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How To Password Protect Email on iPhone and iPad

by Arjit pratap singh

Unlike WhatsApp, you still can’t lock the native Mail or Gmail app on iOS. Sure, you can use the new screen-time restrictions to lock your Email apps. But then it doesn’t exactly lock the app but completely hides it, which is a bit annoying. Why can’t we simply put a passcode or touch ID or FaceID to the apps we want to lock?

Even third-party apps didn’t have much to offer until recently. All they did was give you a browser-based interface where your credentials were saved. It was more or less a web-based Email management system with limited options. So here I have a list of apps that not only offer password protection for Email on your iOS devices but also offer a bunch of extra features you might fall for. And most of these apps are free to use so let’s have a look.

Read: Best Applock for Android

Password Protect Email – iPhone

1. Edison Mail

No, it won’t light up your phone. An absolute blend-in with iOS, Edison Mail won’t let you feel the difference. It absolutely looks like the native Mail app on your iOS device. It has similar fonts and similar plain white background like the Mail app and the settings page is just one tap away too.

First things first, let’s learn how to password protect your email on the iOS devices. To enable password protection on Edison Mail, open the app and tap on the three bars on the top left of the screen. Head to Settings (bottom left) > Enable Face ID. Toggle the switch to ON and select the time from the menu under, to lock your phone immediately or a couple of minutes after you push the app to the background.

Edison Mail is not only restricted to giving you an easy set-up for multiple accounts and password protection. It makes mail management easy. From the main menu, you can select a genre like subscriptions, travel, bill & payments etc. to bring up the respective mails. The classification makes things very convenient so if you are the alpha in the house, you won’t miss the next bill payments.

The settings page has a couple of more options like the signature, swipe options, preview lines, notifications, and sound settings. The app also has a customizable 3D Touch Quick Actions menu for direct actions from the home screen of your device.

Download Edison Mail (free)

2. Spark

A colorful yet quite elegant interface, Spark is another easy to setup app that comes loaded with features like those on Android phones. How many times have you been offered a theme change in iOS applications? See, exactly my point.

To set-up password protection on Spark, tap the three bars on the top left and head to Settings (bottom left) > Security. Toggle the passkey and Face ID switches ON. The point to be noted here is that the passkey here is not your phone passcode but a separate passcode that you need to create for the Spark app. Another point of difference here is that if you turn off immediately lock it takes one minute as a default time before locking the app. There are no other time options to choose from.

Spark offers features like calendar events, team connections, personalizations, and themes etc. But some of these features are quite unique like Siri Shortcuts. You can create Siri shortcuts for various actions right from within the app. The biggest of all is the connection with other services like Trello, Drive, Evernote, Reminders. The email client connects with most services you must be using at your workplace.

The surprises don’t end here. Spark also allows you to schedule Emails and by that, I don’t mean just snoozes. You can actually set an Email to shoot at a later time. Additionally, you can set various templates for quick replies.

Download Spark (free)

3. myMail

Not quite the best interface I must say but myMail does the job just fine. The app won’t give you a premium feel at the beginning but that could be dealt with to an extent in the settings page.

To enable password protection, tap the three bars on the top left and head to Settings (bottom left) > PIN and Face ID. Here you can set a separate pin for the app just like Spark Mail app, and of course, the Face ID could be set to access the app. The time limit options are available though and you can set it up to 30 minutes before the app locks after being pushed in the background.

The app settings let you manage notifications and badges, signature, mail folders etc. Apart from that, you can also set a storage limit to the cache size which could be anything between 50MB to 300MB. And if you didn’t like the interface on the home page, you can change appearance settings and turn off the avatars. This will take away the large colorful icons and bring back some elegance.

Download myMail (free)

4. Yahoo Mail

Yes, it still exists. The most known name to all the 90’s kids, Yahoo Mail is still providing its services. But to be honest, somewhere down the line the disappointment is prevalent too as it fails to perform as promised.

