How to Create a Mailfence Account

Mailfence is a privacy-focused email service with built-in OpenPGP encryption. Signing up is quick, but there's one step you shouldn't treat as a formality: the reset/notification email address. It's the only way to reset your password later.

Create an account

1. Go to mailfence.com and choose Sign up.
2. Choose your username — your address will end in @mailfence.com.
3. Choose a strong password. Mailfence recommends a passphrase: a random sequence of words that's easy for you to remember.
4. Enter a reset/notification email address at another provider.
5. Confirm the notification address when Mailfence emails it, then log in with your username and password.

Why Mailfence wants another email address

Mailfence uses the reset/notification address to let you prove the account is yours. It's where password reset links are sent if you forget your password or the account is compromised, and it's also used for anti-spam and anti-abuse checks and for notifications such as billing messages. You can change it later, so keep it pointed at a mailbox you'll still have in years to come.

What the free plan includes

The free plan gives you webmail with Mailfence's encryption tools and the mobile app, with limited storage. Several features are paid-only, including:

• IMAP, POP and SMTP access for programs such as Thunderbird and Outlook,
• message filters and whitelisting,
• custom domains,
• back-ups,
• shared mailboxes (PRO plan).

If you'll want your Mailfence mail in another email program, plan on a paid subscription — the connection details are in Mailfence server settings.

Keep a free account active

Free accounts are suspended after 7 months without use and deleted 5 months after that. Paid accounts aren't deleted while payments continue, and upgrading reactivates a suspended account. If Mailfence is a backup address you rarely open, log in every few months.

First things to set up

• Two-factor authentication under Settings → Password — steps in Mailfence security.
• External content: by default Mailfence doesn't load images or active content from outside sources. You can tighten this under Settings → Messages → General → Display mode.
• Your OpenPGP keys: Mailfence includes an integrated OpenPGP keystore: you can import your existing keys, export your key pair at any time, and generate revocation certificates.