PreVeil secure email review

Lots of the best secure email providers function by providing a web client or mobile app for you to use, but PreVeil is a bit different: as well as using PreVeil’s web client or Android and iOS apps, you can also send using your existing Outlook, Gmail or Apple Mail clients.

That immediately adds a huge amount of versatility to this app. If you move beyond that, you’ll find a secure email provider trusted by defense contractors, education institutions and legal organizations – so there’s some pedigree here.

PreVeil: Plans and pricing 

That sort of customer base and feature set makes it all the more amazing that PreVeil actually starts its offering with a free product.

PreVeil’s free account gives you 5GB of encrypted data storage, end-to-end email and file encryption, integration with Outlook, Gmail and File Explorer and mobile device access, so it’s a well-rounded offering if you need secure email and cloud storage.

The Individual plan costs $25/£20 per month, which is immediately more expensive than most of the other individual plans you’ll find on the market – but, in PreVeil’s defense, that package comes with a mammoth 5TB of data storage. That’s more than you’ll find anywhere else. You can also provide free accounts to third parties using this product.

The Business product costs $30/£24 per user per month but the feature set accelerates. The Business tier meets compliance requirements for HIPAA, FERPA, SOC 2, GLB, FTC and IRS standards, and you can use an admin console, system logs, admin protection and data loss prevention.

Each user in the business product gets a massive 10TB of storage, too, and you get priority support and a dedicated customer success team.

If you work for a government organization or in the defense industry, PreVeil has a product that meets compliance requirements for DFARS 7012, CMMC, and ITAR and is FIPS 140-2 validated.

In this final tier, you get FedRAMP Moderate Equivalent, all data is stored in the AWS GovCloud, and you enjoy a Compliance Accelerator with pre-filled forms – and access to compliance experts.

If you’d like to access that final tier, you’ll need to contact PreVeil for a quote. SMEs can also use PreVeil Pass, a CMMC compliance solution that costs $415 per month for three users and includes encrypted email, pre-filled CMMC documentation, and specialist support.

PreVeil: Features

PreVeil operates using Zero Knowledge encryption with end-to-end ability, which means that all information associated with your emails is only encrypted and decrypted on user devices – so PreVeil can never see or access the contents of your messages. Underneath it all, you’ll find robust AES-256 used for symmetric encryption and elliptic curve P-256 used for asymmetric keys.

Passwords aren’t used with PreVeil, either. Instead, account access is managed by secret encryption keys that are only stored on user devices. Levels of encryption are used to “wrap” those keys to prevent unauthorized access. Your key remains stored on your device, so login is simple and secure.

To encrypt your emails and files, PreVeil deploys a symmetric system with varying keys used with Public Key Infrastructure technology. PreVeil doesn’t use any PGP system, though, which may be worth bearing in mind if you want to work with people who use PGP-based encryption.

Approval Groups cryptographically distribute trust to predetermined groups of users to avoid individuals compromising entire networks, and Trusted Communities allow organizations to safelist domains and email addresses.

We’ve got no qualms about PreVeil’s security, and the service remains impressive elsewhere. Its ability to work with email clients and free Android and iOS apps means that you can access your encrypted emails from anywhere – a boon when using PreVeil’s services in mission-critical business and government scenarios.

It’s not just about email, either, because PreVeil includes secure cloud storage that deploys the same level of encryption as email.

Administrators can manage users, devices and approved groups of users, define rules across their organizations and record the actions of users with tamper-proof logging.

PreVeil: Interface and in-use

If you use PreVeil’s web browser or mobile apps, you’ll benefit from a straightforward, simple, and well-designed experience. Navigation is down the left, and your inbox is right in the middle.

A pop-up window makes composing emails easy, although there’s no option here to switch to a three-pane email management interface. Indeed, many other products offer a wider range of configuration settings in general. PreVeil is easy to use but not overwhelmed with tweaks and options.

If you want to use PreVeil with your existing email client, you’ll need to go through a cryptographic setup process. Once that’s done, PreVeil adds a Secure Messages folder to your email app or interface, and a toggle at the bottom of your composition window allows you to activate or remove PreVeil encryption from your messages.

So, while PreVeil may not have as many settings as some rivals, it’s easy to use, whether you use the web client or your existing email app.

PreVeil: Support

Support tickets with PreVeil are filed over email, and there’s a huge knowledge base with loads of information on configuring and using the product.

The support ticket itself is comprehensive. You can provide a phone number to give PreVeil another option for contacting you, and they also have the facility to launch Zoom meetings to provide live assistance.

Certain customers at upper tiers also get priority support, phone support, and onboarding sessions, and PreVeil can provide webinars and training sessions.

PreVeil: The competition

PreVeil’s status as a certified provider for defense, government, and enterprise ensures that the service competes with some major players.

Hushmail, for instance, offers plans designed around the compliances required by legal and medical firms, so both services are worth investigating if you work in those industries. Zoho, too, offers HIPAA compliance. PreVeil goes further than both with military and government accreditations, though.

If you need to explore those accreditations and compare PreVeil to a key rival, check out Virtru. Both aim at the defense industries alongside healthcare and education, and they share many of the same accreditations.

PreVeil: Final verdict

PreVeil might not be the only secure email provider to deliver such a high level of security, compliance and encryption – we’re looking at you, Virtru – but it’s undoubtedly one of the best.

PreVeil's encryption and security are rock solid, and despite the level of power offered, they are very easy to use and, in most cases, very easy to set up.

PreVeil’s ability to work with existing email clients alongside its own interfaces and apps adds versatility.

It might be a little pricier than some secure email providers, but PreVeil justifies the cost with excellent design and security, especially for sensitive data in mission-critical scenarios.