this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2024

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Why are most "privacy" WebMail providers labelled as proprietary? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by Charger8232@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I was researching WebMail providers, and noticed that most WebMail providers recommended in privacy communities are labelled as proprietary by AlternativeTo.

I made a list of WebMail providers, private or not, to see which ones were actually open source:

Proprietary

AOL Mail: Free

Cock.li: Free

CounterMail: Paid

Fastmail: Paid

GMX Mail: Free

Gmail: Free

HEY Email: Paid

Hushmail: Paid

iCloud Mail: Free

Mail.com: Free

Mailbox.org: Paid

Mailfence: Freemium

Outlook.com: Freemium

Posteo: Paid

Rediffmail: Paid

Riseup: Free

Runbox: Paid

Soverin: Paid

StartMail: Paid

Yahoo! Mail: Freemium

Yandex Mail: Freemium

Zoho Mail: Freemium

Open source

Criptext: Free

Disroot: Free

Forward Email: Freemium

Infomaniak kMail: Freemium

Kolab Now: Paid

Lavabit: Paid

~~Mailpile: Free~~

Proton Mail: Freemium

~~Roundcube: Free~~

Skiff/Notion: Freemium

Tuta: Freemium

Unless I'm missing something, it seems like people overlook this when deciding on WebMail providers. Is it a distinction between a proprietary backend server and a proprietary app, or is there a different way to decide if a WebMail provider is proprietary vs. open source? Lavabit was labelled proprietary by AlternativeTo, but open source by Wikipedia.

Note

If I have labelled an open source WebMail provider as proprietary by mistake, please provide evidence by linking to the source code, and I will happily change it.

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[–] stephenaziel1@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Most "privacy" webmail providers, such as ProtonMail, Tutanota, and mainstream services like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, and AOL Mail, are labeled as proprietary because they use closed-source software, meaning the code isn't publicly available for review. These services operate on controlled servers, with features and infrastructures managed entirely by the company. The proprietary nature allows them to implement unique features and monetization strategies, but it also requires users to trust the company’s privacy and security practices without independent verification. This contrasts with open-source alternatives where users can inspect and verify the code themselves.