Posteo

Posteo: eco-friendly, secure and ad-free email from Berlin

Posteo is an email provider based in Berlin that has been operating since 2009. The company presents itself as a service without advertising, without tracking and without user profiling, fully financed by its users. Its offering combines a 4 GB upgradable email account, calendar, address book and notes, with a stated focus on sustainability and privacy.

Email and personal organisation services

The email account includes 4 GB of upgradable storage and three alias addresses, also upgradable. It is compatible with devices and applications via IMAP and POP3 protocols, and offers a webmail interface and its own web app. The service includes spam and virus protection, an attachment browser with photo stream and individual support for all devices and applications. The company states that the price is 1 euro per month with free support.

The calendar allows synchronisation via CalDAV and sharing calendars through ICS links. It includes three upgradable calendars, one-click encryption, subscription to external calendars from webmail, support for calendar data migration, import and export of ICS files, email reminders and display of birthdays from the address book.

The address book synchronises via CardDAV (iOS, Android and others), allows one-click encryption, offers support for contact migration, import and export of VCF files and displays birthdays in the calendar. Notes are also part of the service set.

Privacy and encryption

Posteo states that it does not collect personal data, does not link payment data to an account, does not track or profile users, and does not trade customer data. It also does not collect users' IP addresses. Stored data can be encrypted with one click. The company uses security backups and a high-efficiency virus filter, and its servers are located in highly secured German data centres.

The encryption concept includes transport encryption (TLS, DANE and more), guaranteed TLS receiving and sending (mandatory TLS), inbound encryption with PGP or S/MIME, encrypted email storage for the entire mailbox, two-factor authentication (TOTP) for login, encryption of calendars, address book and notes, PGP in the webmail interface with key directory and encrypted hard drives.

Sustainability and business model

Since its founding in 2009, Posteo states that it uses 100% green energy from Green Planet Energy, does not take business flights, has an organic, vegetarian canteen, manages its finances with Umweltbank and GLS Bank, facilitates public transport and bicycles for its workers, sizes servers appropriately to conserve resources, optimises programming for energy efficiency and makes regular donations to NGOs. The company is fully financed by user fees, without advertising partners or external investors, and does not send advertising emails.

Migration and registration

Posteo offers a free migration service that transfers the existing mailbox over an encrypted connection, without intermediaries. It allows up to three migrations per account, transfers emails, appointments and addresses from many providers, including complete folder structures, and can collect emails from previous providers via an email collector. Registration is done without personal data and payment can be anonymous.

Awards and certifications

The company received the German Fairness Award 2025 and holds BSI certification according to TR-03108 v2 for secure email transport. Media such as The Guardian, Stiftung Warentest, Heise, Deutschlandfunk, FAZ, Ökotest, Technology Review, c't magazin, Computerbild, Tagesspiegel, Linux-Magazin, Spiegel Online and Süddeutsche Zeitung have published reviews about Posteo, highlighting its focus on privacy, security and sustainability. The company also publishes a transparency report on requests from authorities and maintains a blog and press room with news on digital culture, internet regulation, surveillance, human rights and the environment.