Email clients
Apple Mail privacy rating
Email app built into macOS, iOS and iPadOS. Works with iCloud Mail and any IMAP, POP3 or Exchange account.
Summary
Apple Mail scores 47 out of 100 (grade D) on the email clients criteria. It meets 3 of 8 criteria: no ads or data sales, connects directly and works with any provider. It partly meets no trackers or telemetry and blocks remote content. It does not meet open source, independent audit and OpenPGP support. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act.
Score 47 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- No
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Partial
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 third-party trackers in the app, and sharing device analytics with Apple is opt-in. Apple web pages load Apple's own analytics (ac-analytics, sent to metrics.apple.com) by default.
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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?
Included with Apple devices and shows no ads. Apple states that it does not sell personal data.
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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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No
OpenPGP support Weight 2 of 3
Can the app encrypt and sign mail with OpenPGP, built in or through an official add-on?
Not supported. S/MIME is built in.
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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 mail servers. With Mail Privacy Protection, only remote content is fetched through Apple relays.
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Partial
Blocks remote content Weight 2 of 3
Are remote images and tracking pixels blocked by default?
Mail Privacy Protection loads remote content privately through relays instead of blocking it. Remote content can be fully blocked in settings.
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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, POP3 and Exchange provider.