I have been distrustful of email providers for a very long time. My email account has always been with Hotmail. While Google clearly reads the emails of their users, Microsoft claim not to read or scan peoples' emails. However, just because Mr. Bill Gates claims his company does not access users' emails doesn't mean he's not lieing.
I am deeply sceptical of any claim from any media owner that says there is no access to your emails. It's clear that some companies are rampant in their efforts to elicit as much information as they possibly can from emails activity, and use this information for profile construction and marketing purposes.
However, I stumbled accros an email provider called Protonmail the other week and decided to set up an account. Protonmail claims to be a service for the 'public good'. It also states that it uses double encryption so your emails can never be read, not even by them. They place a strong emphasis on privacy and security. They also provide a VPN service which may be helpful to some Steemers who don't trust their internet service provider with their data use and web tracking history.
The main advantage of Protonmail is that they offer a free basic account. It is very easy to set-up, very smooth navigation and very quick. They seem to be very genuine about their efforts to protect your privacy and ensure your data is secure. They seem pretty solid and claim that their engineers have been brought together with a shared vision of protecting civil liberties online.
If you want a chance at a truly encrypted email service you might want to give them a go. Anybody else have a Protonmail account?