To enable password protection on the Yahoo Mail app, tap the three bars on the top left and head to Settings > Face ID / Passcode. You could choose to use the Face ID and Passcode to unlock the app or even an account change verification within the app. Also, time duration settings remain the same and you could choose anything between a minute to an hour.

Apart from the password protect feature everything else is pretty basic. The settings page will let you manage accounts and mailboxes, swipe gestures, notifications, and app themes. As an added bonus the app allows integration with some services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and LinkedIn.

The disappointment that I mentioned before is the malfunctioning of the Face ID. The Face ID screen could be easily bypassed by simply tapping the ‘cancel’ tab. I experienced it a couple of times.

Download Yahoo Mail (free, $12 Yearly for ad-free version)

5. Spike

Spike is a complete package in term of communication as it bundles a chatting interface along with the regular Email app features. Given the app is free, it had to be on my list.

To enable Face ID and Touch ID protection on Spike app, tap on the avatar or profile picture on the top left corner. Tap on the settings icon on the top right corner and you should be able to see ‘Require Touch ID’ under ‘Utilities’. Simply tap on the option and a pop-up will ask you to select time duration. That’s it, there is no passcode support for this app.

Well apart from the Face ID feature, Spike is known for its messaging interface. You can send emails as simple messages in a chat format. The interface has easy access controls at the bottom of the screen to toggle between emails, calendars, groups, messenger, and new mail tab.

The app has shortcuts on its interface for pretty much every service that it controls. Initially, it might seem a bit cluttered but once you get used to the interface it will seem convenient. Additionally, the app offers Dark Mode, which is a big deal nowadays since it saves some battery apart from being less straining on the eye.

Download Spike: Email Messenger & Chat (free)

6. ProtonMail

If You’ve seen the price mentioned under, you must be wondering why even consider the app. For those of you who are new to this name, ProtonMail is a strong contender and is one of the few email clients that offers end to end encrypted emails.

To enable password protection on ProtonMail, tap the three bars on the top left and head to Settings > Enable Face ID / Pin Protection. The time limit part remains the same as the above apps and could be set to anything between a minute to an hour.

Read: How to Send Encrypted Emails in Gmail and Outlook

The catch here is that ProtonMail was designed to be a standalone email app and hence you have to create a ProtonMail account to login. The same credentials are your new email address. You can also add your other emails to the app but the feature is limited to the paid version of the app.

The main reason for ProtonMail to be popular is its encrypted emails between ProtonMail users. And if you wish to send it to a non-user the service allows you to password protect each mail separately. The paid version allows unlimited email and up to five accounts in one app.

Download ProtonMail – Encrypted Email (free, $72 Yearly for Plus version)

7. Zoho Mail

Not the least but last in the list is Zoho Mail. A sophisticated looking interface the first sight but pretty intuitive and easy going. Zoho Mail also requires you to create a Zoho Mail ID but it does let you add your other email accounts in the free version itself.

To set-up password protection tap on Settings (bottom right) > Configure Privacy & Security Settings > Passcode Lock. You know the rest of the drill. Apart from password protection, the app offers some basic settings for appearance and style. You can choose a color theme and style for the app interface.

The apps main interface has classified options at the bottom of the screen. You can see calendar events, contacts, emails, and files (attachments) all under separate heads. This makes email management more convenient. The app also has third-party app integrations and some other app by Zoho. They can be selected and downloaded from within the app itself.

Download Zoho Mail – Email and Calendar (free, in-app purchases)

Best Password Protected Email App for iOS

If you ask me about my best pick, well, my first choice will be Edison mail. If I haven’t mentioned it above, Edison is the fastest app of all in terms of setup and use. Even when you set up the app for the first time it will just feel like a simple login and everything will be in its place within a few taps. While other apps also offer pretty good features, so pick one for you and let us know the experience in the comments below.

Also read: 7 Best Email Client for Mac

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