Secure email encryption is a digital layer of security that ensures your emails are delivered to and read by the intended recipient, preventing them from ever falling into the wrong hands. 

So how does email encryption work? Simply put, encryption disguises your email into a gibberish, unreadable text which can only be decoded by the intended recipient with a unique digital key. 

Numerous tools provide free encryption email services for two main reasons – protecting confidential personal and proprietary information and complying with certain regulations (like health data).  

Depending on your personal requirements, there are 3 main types of free email with encryption: 

• Transport Layer Security (TLS) – is the most common form of web encryption that creates a safe passage from sender to recipient.
• End-to-end encryption –  is ideal for sensitive emails by ensuring that even if the email gets lost or intercepted – it can never be readable by a third party.
  
• S/MIME – is a certificate for email encryption, which is a digital signature that verifies the email is 100% legit.