Is there an email service that doesn’t require a phone number?

[janusz]

An article by Leo A. Notenboom, found on the web. Full disclosure: I receive his newsletter, but otherwise I have no connection with him or his site.
https://askleo.com/is-there-an-email...nd-alternative

That article looks a bit like a plug for one of the services discussed in this forum, but it also contains a list of alternatives and a discussion of why not giving one's phone number may not be a good idea.

Caveat emptor..

[TenFour]

I am not interested in an email service that I wouldn't trust with my phone number. If you don't trust them with your phone number, how can you trust them with your email? And, despite every attempt to avoid having to use a phone number for emergency recovery of accounts I have had to do so more than once.

[janusz]

I take exception to the following point (unrelated to providing a phone number) made by Leo Notenboom

Truly encrypted email requires the use of decryption software between both the sender and the recipient. Since we can’t control the recipient’s email tools, there’s no way to encrypt an email message and know they’ll be able to securely decrypt it.

Has he never heard of PGP?

[TenFour]

Has he never heard of PGP?

I think his point is if you are corresponding with someone who uses something like ordinary Gmail your message can still be read by hacking into the Gmail account. I think most people will have to regularly correspond with people who won't be using encrypted email at their end.

[jarland]

Originally Posted by janusz

I take exception to the following point (unrelated to providing a phone number) made by Leo Notenboom
Has he never heard of PGP?

I think that’s exactly what he was talking about. You can’t guarantee the security of an email once a recipient decrypts it, or that a recipient is adequately protecting their systems and processes unless you can control their environment.