Swiss end-to-end encrypted email with a free tier; paid plans payable in Bitcoin or cash
Privacy 7.2
Safety 7.3
Email Reviewed 22 Oct 2026
monocles review
German privacy project bundling email, cloud, chat and search in one paid account
- Email required
No ID mentioned KYC 1 Documentation reviewed
Privacy
5.8/ 10
Fair
Safety
5.0/ 10
Caution
Based on terms and documentation. No test transactions published yet. See the arithmetic
monocles review in short
monocles is an email provider. Its terms put it at KYC level 1 of 4: no ID mentioned. NoKYC Score grades it 5.8/10 for privacy (fair) and 5.0/10 for safety (caution). To watch: it requires an email address. No incidents are on record.
- Category
- KYC level
- 1 of 4: No ID mentioned
- Grades
- Privacy 5.8/10, Safety 5.0/10
- Sign-up
- Email required
- Fees
- Full account €30 per 6 months; starter account €12 per 6 months
- Limits
- Unpaid registrations are deleted after 7 days
- Jurisdiction
- Germany
- Incidents on record
- 0
- Last reviewed
- 22 Oct 2026
Cite this review
NoKYC Score, "monocles review", reviewed 22 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/monocles
Also available as plain text.
What monocles is
monocles is a privately funded German project that bundles an email account with 2 GB of storage, cloud storage, XMPP chat, video conferencing and a metasearch engine under one paid account. The site describes its mail server as encrypted with additional end-to-end encrypted mail storage, built on open-source software and run on its own servers. Accounts are bought by card through Stripe payment links, after which the desired username is sent by email from the address used to pay. The legal notice gives an address in Bremen, Germany, and the privacy text lists IP addresses and login times among the data it does not store. No onion address or crypto payment option is published.
What monocles offers, and what to watch
0 of 14 privacy and safety features, 1 warning in its terms.
"Not stated" means its own pages do not say.
Identity
- ID never required Not stated
- No account needed No
- No email needed No
- No phone number Not stated
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 Not stated
- 5+ years operating Not stated
Warnings
- May ask for ID Not in terms
- Email required Yes An email address is required to use the service.
- Phone number required Not in terms
- Closed source Not in terms
- Nobody accountable Not in terms
Does monocles require KYC?
- 0 Never
- 1 Not mentioned
- 2 Rare
- 3 On risk flag
- 4 Mandatory
KYC level 1: No ID mentioned. No identity requirement appears anywhere in the terms or documentation.
Legal and privacy pages mention no identity check; an account is tied to the email address used for the card payment.
How the grades add up
Both grades start at 50 points and move by fixed, published amounts. Nothing is adjusted by hand. The total is divided by ten.
Privacy
5.8- Starting points 50
- KYC level 1: No ID mentioned +12
- Requires email -4
- Total, clamped to 0–100 58
Safety
5.0- Starting points 50
- Total, clamped to 0–100 50
Test ledger
Real transactions run by our editors. A badge without a ledger is an assertion; this is the proof.
No test transactions published yet
The grades above rest on monocles’s terms and documentation. Tests will appear here with the date, route, amount band and result as they are run.
Incidents on record
No incidents are on record for monocles. If you have a documented case, report it.
User reviews
Reviews never change a grade. Reviews with a transaction reference are marked.
No reviews yet.
Write a review
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monocles: common questions
Does monocles require KYC?
monocles is rated KYC level 1 of 4 on this site: no ID mentioned. Legal and privacy pages mention no identity check; an account is tied to the email address used for the card payment.
Is monocles safe to use?
monocles has a Safety grade of 5.0 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 5.8 out of 10. No incidents are on record. Evidence level: documentation reviewed.
Is monocles legit?
monocles is a working email provider. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 5.0 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents.
Is monocles 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 monocles.
Do I need an account or email to use monocles?
Email required.
What fees does monocles charge?
Full account €30 per 6 months; starter account €12 per 6 months. Fees were recorded from monocles's own pages and can change; check before you send.
What are monocles's limits?
Unpaid registrations are deleted after 7 days.
Does monocles have a Tor onion address?
No official onion address was found on monocles's own pages.
Can I use monocles over Tor?
monocles does not publish an official onion address.
Listing history
- Listing added. Facts and KYC level set from the service's own terms and documentation.