for my money with mailbox.org. There’s a free 30 trial if you want to give them a whirl.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 8:20 PM on September 26, 2019
Startmail is just too expensive for what they offer. I’m paying about $12.00 a year and I get more for my money with mailbox.org. There’s a free 30 trial if you want to give them a whirl.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 8:20 PM on September 26, 2019
OK, for this amount of money, you could easily get your own domain name and web hosting, and just use the e-mail features of that setup. You might not even need web hosting.
Check out my fave, if you want: Pair.com and PairNIC.com (they re-named PairNIC but I can't remember to what, and it autoforwards anyway).
posted by amtho at 9:15 PM on September 26, 2019
Check out my fave, if you want: Pair.com and PairNIC.com (they re-named PairNIC but I can't remember to what, and it autoforwards anyway).
posted by amtho at 9:15 PM on September 26, 2019
I also have a domain that is basically an email catch- all, and not much else.
At home I use Thunderbird (I like a dedicated email client) and on my devices I use K-9 Mail.
It was pretty easy to set up, and your host will have a rudimentary webmail if you don't want to do even that.
posted by Tunierikson at 12:28 AM on September 27, 2019
At home I use Thunderbird (I like a dedicated email client) and on my devices I use K-9 Mail.
It was pretty easy to set up, and your host will have a rudimentary webmail if you don't want to do even that.
posted by Tunierikson at 12:28 AM on September 27, 2019
I'm a StartMail user and have been since launch. For StartMail, you're paying for the encryption features and privacy claims. I'd take a look at their technical white paper as some aspects of the service, like password recovery, operate very differently from most email providers because of the emphasis on privacy and access control. They've done a lot to make PGP encryption accessible to all parties, even email recipients that don't use PGP themselves.
The web mail interface is basic and is not optimized for smartphones, so that's also something to consider. Email over IMAP works very well, although your choices of email clients on desktop and mobile that support IMAP and encryption are limited.
I'd say that if you think you'll use the encryption features, and trust Surfboard (the European StartPage/StartMail team), then StartMail can be a good choice. I tend to use it as a secondary account for when I want encryption and the email alias feature.
posted by Transmissions From Vrillon at 8:52 AM on September 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
The web mail interface is basic and is not optimized for smartphones, so that's also something to consider. Email over IMAP works very well, although your choices of email clients on desktop and mobile that support IMAP and encryption are limited.
I'd say that if you think you'll use the encryption features, and trust Surfboard (the European StartPage/StartMail team), then StartMail can be a good choice. I tend to use it as a secondary account for when I want encryption and the email alias feature.
posted by Transmissions From Vrillon at 8:52 AM on September 27, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by COD at 5:13 PM on September 26, 2019