Email clients
Delta Chat privacy rating
Decentralized messenger that uses email servers for delivery, with automatic end-to-end encryption through Autocrypt and OpenPGP. Works with chatmail relays or existing email accounts.
Summary
Delta Chat scores 92 out of 100 (grade A) on the email clients criteria. It meets 7 of 8 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, independent audit, OpenPGP support, blocks remote content and works with any provider. It partly meets connects directly. It is based in Germany: Fourteen Eyes member; EU member (GDPR).
Score 92 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
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Yes
Open source Weight 3 of 3
Is all the source code needed to run the product public?
The core library is MPL-2.0 and the apps are GPL-3.0.
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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?
Exodus finds 0 trackers. Usage statistics are only sent if turned on in settings.
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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?
Funded by public grants and donations. No ads.
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Yes
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
Radically Open Security tested rPGP, the OpenPGP library Delta Chat uses, and published the full report.
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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?
End-to-end encryption with Autocrypt and OpenPGP is built in and automatic.
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Partial
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, but push notifications on iOS and Android go through a notification proxy run by the developers.
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Yes
Blocks remote content Weight 2 of 3
Are remote images and tracking pixels blocked by default?
HTML messages are shown with network loads blocked until the user chooses 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 and SMTP provider, but the address should only be used with chatmail apps.