Canary Mail
Polished paid client with built-in PGP encryption.
canarymail.io- Price
- FreemiumFree plan available; Growth costs about $36/yr and Pro+ (which adds PGP and SecureSend) about $100/yr, both with lifetime options.
- Works on
- Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
- Based in
- Singapore
- Source code
- Closed source
- Encryption
- End-to-end encrypted
Canary Mail is a polished, largely proprietary client for people who want encryption without wrestling with configuration. It offers full PGP support, a biometric app lock on iPhone and tracker blocking, and by default your mail stays on your device. It is built on open-source mail libraries such as MailCore2, but the app itself is closed, so you are placing trust in the vendor. PGP and its SecureSend feature sit behind the paid Pro+ tier. The AI features need care. Inbox sorting runs on your device, but drafts, summaries, replies and chat go to outside AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere and Google. Canary promises your email will not be used to train AI models, but it does not say how long those companies keep it. On iPhone and Android, push notifications hold your account login token, the sender, subject and first line on Canary's server until the alert is delivered. The app also includes Google Firebase analytics and AppsFlyer marketing tracking, which reads your IP address, device details and advertising ID. For the most privacy, turn off analytics in settings, leave the AI features off and use Fetch instead of Push. It is a reasonable choice on iPhone, Mac, Windows and Android if convenience outweighs full transparency.
Strengths
- Built-in PGP and end-to-end encryption
- Blocks tracking pixels in mail you receive
- Modern interface with biometric app lock on iPhone
- No ads, and it does not mine your mail for advertising
- Cross-platform across desktop and mobile
Considerations
- Core app is closed source
- PGP and top security features are paid only
- Cloud AI features send email text to outside AI providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic; Canary rules out training on it but gives no retention limit
- Push notifications hold your login token, the sender, subject and first line on Canary's server until delivered
- Ships Firebase analytics and AppsFlyer marketing tracking (IP address, device details, advertising ID); analytics can be turned off
- Offers read receipts, which track when the people you email open your messages
