Which webmail service with 2FA for sending/receiving/storing email only?

Tsunami · 30 Jun 2021, 05:25 AM

Other than Mailfence and Protonmail, there's more and more free webmail providers offering 2FA.

I was wondering though... which one is recommended when your main goal is to send, receive and store emails?
I don't need any other functions such as cloud storage, calendars, chat functions, ... (it's OK if those options are there, as long as I can disable them or leave them unused). So when all you're after is a good webmail with 2FA for sending and receiving + storing emails, which service(s) would you recommend?

Storage isn't much of an issue. A couple of hundred MB is fine with me. More is always welcomed, but not necessary.

Quite important to me is the availability of a log where I can see the date of previous log-in, and that the service is stable financially so unlikely to disappear in the near future.

silverthe1 · 30 Jun 2021, 03:47 PM

Even though Zoho offers paid email service, I've been quite happy with their free email tier. It comes with 2FA and offers quite a bit of storage (I think 5GB). Although there are many other services (e.g. web-based office suite similar to Office Online, Calendar) tied in to your Zoho account, you can ignore them and just use the email.

I've had an account with them for a decade now, and never encountered any issues such as downtime. The e-mail based support is also pretty satisfactory, and they usually respond within 24 hours.

My only gripe with Zoho is that they recently removed POP/IMAP functionality from free accounts, so you're restricted to using the webmail interface or their own email app(s).

Apart from that, Tutanota is amazing. You get a minimal web-based UI (and apps for iOS and Android), 2FA, plus all the benefits offered by secure email services.

emoore · 30 Jun 2021, 11:51 PM

Two factor authentication seems widespread. Even my ISP (a classic late adopter) supports it. I think you've been assuming you need a email provider that supports PGP or some other way to securely store mail to get it (because they're the ones marketing themselves as a more secure solution).

The main issues seem to be what type of 2FA do they support and does it also support email clients (you might not care about the latter). I use Fastmail as my main email provider and they support multiple methods of 2FA (authenticator app, code sent via SMS or using a U2F/FIDO key like Yubikey), but not for email clients.

Mailfence · 1 Jul 2021, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsunami

Other than Mailfence and Protonmail, there's more and more free webmail providers offering 2FA.

I was wondering though... which one is recommended when your main goal is to send, receive and store emails?
I don't need any other functions such as cloud storage, calendars, chat functions, ... (it's OK if those options are there, as long as I can disable them or leave them unused). So when all you're after is a good webmail with 2FA for sending and receiving + storing emails, which service(s) would you recommend?

Storage isn't much of an issue. A couple of hundred MB is fine with me. More is always welcomed, but not necessary.

Quite important to me is the availability of a log where I can see the date of previous log-in, and that the service is stable financially so unlikely to disappear in the near future.

Mailfence offers 2FA. More info can be found here: https://mailfence.com/en/two-factor-authentication.jsp

In addition we offer the possibility to generate specific passwords per protocol and to close certains access modes such as IMAP, POP, ActiveSync,... More info on how to harden your account here: https://blog.mailfence.com/harden-mailfence-account/

Tsunami · 6 Jul 2021, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mailfence

Mailfence offers 2FA. More info can be found here: https://mailfence.com/en/two-factor-authentication.jsp

In addition we offer the possibility to generate specific passwords per protocol and to close certains access modes such as IMAP, POP, ActiveSync,... More info on how to harden your account here: https://blog.mailfence.com/harden-mailfence-account/

I had thought of Mailfence, the one concern I had there is that there are a lot of features such as Groups, shared calendars, even shared mailboxes(!) while I'm looking for a service in which only I can access the mailbox and use that mailbox only for sending and receiving (and storing) emails. See this topic in which I asked a question about that.

I read your articles you linked to, looks very promising!

PS: I sent you a PM. I hope it arrived as my browser was behaving a bit nasty...

Tsunami · 6 Jul 2021, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverthe1

Even though Zoho offers paid email service, I've been quite happy with their free email tier. It comes with 2FA and offers quite a bit of storage (I think 5GB). Although there are many other services (e.g. web-based office suite similar to Office Online, Calendar) tied in to your Zoho account, you can ignore them and just use the email.

I've had an account with them for a decade now, and never encountered any issues such as downtime. The e-mail based support is also pretty satisfactory, and they usually respond within 24 hours.

My only gripe with Zoho is that they recently removed POP/IMAP functionality from free accounts, so you're restricted to using the webmail interface or their own email app(s).

Apart from that, Tutanota is amazing. You get a minimal web-based UI (and apps for iOS and Android), 2FA, plus all the benefits offered by secure email services.

Thanks! I didn't know Zoho still offered free packages. I am looking for a webmail based service, so lack of POP/IMAP isn't an issue for me.

I'll have to do some research on Tutanota, I've seen the name being mentioned on Reddit now and then but I never knew much about them. Are they a bit in the same league as Protonmail and Mailfence (who are both known as high security and privacy focused providers)? Do they also offer additional services like Groups, Calendar, sharing items, etc (I don't intend to use any of that, I just want to send, receive and store email) or are they really focused on email only?

pjwalsh · 15 Jul 2021, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsunami

I'll have to do some research on Tutanota,...Are they a bit in the same league as Protonmail and Mailfence (who are both known as high security and privacy focused providers)?

On security and privacy, definitely in the same league as Protonmail and Mailfence.
They do have calendar (and address book), secure email is the primary focus.
Encryption of subject line is one distinguishing feature of Tutanota.
https://tutanota.com/faq

30 Jun 2021, 05:25 AM	#1
Tsunami The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: in between the bright lights and the far unlit unknown Posts: 2,341	Which webmail service with 2FA for sending/receiving/storing email only? Other than Mailfence and Protonmail, there's more and more free webmail providers offering 2FA. I was wondering though... which one is recommended when your main goal is to send, receive and store emails? I don't need any other functions such as cloud storage, calendars, chat functions, ... (it's OK if those options are there, as long as I can disable them or leave them unused). So when all you're after is a good webmail with 2FA for sending and receiving + storing emails, which service(s) would you recommend? Storage isn't much of an issue. A couple of hundred MB is fine with me. More is always welcomed, but not necessary. Quite important to me is the availability of a log where I can see the date of previous log-in, and that the service is stable financially so unlikely to disappear in the near future.

30 Jun 2021, 03:47 PM	#2
silverthe1 Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 66	Even though Zoho offers paid email service, I've been quite happy with their free email tier. It comes with 2FA and offers quite a bit of storage (I think 5GB). Although there are many other services (e.g. web-based office suite similar to Office Online, Calendar) tied in to your Zoho account, you can ignore them and just use the email. I've had an account with them for a decade now, and never encountered any issues such as downtime. The e-mail based support is also pretty satisfactory, and they usually respond within 24 hours. My only gripe with Zoho is that they recently removed POP/IMAP functionality from free accounts, so you're restricted to using the webmail interface or their own email app(s). Apart from that, Tutanota is amazing. You get a minimal web-based UI (and apps for iOS and Android), 2FA, plus all the benefits offered by secure email services.

30 Jun 2021, 11:51 PM	#3
emoore Essential Contributor Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 280	Two factor authentication seems widespread. Even my ISP (a classic late adopter) supports it. I think you've been assuming you need a email provider that supports PGP or some other way to securely store mail to get it (because they're the ones marketing themselves as a more secure solution). The main issues seem to be what type of 2FA do they support and does it also support email clients (you might not care about the latter). I use Fastmail as my main email provider and they support multiple methods of 2FA (authenticator app, code sent via SMS or using a U2F/FIDO key like Yubikey), but not for email clients.