Alternative to gmail ?

With all the exposes about Google of late (and I've been looking to do this for a while anyway) I want to dump gmail in favour of something else (not run by the NSA. heh..)

What I want is an ideally free service or minimal cost, and especially able to use my existing email clients (eMClient and Mailcopa) to login and retrieve/send emails etc. DON'T want a 'dedicated' or online via browser type service. I don't use Facebook, twitter etc either.


Any suggestions as to a suitable service ?
Yahoo mail maybe ? Protonmail ?

Most email services allow you to use an email client to access your mail. If the email client can do POP3 and IMAP, then it will be able to work with these email services. In other words, you can go with just about anyone out there and use your choice of email client.

You seem like a person who is concerned about privacy. Therefore, you should avoid free email services, because they aren't really free -- to make their money, these services (1) scan through your email and gather information about you, and (2) use that information to sell ads which are targeted to you. They have to make their money somehow, and that is how they do it.

Yahoo has been hacked more than once. I would avoid them if you are concerned about privacy.

If privacy is absolutely important to you, then consider going with a company called Startmail (www.startmail.com). They are all about privacy. Although I haven't ever used Startmail, I have read their information, and it looks like an excellent choice for privacy. Another company is Hushmail (www.hushmail.com). You will have to pay for either of these services, but your privacy will be protected a lot better than with any free email service.