Encryption at Rest in Millionaire.email: The Only Email Service Where Privacy Belongs Fully to the User

Mithun GS
Dec 9, 2025
3 min read

Most email providers talk loudly about “encrypted storage”, but quietly rely on server-controlled keys, meaning they can decrypt your mailbox at any time. This includes big names such as Proton Mail, Tuta, and Mailbox.org in their default configurations.

Millionaire.email was built to break this pattern.

We will never encrypt your mailbox with our keys.

We will never store or manage your private key. We will never have the ability to decrypt your mailbox, ever.

This philosophy is what makes Millionaire.email the only email provider with true user-owned Encryption at Rest.

What Is Encryption at Rest?

Encryption at Rest protects your stored emails on the server. In most platforms:

Data is encrypted using the provider’s key
The provider can decrypt it anytime
Server staff, attackers, or governments can potentially access it
“Encrypted storage” is not equal to “private storage”

Millionaire.email takes a fundamentally different approach:

We don’t want your keys —

because we don’t want the power to read your emails.

This is real privacy.

How Encryption at Rest Works in Millionaire.email

Millionaire.email offers two modes, depending entirely on the user’s choice of uploading a public key. This ensures that only the user controls privacy, not the server.

1. Zero-Access Mode (Recommended)

Upload Your PGP or S/MIME Public Key

This is the mode Millionaire.email is designed for.

When you upload your OpenPGP or S/MIME public key:

✔ Every incoming email (even from Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) is encrypted using your public key

✔ The server stores only encrypted ciphertext

✔ Millionaire.email cannot decrypt your messages

✔ Only your private key (which we never see) can open emails

This is true Encryption at Rest, powered entirely by your cryptographic identity.

Why we recommend this mode:

We don’t want control
We don’t want decrypting power
We don’t want trust placed in the server
We don’t want to behave like Proton/Tuta (provider-managed encryption)

This is the safest, strongest, most transparent form of mailbox encryption available in the email industry.

2. Basic Mode (No Key Uploaded)

Standard Mailbox — Not Zero-Access

If you do NOT upload a PGP or S/MIME public key:

Emails are stored normally (readable server-side)
No server-side AES encryption is applied
The mailbox functions like standard email hosting
The server can display email content normally

We support this mode for convenience, but:

✔ It is not private

✔ It is not encrypted at rest

✔ It is not zero-access

✔ It is not recommended for privacy-focused users

This mode exists only because some users may want traditional behavior. But it is not aligned with our core privacy philosophy.

Do You Need Your Private Key to Read Gmail → Millionaire.email Emails?

✔ YES — when you upload your PGP/S/MIME public key

Your mailbox becomes fully encrypted. Every Gmail/Outlook/Yahoo email gets re-encrypted with your key before being stored.

✔ NO — when you do not upload your key

Mailbox behaves like normal hosting.

Correct Logic Table:

User Uploaded PGP/S/MIME Key?	How Gmail Email Is Stored	Server Can Read?	User Needs Private Key?
✔ Yes	Encrypted with user’s public key	❌ No	✔ Yes
❌ No	Normal readable form	✔ Yes	❌ No

This is the clearest demonstration of user-controlled encryption in the industry.

Provider	Who Controls Encryption Keys?	Can Provider Decrypt Stored Mail?	User-Owned Encryption at Rest?
Millionaire.email	User only	✘ No — impossible	✔ Yes (unique)
Proton Mail	Provider stores encrypted keys	✔ Yes (non-E2E mail)	❌ No
Tuta	Provider manages proprietary keys	✔ Yes	❌ No
Mailbox.org	Provider (default); optional PGP	✔ Yes unless user configures PGP	△ Partial

Why Millionaire.email stands alone:

We never encrypt your mailbox with our own server keys
We never store or control your private keys
Zero-access only works when the user uploads their own key
This model is not offered by any other email provider

This is true privacy by design, not privacy by marketing.

Why User-Owned Encryption at Rest Matters

✔ No insider access

We never hold your key → we cannot read your mailbox.

✔ No government access

No key = nothing to hand over.

✔ No server compromise risk

Attackers cannot decrypt stored messages.

✔ Full sovereignty

Your inbox belongs to you, not your provider.

✔ Open standards (PGP / S/MIME)

No proprietary lock-in.

Conclusion

Encryption at Rest in Millionaire.email is built around a single principle: your privacy should depend on your key, not our server.

That is why:

We strongly recommend users upload their PGP or S/MIME public key
We refuse to encrypt your mailbox with our own keys
We never manage or store user private keys
Once your public key is uploaded, every incoming email — even from Gmail — becomes encrypted and requires your private key to open

This model makes Millionaire.email the only true zero-access email provider, giving users full control, real ownership, and uncompromised security.

Privacy isn’t a feature here —it’s a responsibility you hold, not us.