Secure emails, contacts, and calendars
15/12/25 16:04 Filed in:
ReportEmails are about as secure as postcards used to be. Although emails are now usually accessed via an encrypted connection, email service providers have unrestricted access to all correspondence. Google displays advertisements. Others filter out messages they consider to be spam. Still others block the sending of individual messages altogether. Alongside StartMail, Tuta is another provider that does things differently.
Like StartMail, German email provider Tuta offers the sending and receiving of encrypted messages that it cannot read. This is because the key is generated on the user's device. Even if someone gains access to the recipient's mailbox, the message can only be decrypted with a password that has been exchanged beforehand. Unlike the tried-and-tested PGP encryption for emails, neither the sender nor the recipient needs any technical knowledge. The sender simply sets a password and the recipient clicks on a link in a message to read it.
Unlike StartMail, Tuta does not offer integration of the mailbox into an email program. However, there is an app for Android and Ubuntu Touch that allows messages to be accessed in a secure and isolated app. The Android app can be found in F-Droid and the Ubuntu Touch app in the Open Store. The Android app can also be protected with biometric authentication, preventing anyone who has access to the smartphone, such as family members, from reading the messages. In addition, there is a handy export function that allows emails to be imported into an email program so that they can be searched or archived locally along with other mailboxes.
Another special feature of Tutanota is the integrated calendar, which cannot be linked to the operating system's calendar, but has its own Google-free push notification to remind you of appointments. External calendars can be imported via files in VCalendar format, usually recognizable by the file extension .ics. For businesses, there are special features such as the use of their own domain, their own branding, and login on their own website.
Security is an ongoing challenge. Tuta's latest development is
encryption that is designed to withstand even quantum computers. While StartMail has disclosed the
source code of its IMAP client and HTML editor, Tuta has decided to publish the
source code of its mobile app.
Tuta offers a free account with up to 1 GB of storage space. Those who need more can pay a small fee of €3.60 per month or €36 per year. Volla customers
receive a 25% discount.
Tags: E-Mail,Partner,Encryption,Communication
