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IMAP can do TLS though (IMAPS).

Did they say what's stopping them from using that (and requiring the encryption!)?

They didn't need to. When you start denying IAMP to your customer in the name of "encryption" at that point it becomes privacy theatre, instead of privacy, irrespective of how nobly activist their intensions are. It is probably slightly worse than a mail provider assuming they can't trust their users with encrypting their emails when needed.

> When you start denying IAMP to your customer in the name of "encryption" at that point it becomes privacy theatre, instead of privacy, irrespective of how nobly activist their intensions are.

How would the lack of IMAP compromise encryption? Sounds dubious.

Lock-in effects are problematic, but separate from encryption or privacy in general.

If the concern is actually lock-in, it is worth noting: there is little lock-in in the current Tuta offering. The service allows users to export emails into standard EML files. If you decide to switch providers, simply point your domain to the new provider and import your latest backup.

Its probably about end to end encryption. Protonmail doesn't store mailboxes in plaintext, only the client actually decrypts the mailbox. IMAPS only encrypts the conn between mail server and client.

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