# monocles review: KYC policy, privacy and safety grades

> 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.

Source: NoKYC Score, "monocles review", reviewed 22 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/monocles

## Key facts
- **Category:** Email
- **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
- **Official website:** https://monocles.eu

## What it 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 the terms say about ID
Legal and privacy pages mention no identity check; an account is tied to the email address used for the card payment.

## Features and warnings
- **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; Phone number required: not in terms; Closed source: not in terms; Nobody accountable: not in terms

## 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.

## Sources
- https://monocles.eu/
- https://monocles.eu/more/
- https://monocles.eu/legal-privacy/

How grades are calculated: https://nokycscore.com/methodology