About Paul O'Brien
Hi, I'm Paul. I've spent over 25 years working hands-on with email, DNS and cloud infrastructure. Here I test email providers and privacy tools, and tell you honestly what they're good at and where they fall short.
What you'll find here
Email provider reviews
Hands-on reviews and head-to-head comparisons of Proton, Fastmail, Tuta, Google Workspace and more, with real prices and real trade-offs.
Proton Mail vs FastmailEmail setup and deliverability
Plain-English guides to custom domains, SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and why real emails end up in spam.
How email authentication worksPrivacy tools
Masked email, password managers, security keys and zero-access encryption, tested without the marketing hype.
Masked vs disposable emailTools, Testing & In-Depth Reviews
Alongside email platforms, I test and review the diagnostic tools website owners rely on, checking real inbox deliverability, DNS accuracy, speed and privacy. If a tool is slow, intrusive or misleading, I explain why.
Deliverability and DNS guidesWhat I'm working on
I'm updating the free members' area on this site, and working on an email provider comparison project.
How I review
I test hands-on and say what I actually think. I care about privacy, but I'm not a purist: most privacy choices come with trade-offs, and I'll show you them. Every review shows when it was last checked, with sources.
Some links on this site are referral links. If you sign up through one, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it never changes my verdict. The disclaimer has the details.
Get in touch
Have a question about a review, a topic suggestion or some feedback? Use the contact page, or subscribe for free to get new posts as they publish.
All views on this site are my own.