# Mailfence review: KYC policy, privacy and safety grades > Mailfence is an email provider operating since 1999. Its terms put it at KYC level 1 of 4: no ID mentioned. NoKYC Score grades it 5.9/10 for privacy (fair) and 6.5/10 for safety (fair). In its favour: no phone number, company named and 5+ years operating. To watch: it requires an email address. No incidents are on record. Source: NoKYC Score, "Mailfence review", reviewed 22 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/mailfence ## Key facts - **Category:** Email - **KYC level:** 1 of 4: No ID mentioned - **Grades:** Privacy 5.9/10, Safety 6.5/10 - **Sign-up:** Email required - **Fees:** Free plan available; paid plans billed in advance (monthly, quarterly or yearly). Subscriptions are not refunded. - **Limits:** Free accounts are suspended after 7 months of inactivity and deleted 5 months later. - **Jurisdiction:** Belgium - **Incidents on record:** 0 - **Last reviewed:** 22 Oct 2026 - **Official website:** https://mailfence.com ## What it is Mailfence is an email, calendar, contacts and documents suite with browser-based OpenPGP encryption, run by ContactOffice Group SA in Brussels under Belgian law. A free plan is available and paid plans are billed in advance monthly, quarterly or yearly. Sign-up asks for a first name, last name, password and an external email address, to which an activation code is sent; the terms require a valid email address. No phone number field appears in the registration form. The official FAQ lists credit card, Bitcoin, Litecoin, PayPal and wire transfer (arranged through support) as payment methods, and paid subscriptions are not refunded. The privacy policy says IP addresses, message IDs, sender and recipient addresses, subjects and timestamps are collected, and that data is released only on a Belgian court order. The webmail can be used through Tor Browser, but no official onion address is published. ## What the terms say about ID No identity documents are mentioned in the terms; a valid external email address is required for activation. Data is disclosed only on a Belgian court order. ## Features and warnings - **Identity:** ID never required: not stated; No account needed: no; No email needed: no; No phone number: yes - **Payment:** Accepts Monero: not stated; Accepts Lightning: not stated; Accepts cash: not stated - **Access:** Tor onion address: not stated; Works without JavaScript: not stated - **Trust:** Open source: not stated; No-logs policy: not stated; Independent audit: not stated; Company named: yes; 5+ years operating: yes - **Warnings:** May ask for ID: not in terms; Email required: yes; Phone number required: not in terms; Closed source: not in terms; Nobody accountable: not in terms ## Questions ### Does Mailfence require KYC? Mailfence is rated KYC level 1 of 4 on this site: no ID mentioned. No identity documents are mentioned in the terms; a valid external email address is required for activation. Data is disclosed only on a Belgian court order. ### Is Mailfence safe to use? Mailfence has a Safety grade of 6.5 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 5.9 out of 10. No incidents are on record. Evidence level: documentation reviewed. ### Is Mailfence legit? Mailfence is a working email provider that has operated since 1999. It publishes the company that runs it, in Belgium. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 6.5 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents. ### Is Mailfence a scam? NoKYC Score does not label services as scams; it records documented incidents with their sources and outcomes. No incidents are on record for Mailfence. ### Do I need an account or email to use Mailfence? Email required. ### What fees does Mailfence charge? Free plan available; paid plans billed in advance (monthly, quarterly or yearly). Subscriptions are not refunded. Fees were recorded from Mailfence's own pages and can change; check before you send. ### What are Mailfence's limits? Free accounts are suspended after 7 months of inactivity and deleted 5 months later. ### Does Mailfence have a Tor onion address? No official onion address was found on Mailfence's own pages. ### Which cryptocurrencies does Mailfence support? Mailfence supports BTC, LTC, and fiat payments in EUR. ### Can I use Mailfence over Tor? Mailfence does not publish an official onion address. ## Sources - https://mailfence.com/ - https://mailfence.com/en/terms.jsp - https://mailfence.com/en/faq.jsp - https://mailfence.com/en/privacy.jsp - https://mailfence.com/en/company.jsp - https://mailfence.com/registration/?lg=en How grades are calculated: https://nokycscore.com/methodology