Email clients
aerc privacy rating
Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and Notmuch support and PGP encryption through GnuPG.
Summary
aerc scores 89 out of 100 (grade B) on the email clients criteria. It meets 7 of 8 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, OpenPGP support, connects directly, blocks remote content and works with any provider. It does not meet independent audit.
Score 89 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- Yes
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Yes
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
No telemetry or analytics in the source code.
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Yes
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Volunteer free software project. No ads.
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No
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
No independent audit is published.
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Yes
OpenPGP support Weight 2 of 3
Can the app encrypt and sign mail with OpenPGP, built in or through an official add-on?
PGP signing, encryption and verification are built in through GnuPG.
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Yes
Connects directly Weight 3 of 3
Does the app connect directly to your mail server, without passing mail or passwords through the vendor's servers?
Connects directly to IMAP, JMAP and SMTP servers. No vendor service is involved.
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Yes
Blocks remote content Weight 2 of 3
Are remote images and tracking pixels blocked by default?
The default HTML filter renders mail with network access disabled. A separate html-unsafe filter must be chosen to load remote content.
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Yes
Works with any provider Weight 1 of 3
Does the app work with any standard IMAP and SMTP provider?
Works with any IMAP, JMAP and SMTP provider.