Dark Web Email Services — Encrypted Email Over Tor

How to send and receive email without revealing who you are or where you are.

Why use email over Tor?

Regular email leaks metadata: your IP address, your location, your device, and the fact that you're using the service at all. Even if the email content is encrypted, your ISP knows you're connecting to Proton Mail or Tutanota, and the email provider sees your IP address.

Accessing email through a .onion address solves both problems:

Your ISP can't see which service you're using — they only see Tor traffic.
The email provider can't see your real IP — they only see a Tor exit node (or no exit node at all, if it's a native .onion).

For journalists, activists, whistleblowers, and anyone in a hostile environment, this combination matters.

Email services with .onion addresses

These providers offer native onion services — you connect directly through Tor without ever touching the clearnet.

Proton Mail

Proton Mail · protonmailrmez3lotccipshtkleegetolb73fuirgj7r4o4vfu7ozyd.onion

The most popular encrypted email provider, based in Switzerland. End-to-end encrypted by default for emails between Proton users. The onion address provides an extra layer of anonymity.

Free tier: 1 GB storage, 150 messages/day.
Paid tiers: more storage, custom domains, VPN included.
Onion status: official, stable, well-maintained.

Riseup

Riseup · 5gdvpfoh6kb2iqbizb37lzk2ddzrwa47m6rpdueg2m656fovmbhoptqd.onion

Volunteer-run email, VPN, and collaboration tools for activists and organizers. Riseup has been running since 1999 and has a strong track record of protecting user privacy.

Invite-only. You need an invite code from an existing user.
No logging. Riseup stores minimal data and encrypts what it does store.
VPN included. Riseup VPN is free for account holders.
Community-funded. Runs on donations.

Elude

Elude is an anonymous email service built specifically for Tor. No JavaScript required, POP3 and IMAP support over Tor. Check Deepr for the current .onion address.

Designed for anonymity first.
Lightweight interface that works on slow connections.
Tor-only — no clearnet version.

Encrypted email without a dedicated .onion

These services support Tor access but don't have dedicated onion addresses (or their addresses change frequently).

Tuta (formerly Tutanota)

Tuta is a German encrypted email provider. Everything is end-to-end encrypted — email, contacts, calendar. You can access it through Tor Browser via the clearnet address, and they have offered .onion access periodically. Check their website for current availability.

Free tier available. 1 GB storage.
Open source. Client code is on GitHub.
Strong encryption. Uses their own protocol rather than PGP.

Disroot

Disroot is a community-run platform offering email, cloud storage, forums, and collaboration tools. Privacy-respecting and ad-free. Accessible over Tor via clearnet.

Guerrilla Mail

Guerrilla Mail provides disposable email addresses with no registration. Messages auto-delete after one hour. Useful for one-time verifications when you don't want to use your real email.

Setting up anonymous email step by step

Boot into Tails or use Whonix. Don't just use Tor Browser on your normal OS — the operating system can leak data.
Open Tor Browser and navigate to the .onion address of your chosen provider (verify it on Deepr first).
Create an account. Use a pseudonym. Don't provide a phone number or recovery email.
Use a strong, unique password. Consider generating one with a password manager that works offline.
Test the account. Send an email to yourself or to another anonymous address to confirm everything works.
Don't link it to your identity. Never log into this account from your regular computer, phone, or network. Never use it alongside accounts tied to your real name.

What about PGP?

If you need the strongest possible email security, use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption on top of your email provider's built-in encryption. This ensures that even the email provider can't read your messages.

Proton Mail supports PGP natively. For other providers, you can use a tool like GnuPG to encrypt messages before sending.

# Encrypt a message for a recipient
gpg --armor --encrypt --recipient their-key-id message.txt

# Decrypt a message you received
gpg --decrypt message.txt.asc

For a full explanation of PGP and how to use it, see our PGP encryption guide.

Comparison table

Service	.onion Address	Free Tier	Signup
Proton Mail	Yes (stable)	Yes	No ID required
Riseup	Yes (stable)	Yes	Invite only
Elude	Yes (Tor-only)	Yes	No ID required
Tuta	Check official site	Yes	No ID required
Disroot	Via clearnet	Yes	No ID required
Guerrilla Mail	Check official site	Yes	No signup needed

More resources

Best .onion Sites — Email section — full list of dark web email providers.
How to Access the Dark Web — complete setup guide including Tails, Whonix, and OPSEC.
Anonymous Chat Rooms on the Dark Web — for real-time private messaging instead of email.
How to Stay Anonymous Online — complete privacy guide beyond email.
VPN vs. Tor — understand the difference before choosing how to connect.
Dark Web Monitoring — check if your email address has been leaked.

Your inbox is nobody's business.