privacyguides.org/docs/email-clients.md

---
title: "Email Clients"
icon: material/email-open
description: These email clients are privacy-respecting and support OpenPGP email encryption.
cover: email-clients.webp
---
<small>Protects against the following threat(s):</small>

- [:material-server-network: Service Providers](basics/common-threats.md#privacy-from-service-providers){ .pg-teal }
- [:material-target-account: Targeted Attacks](basics/common-threats.md#attacks-against-specific-individuals){ .pg-red }

The **email clients** we recommend support both [OpenPGP](encryption.md#openpgp) and strong authentication such as [Open Authorization (OAuth)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OAuth). OAuth allows you to use [Multi-Factor Authentication](basics/multi-factor-authentication.md) to prevent account theft.

<details class="warning" markdown>
<summary>Email does not provide forward secrecy</summary>

When using end-to-end encryption (E2EE) technology like OpenPGP, email will still have [some metadata](basics/email-security.md#email-metadata-overview) that is not encrypted in the header of the email.

OpenPGP also does not support [forward secrecy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_secrecy), which means if either your or the recipient's private key is ever stolen, all previous messages encrypted with it will be exposed: [How do I protect my private keys?](basics/email-security.md) Consider using a medium that provides forward secrecy:

[Real-time Communication](real-time-communication.md){ .md-button }

</details>

## Cross-Platform

### Thunderbird

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![Thunderbird logo](assets/img/email-clients/thunderbird.svg){ align=right }

**Thunderbird** is a free, open-source, cross-platform email, newsgroup, news feed, and chat (XMPP, IRC, Matrix) client developed by the Thunderbird community, and previously by the Mozilla Foundation.

[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://thunderbird.net){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-eye-16:](https://mozilla.org/privacy/thunderbird){ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://support.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
[:octicons-code-16:](https://hg.mozilla.org/comm-central){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

<details class="downloads" markdown>
<summary>Downloads</summary>

- [:fontawesome-brands-windows: Windows](https://thunderbird.net)
- [:simple-apple: macOS](https://thunderbird.net)
- [:simple-linux: Linux](https://thunderbird.net)
- [:simple-flathub: Flathub](https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.mozilla.Thunderbird)

</details>

</div>

#### Recommended Configuration

<div class="annotate" markdown>

We recommend changing some of these settings to make Thunderbird a little more private.

These options can be found in :material-menu: → **Settings** → **Privacy & Security**.

##### Web Content

- [ ] Uncheck  **Remember websites and links I've visited**
- [ ] Uncheck  **Accept cookies from sites** (1)

</div>

1. You may need to keep this setting checked when you're logging in to some providers such as Gmail, or via an institution’s SSO. You should uncheck it once you log in successfully.

##### Telemetry

- [ ] Uncheck  **Allow Thunderbird to send technical and interaction data to Mozilla**

#### Thunderbird-user.js (advanced)

[`thunderbird-user.js`](https://github.com/HorlogeSkynet/thunderbird-user.js) is a set of configuration options that aims to disable as many of the web-browsing features within Thunderbird as possible in order to reduce attack surface and maintain privacy. Some of the changes are backported from the [Arkenfox project](desktop-browsers.md#arkenfox-advanced).

## Platform Specific

### Apple Mail (macOS)

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![Apple Mail logo](assets/img/email-clients/applemail.png){ align=right }

**Apple Mail** is included in macOS and can be extended to have OpenPGP support with [GPG Suite](encryption.md#gpg-suite), which adds the ability to send PGP-encrypted email.

[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://support.apple.com/guide/mail/welcome/mac){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-eye-16:](https://apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww){ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://support.apple.com/mail){ .card-link title=Documentation}

</details>

</div>

<div class="admonition info" markdown>
<p class="admonition-title">For those using macOS Sonoma</p>

Currently, GPG Suite does [not yet](https://gpgtools.com/sonoma) have a stable release for macOS Sonoma.

</div>

Apple Mail has the ability to load remote content in the background or block it entirely and hide your IP address from senders on [macOS](https://support.apple.com/guide/mail/mlhl03be2866/mac) and [iOS](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/iphf084865c7/ios).

### Canary Mail (iOS)

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![Canary Mail logo](assets/img/email-clients/canarymail.svg){ align=right }

**Canary Mail** is a paid email client designed to make end-to-end encryption seamless with security features such as a biometric app lock.

[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://canarymail.io){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-eye-16:](https://canarymail.io/privacy.html){ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://canarymail.io/help){ .card-link title="Documentation" }

<details class="downloads" markdown>
<summary>Downloads</summary>

- [:simple-googleplay: Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.canarymail.android)
- [:simple-appstore: App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/id1155470386)
- [:fontawesome-brands-windows: Windows](https://canarymail.io/downloads.html)
- [:simple-apple: macOS](https://apps.apple.com/app/id1236045954)

</details>

</div>

<details class="warning" markdown>
<summary>Warning</summary>

Canary Mail only recently released a Windows and Android client, though we don't believe they are as stable as their iOS and Mac counterparts.

</details>

Canary Mail is closed-source. We recommend it due to the few choices there are for email clients on iOS that support PGP E2EE.

### FairEmail (Android)

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![FairEmail logo](assets/img/email-clients/fairemail.svg){ align=right }

**FairEmail** is a minimal, open-source email app which uses open standards (IMAP, SMTP, OpenPGP) and minimizes data and battery usage.

