# Email clients privacy ratings

Apps for reading and sending email from any provider.

**Our picks:** [Forward Email](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/forward-email/): Source-available webmail, desktop and mobile client with built-in OpenPGP and no third-party analytics. It works only with Forward Email accounts, not other IMAP and SMTP providers. [Betterbird](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/betterbird/): Open-source (MPL-2.0) fork of Thunderbird with telemetry reporting turned off and built-in OpenPGP and S/MIME. It connects directly to any IMAP, POP3 and SMTP provider and blocks remote content by default.

| Name | Grade | Jurisdiction | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Forward Email](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/forward-email/) (our pick) | B (81/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Email client for Forward Email accounts, available as webmail and as desktop and mobile apps built from one source-available codebase, with built-in OpenPGP and optional encryption of locally stored data. |
| [Betterbird](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/betterbird/) (our pick) | B (89/100) | Germany (Fourteen Eyes) | Fork of Mozilla Thunderbird that follows its Extended Support Releases and adds extra fixes and features. Available for Windows, macOS and Linux. |
| [Delta Chat](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/delta-chat/) | A (92/100) | Germany (Fourteen Eyes) | 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. |
| [aerc](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/aerc/) | B (89/100) | Unknown | Terminal email client for Linux and macOS with IMAP, JMAP, Maildir and Notmuch support and PGP encryption through GnuPG. |
| [Claws Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/claws-mail/) | B (89/100) | Unknown | Lightweight GTK email and news client for Linux and Windows, extended through plugins for OpenPGP, HTML rendering and spam filtering. |
| [Evolution](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/evolution/) | B (89/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | GNOME groupware application for Linux that combines email, calendar, contacts and tasks, with support for IMAP, POP3, Exchange and OpenPGP. |
| [KMail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/kmail/) | B (89/100) | Germany (Fourteen Eyes) | KDE email client for Linux, part of the Kontact suite, with support for IMAP, POP3, OpenPGP and S/MIME. |
| [Mutt](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/mutt/) | B (89/100) | Unknown | Text-based terminal email client for Unix-like systems with built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP support, message threading and OpenPGP and S/MIME encryption. |
| [NeoMutt](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/neomutt/) | B (89/100) | Unknown | Terminal email client for Linux and macOS based on Mutt, with built-in IMAP, POP3, SMTP and OpenPGP support. |
| [Thunderbird for Android](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/thunderbird-for-android/) | B (89/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Open-source email app for Android from the Thunderbird project, based on K-9 Mail, which remains available as a variant. Works with any IMAP, POP3 and SMTP provider. |
| [Mozilla Thunderbird](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/mozilla-thunderbird/) | B (86/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Open-source desktop email client for Windows, macOS and Linux with calendar, contacts and built-in OpenPGP and S/MIME encryption. |
| [Alpine](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/alpine/) | B (83/100) | Unknown | Text-based email client derived from Pine, for Unix-like systems and Windows, with built-in IMAP, POP3 and SMTP support and S/MIME encryption. |
| [FairEmail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/fairemail/) | B (83/100) | Unknown | Open-source email app for Android that works with any IMAP, POP3 and SMTP provider and supports multiple accounts with a unified inbox. |
| [Himalaya](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/himalaya/) | B (83/100) | Unknown | Command-line email client that manages mail over IMAP, JMAP, SMTP, Maildir, the Gmail API and Microsoft Graph, with composing and reading handled by the companion MML tool. |
| [Geary](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/geary/) | B (78/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Email app for the GNOME desktop on Linux that groups messages into conversations and works with IMAP accounts. |
| [Sylpheed](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/sylpheed/) | C (72/100) | Unknown | Lightweight GTK email client for Linux, Windows and macOS with POP3, IMAP and SMTP support, junk mail filtering and GnuPG encryption. |
| [Mimestream](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/mimestream/) | D (50/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Closed-source macOS email client for Gmail and Google Workspace accounts that syncs through the Gmail API and supports labels, filters and inbox categories. |
| [Apple Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/apple-mail/) | D (47/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Email app built into macOS, iOS and iPadOS. Works with iCloud Mail and any IMAP, POP3 or Exchange account. |
| [Airmail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/airmail/) | D (44/100) | Italy (Fourteen Eyes) | Closed-source email client for macOS, iPhone and iPad with support for Gmail, Outlook, Exchange and IMAP accounts, rules, snooze and send later. |
| [BlueMail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/bluemail/) | D (42/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Closed-source email client for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Linux that works with IMAP, POP3 and Exchange accounts, with a unified inbox, PGP and S/MIME encryption and optional AI features. |
| [Canary Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/canary-mail/) | D (42/100) | Singapore | Email app for macOS, iOS, Android and Windows with built-in PGP encryption, tracker blocking and AI features. |
| [eM Client](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/em-client/) | D (42/100) | Czechia | Desktop and mobile email client for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS with calendar, contacts, chat and built-in PGP and S/MIME. |
| [Mailspring](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/mailspring/) | F (39/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Open-source desktop email client for Windows, macOS and Linux with a unified inbox and optional paid features such as read receipts and send later. |
| [Nine](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/nine/) | F (39/100) | South Korea | Closed-source email and calendar app for Android and iOS built around Exchange ActiveSync, with email-only support for IMAP accounts. |
| [Mailbird](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/mailbird/) | F (33/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Closed-source desktop email client for Windows, with a separate Mailbird Next app for macOS, that combines several accounts in a unified inbox with calendar and app integrations. |
| [Gmail app](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/gmail-app/) | F (19/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Google's email app for Android and iOS. Works with Gmail and Google Workspace accounts, and can also add Outlook, Yahoo and other IMAP accounts. |
| [Spark Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/spark-mail/) | F (17/100) | Ireland | Email app for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android with a smart inbox, team sharing and AI features. Push notifications and several features run through its servers. |
| [Spike](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/spike/) | F (17/100) | Israel | Closed-source email app that shows messages as chat conversations and adds team chat, notes and video meetings, available for web, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. |
| [Superhuman Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/superhuman/) | F (14/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Closed-source email client for Gmail and Microsoft 365 accounts with keyboard-driven triage, read statuses and AI writing features, available for desktop, web and mobile. |
| [Edison Mail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/edison-mail/) | F (11/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Closed-source email client for iOS, Android and macOS from Edison Software, an affiliate of YipitData, that sorts messages into categories such as packages, travel and receipts. |
| [Microsoft Outlook](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/microsoft-outlook/) | F (11/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Microsoft's email and calendar app for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and the web. Works with Outlook.com, Microsoft 365, Exchange and other IMAP accounts. |
| [SnappyMail](https://privacyratings.com/webmail/snappymail/) (rated under Webmail) | B (89/100) | Unknown | Self-hosted, IMAP-only webmail client forked from RainLoop, with built-in OpenPGP support. |
| [RoundCube](https://privacyratings.com/webmail/roundcube/) (rated under Webmail) | B (84/100) | Unknown | Browser-based multilingual IMAP client with an application-like user interface. |

## Criteria

- **Open source** (weight 3): Is all the source code needed to run the product public?
- **No trackers or telemetry** (weight 3): Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
- **No ads or data sales** (weight 2): Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
- **Independent audit** (weight 2): Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
- **OpenPGP support** (weight 2): Can the app encrypt and sign mail with OpenPGP, built in or through an official add-on?
- **Connects directly** (weight 3): Does the app connect directly to your mail server, without passing mail or passwords through the vendor's servers?
- **Blocks remote content** (weight 2): Are remote images and tracking pixels blocked by default?
- **Works with any provider** (weight 1): Does the app work with any standard IMAP and SMTP provider?

Source: https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/