Forward Email vs Himalaya: privacy compared
Forward Email and Himalaya are both rated in email clients against the same 8 public criteria.
| Criterion | Forward Email Our pick | Himalaya |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade B B (89/100) | Grade B B (83/100) |
| Jurisdiction | United States Five Eyes | Unknown |
| Open source Is all the source code needed to run the product public? | Yes source | Yes source |
| No trackers or telemetry Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default? | Yes source | Yes source |
| No ads or data sales Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Independent audit Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years? | Yes source | No |
| OpenPGP support Can the app encrypt and sign mail with OpenPGP, built in or through an official add-on? | Yes source | Partial source |
| Connects directly Does the app connect directly to your mail server, without passing mail or passwords through the vendor's servers? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Blocks remote content Are remote images and tracking pixels blocked by default? | Partial source | Yes source |
| Works with any provider Does the app work with any standard IMAP and SMTP provider? | No source | Yes source |
Which is more private, Forward Email or Himalaya?
Forward Email scores higher on the public criteria: 89 out of 100, against 83 for Himalaya. Forward Email does better on independent audit and OpenPGP support. Himalaya does better on blocks remote content and works with any provider. Disclosure. Privacy Ratings is maintained by the team behind Forward Email. This entry is scored by the same criteria as every other email client, and changes to it are reviewed under the published conflict-of-interest rules. How scoring works
Summaries
Forward Email. Forward Email scores 89 out of 100 (grade B) on the email clients criteria. It meets 6 of 8 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, independent audit, OpenPGP support and connects directly. It partly meets blocks remote content. It does not meet works with any provider. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act.
Himalaya. Himalaya scores 83 out of 100 (grade B) on the email clients criteria. It meets 6 of 8 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, connects directly, blocks remote content and works with any provider. It partly meets OpenPGP support. It does not meet independent audit.
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