Why You Should Pay For Private Email

As technology has advanced, security has been at the core of new developments for our most prized possessions. Even though we may have to pay a little extra for our car’s safety system, the video monitoring at our house or for anti-skimming wallets to protect our credit cards, we all gladly take on those costs to make sure our privacy is protected. However, some consumers don’t think to have the same security protection for another area that involves just as much, if not more, private information: our email. Why pay for email when it’s offered as a free service from many providers?

Email was not initially designed with security in mind, which gave email providers the freedom to market their “free” services. Instead of signing up for a paid email service, many internet consumers, tired of paying exorbitant costs for their everyday technologies, have instead gone with a free option. However, while promoting the cost-free nature of their services, such providers are leaving out the fact that they have to monetize their products somehow to stay in business—and that’s what is costing their users. Major providers like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL scan subscribers’ emails, preferences and internet activity, as well as track their physical locations and browsing history. They often sell this information to other corporations, who use it for targeted advertising and spam—all to benefit their own bottom line—with email users’ privacy being trampled in the process. Does that sound free to you?

Leaving your private email in the hands of big business is not the way to go when trying to ensure your privacy. As the saying goes, “If you don’t pay for a product, then you are the product.”