SecureMyEmail Review | PCMag

When email first evolved out of simple network messaging tools, it was about as secure as tacking your message to the community notice board. Anybody could read it—or even change the message! Likewise, any server transmitting those early emails could intercept them. Modern email is a bit better, but the email providers themselves can still dig into your data. It’s ostensibly for your benefit. “Oh, this email is about a plane flight. Should I put it on your calendar?” But the providers of free email see you as more of a product than a customer. If you really want privacy in your communications, you need an email encryption tool. SecureMyEmail lets you communicate privately both with other users of the product and with outsiders, and it can even be free.

With Private-Mail, ProtonMail, StartMail, and Tutanota, you must create a new, secure email address for your encrypted conversations. That’s a deal-breaker for some. Like PreVeil, SecureMyEmail lets you keep using any existing email address. The only qualifier is that your email account must support IMAP, which most do. Virtru Email Protection for Gmail also doesn’t make you change your address, but it only works with Gmail, and only if you log in using Chrome.

How Much Does SecureMyEmail Cost?

There’s no charge to sign up for SecureMyEmail. You don’t have to supply a credit card, or any personal information beyond your email address. If the email address you want to protect is a Gmail, Yahoo, or Microsoft account, you can go right on using SecureMyEmail indefinitely, at no cost.

Protecting any other type of account with SecureMyEmail requires a paid subscription, as does using it to protect more than one account. In that case, your signup starts a 30-day free trial. After the trial, a subscription costs $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year. That subscription covers up to eight email addresses, which should be enough for most users.

The free edition is feature-complete, as is the 30-day trial (until it expires). PreVeil and Virtru are totally free, so they’re likewise feature-complete at the free level.

Private-Mail, ProtonMail, and Tutanota all offer free tiers, but with significant limitations. For free users,…