[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://email.faircode.eu){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-eye-16:](https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/blob/master/PRIVACY.md){ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/blob/master/FAQ.md){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
[:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail){ .card-link title="Source Code" }
[:octicons-heart-16:](https://email.faircode.eu/donate){ .card-link title="Contribute" }

<details class="downloads" markdown>
<summary>Downloads</summary>

- [:simple-googleplay: Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.faircode.email)
- [:simple-github: GitHub](https://github.com/M66B/FairEmail/releases)

</details>

</div>

### GNOME Evolution (GNOME)

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![Evolution logo](assets/img/email-clients/evolution.svg){ align=right }

**Evolution** is a personal information management application that provides integrated mail, calendaring and address book functionality. Evolution has extensive [documentation](https://help.gnome.org/users/evolution/stable) to help you get started.

[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Evolution){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-eye-16:](https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Evolution/PrivacyPolicy){ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://help.gnome.org/users/evolution/stable){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
[:octicons-code-16:](https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/evolution){ .card-link title="Source Code" }
[:octicons-heart-16:](https://gnome.org/donate){ .card-link title="Contribute" }

<details class="downloads" markdown>
<summary>Downloads</summary>

- [:simple-flathub: Flathub](https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.gnome.Evolution)

</details>

</div>

### K-9 Mail (Android)

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![K-9 Mail logo](assets/img/email-clients/k9mail.svg){ align=right }

**K-9 Mail** is an independent mail application that supports both POP3 and IMAP mailboxes, but only supports push mail for IMAP.

In the future, K-9 Mail will be the [officially branded](https://k9mail.app/2022/06/13/K-9-Mail-and-Thunderbird.html) Thunderbird client for Android.

[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://k9mail.app){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-eye-16:](https://k9mail.app/privacy){ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://docs.k9mail.app){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
[:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/thundernest/k-9){ .card-link title="Source Code" }
[:octicons-heart-16:](https://k9mail.app/contribute){ .card-link title="Contribute" }

<details class="downloads" markdown>
<summary>Downloads</summary>

- [:simple-googleplay: Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsck.k9)
- [:simple-github: GitHub](https://github.com/thundernest/k-9/releases)

</details>

</div>

<div class="admonition warning" markdown>
<p class="admonition-title">Warning</p>

When replying to someone on a mailing list, the "reply" option may also include the mailing list. For more information see [thundernest/k-9 #3738](https://github.com/thundernest/k-9/issues/3738).

</div>

### Kontact (KDE)

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![Kontact logo](assets/img/email-clients/kontact.svg){ align=right }

**Kontact** is a personal information manager (PIM) application from the [KDE](https://kde.org) project. It provides a mail client, address book, RSS client, and an organizer.

[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://kontact.kde.org){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-eye-16:](https://kde.org/privacypolicy-apps){ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://kontact.kde.org/users){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
[:octicons-code-16:](https://invent.kde.org/pim/kmail){ .card-link title="Source Code" }
[:octicons-heart-16:](https://kde.org/community/donations){ .card-link title="Contribute" }

<details class="downloads" markdown>
<summary>Downloads</summary>

- [:simple-linux: Linux](https://kontact.kde.org/download)
- [:simple-flathub: Flathub](https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.kde.kontact)

</details>

</div>

### Mailvelope (Browser)

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![Mailvelope logo](assets/img/email-clients/mailvelope.svg){ align=right }

**Mailvelope** is a browser extension that enables the exchange of encrypted emails following the OpenPGP encryption standard.

[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://mailvelope.com){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-eye-16:](https://mailvelope.com/privacy-policy){ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://mailvelope.com/faq){ .card-link title="Documentation" }
[:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/mailvelope/mailvelope){ .card-link title="Source Code" }

<details class="downloads" markdown>
<summary>Downloads</summary>

- [:simple-firefoxbrowser: Firefox](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/mailvelope)
- [:simple-googlechrome: Chrome](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mailvelope/kajibbejlbohfaggdiogboambcijhkke)
- [:fontawesome-brands-edge: Edge](https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/mailvelope/dgcbddhdhjppfdfjpciagmmibadmoapc)

</details>

</div>

### NeoMutt (CLI)

<div class="admonition recommendation" markdown>

![NeoMutt logo](assets/img/email-clients/mutt.svg){ align=right }

**NeoMutt** is an open-source command line email reader for Linux and BSD. It's a fork of [Mutt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutt_(email_client)) with added features.

NeoMutt is a text-based client that has a steep learning curve. It is, however, very customizable.

[:octicons-home-16: Homepage](https://neomutt.org){ .md-button .md-button--primary }
[:octicons-info-16:](https://neomutt.org/guide){ .card-link title=Documentation}
[:octicons-code-16:](https://github.com/neomutt/neomutt){ .card-link title="Source Code" }
[:octicons-heart-16:](https://paypal.com/paypalme/russon){ .card-link title=Contribute }

<details class="downloads" markdown>
<summary>Downloads</summary>

- [:simple-apple: macOS](https://neomutt.org/distro)
- [:simple-linux: Linux](https://neomutt.org/distro)

</details>

</div>

## Criteria

**Please note we are not affiliated with any of the projects we recommend.** In addition to [our standard criteria](about/criteria.md), we have developed a clear set of requirements to allow us to provide objective recommendations. We suggest you familiarize yourself with this list before choosing to use a project, and conduct your own research to ensure it's the right choice for you.

### Minimum Qualifications

- Apps developed for open-source operating systems must be open source.
- Must not collect telemetry, or have an easy way to disable all telemetry.
- Must support OpenPGP message encryption.

### Best-Case

Our best-case criteria represents what we would like to see from the perfect project in this category. Our recommendations may not include any or all of this functionality, but those which do may rank higher than others on this page.

- Should be open source.
- Should be cross-platform.
- Should not collect any telemetry by default.
- Should support OpenPGP natively, i.e. without extensions.
- Should support storing OpenPGP encrypted emails locally.