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Email spotlight series- #4 StartMail

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Key Features

  • Unlimited aliases

  • Email encryption

  • Custom domain

  • Account access with 2FA

For the fourth spotlight series we introduce our partner – StartMail an email provider that emphasizes user privacy and offers a secure email experience. On this opportunity we interviewed Robert E.G. Beens, Co-Founder and CEO of StartMail 

1. Please describe the mission of StartMail as an email provider?

StartMail is on a mission to empower individuals by spreading email privacy and protecting our customers from advertisers, government surveillance and spam. We believe that privacy is a fundamental human right and that our personal data should never be collected without our knowledge and consent.

In today’s world, where our privacy is under constant threat, secure and ad-free email communication is essential. That’s why we built StartMail from the ground up with an unwavering commitment to privacy at its core. Our complete private email solution offers features like one-click encryption, extra-secure data storage and unlimited, disposable email addresses to ensure that your data and communication remains private. We are the easy-to-use alternative to Big Tech products like Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo Mail, and we are the choice of those who prioritize privacy above all else.

2. When and where was StartMail founded?

StartMail BV, the company behind StartMail’s secure email service, was founded in 2011 by the creators of Startpage, the world’s most private search engine. We launched our first StartMail beta version in 2013. To this day we remain headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. This ensures that StartMail users are protected by the stringent privacy laws of the European Union (GDPR).

3. When was the first email sent from StartMail?

The first email from StartMail would have been sent from the first account created on November 5th, 2013 at 14:53:33 +0100.

4. What is one unique thing about StartMail?

One of the unique things about StartMail is that it lets you generate an unlimited number of aliases – disposable email addresses that help keep your main address exclusive and prevent spam and phishing.

An alias can help protect your identity when you sign up for a new online service and ensures your real email address remains hidden from sketchy sites. Aliases also help you cut down on junk mail, protect your inbox from SPAM and help identify where your data has been leaked or sold. If your email address has been sold or exposed in a data breach, you can expect the amount of junk mail you receive to increase significantly. When that happens, you can identify where the breach occurred and simply delete the alias. Aliases can also be an incredibly helpful tool to organize your inbox. You can filter all emails that come through an alias directly into a separate folder to keep your inbox clean and organized.

Other email providers limit the number of aliases you can create, but with us you can generate as many as you want and need. This feature has become a must-have for our privacy-conscious customers when it comes to protecting their online identity. Many tell us they couldn’t imagine going back to a limited number of aliases.

5. What’s next for StartMail? (next big feature, roadmap or anything else)

Every time we make an improvement to our product, we make sure it’s customer inspired.

We just finished a big project to improve our alias feature, so our customers can now add notes to their custom aliases or create disposable ones with a simple click – and we’ve also made accessing them a whole lot easier. We’re always looking for ways to enhance the customer experience and make their lives easier, so we are now focusing on solidifying and improving our current operations and offerings for our customers in other areas too.

We’re also working on expanding our reach globally and are actively seeking new partnership opportunities and other potential areas for growth.

“The online world is increasingly turning to privacy-respecting e-mail providers, but no-one wants to start from scratch. Migrating your old email and contacts is an essential step. The genius people of ShuttleCloud have turned this into a super-easy experience, facilitating freedom of choice, and unlocking the chains of legacy Big Tech companies.”

Robert Beens, CEO of StartMail

Email Email Client Gmail Outlook

What is an email client?

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To put it simply, an email client is a piece of software used to access emails found on an email server. An email service such as Gmail or Outlook hosts your emails, and the email client is the way you actually access them. While they all serve the same core purpose, every email client is different, with its own advantages and disadvantages.

What is the best email client?

Receiving and sending emails is something that we do every day, and most people use one of the most popular options. These can be either desktop or app-based such as IOS email and Microsoft Outlook, or web-based such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. 

But there are many more options out there! In the last couple of years, there has been an increase in the number of email clients available, some offering exciting new features that have made them very successful.

What email client alternatives are there?

Zoom 

Zoom email was introduced in November 2022 and is still in beta testing. Zoom focuses on offering an all-in-one service without having to use multiple applications while working—reducing the time spent transferring between apps and keeping everything more organized. 

It allows users to connect their Gmail and Microsoft accounts, synchronizing all emails and calendars in one place—all without having to switch apps to make Zoom video calls.

Spark 

Spark claims to be the “smart, focused” email client. It has 14 million users worldwide and was recognized as Editor’s Choice on the Apple app store. Their main feature is a Smart Inbox that prioritizes important emails into their own folder. One special feature spark offers is a gatekeeper that allows you to accept or reject incoming emails based on their sender. Users can also highlight priority senders for easy access to their emails.

Collaboration is another key benefit of Spark—it allows teams to have a shared inbox and drafts can be composed in real-time by several team members. Specific emails and threads can be shared with specific team members, and you can create email templates to be used by the entire team.

Shift 

Shift is a ‘workstation’ service that includes an email client, along with a web browser and other integrations. It seeks to allow you to work entirely from one platform, eliminating the need to switch between different platforms. It can integrate with multiple Gmail and Microsoft accounts as well as Slack, Trello, Evernote or even Spotify. The simple design makes it easy to use and personalize. It even includes a secure password storage service.

eM client 

eM client claims to boost your productivity and break you out of your email routing. It boasts a number of workflow-enhancing tools such as message encryption with PGP encryption, a reply-watcher to notify you of specific replies, automatic message translation, a quick text feature to help you compose emails faster, email snoozing, and more.  It is compatible with Gmail, iCloud, Microsoft 365, SmarterMail, Mailfence, and MDaemon.

Spike 

Transforming email to a workspace is the main focus of Spike, offering features that increase team productivity. It seeks to transform email into a live-chat format, making it more conversational and taking away the clutter of traditional email. Collaborative online notes and tasks allow users to take notes as well as create tasks and to-do lists on the app—allowing easy access for different devices and users. It also offers group chats and a calendar feature. 

Thunderbird

Making email easy is the promise of Thunderbird. The setup is super simple, using a mail account setup wizard, allowing installation without needing to know your STMP, IMAP, or other certificates. Thunderbird offers a fast way to add new contacts to your lists as well as setting contacts into different lists to keep data organized. One key feature is the tab system which allows you to switch between different emails much like you would in a browser—in fact, Thunderbird is created by the Mozilla Foundation, which also created Firefox.

Which email client is the best for me?

Smaller email clients have evolved significantly, adding value to their platforms in the form of new features. They’ve switched their focus to simplicity and productivity, creating some real competition for the bigger clients. When it comes to choosing the best email client for you, you should focus on the specific features they each offer, and decide based on what works best for your workflow!