# Forward Email vs Gmail: privacy compared

| Criterion | Forward Email | Gmail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Grade | A (93/100) | D (41/100) |
| Jurisdiction | United States (Five Eyes) | United States (Five Eyes) |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| No trackers or telemetry | Partial | No |
| No ads or data sales | Yes | No |
| Independent audit | Yes | Partial |
| Transparency report | Partial | Yes |
| Tells users about requests | Yes | Yes |
| TLS configuration | Yes | Partial |
| Security headers | Yes | Yes |
| Modern web standards | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| End-to-end encryption | Yes | No |
| Encrypted mailbox storage | Yes | Partial |
| Open protocols | Yes | Yes |
| Custom domains | Yes | Partial |
| Sign up without personal data | Yes | No |
| Email security standards | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| IMAP support | Yes | Yes |
| POP3 support | Yes | Yes |
| SMTP submission | Yes | Yes |
| Mail transport security | Yes | No |
| Sender Rewriting Scheme | Yes | No |
| ARC sealing | Yes | No |

**Forward Email.** Forward Email scores 93 out of 100 (grade A) on the email providers criteria. It meets 17 of 19 criteria: open source, no ads or data sales, independent audit, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, security headers, end-to-end encryption, encrypted mailbox storage, open protocols, custom domains, sign up without personal data, IMAP support, POP3 support, SMTP submission, mail transport security, Sender Rewriting Scheme and ARC sealing. It partly meets no trackers or telemetry and transparency report. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade A+.

**Gmail.** Gmail scores 41 out of 100 (grade D) on the email providers criteria. It meets 7 of 19 criteria: transparency report, tells users about requests, security headers, open protocols, IMAP support, POP3 support and SMTP submission. It partly meets independent audit, TLS configuration, encrypted mailbox storage and custom domains. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, end-to-end encryption, sign up without personal data, mail transport security, Sender Rewriting Scheme and ARC sealing. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade B and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade A+.

Source: https://privacyratings.com/compare/email-providers/forward-email-vs-gmail/