CarrierPony vs PGP email
Old crypto, new envelope.
PGP email proved the cryptography decades ago — and taught everyone the hard lessons about what encryption alone can't fix. Subject lines in the clear. Headers mapping who wrote whom. Mailboxes that keep everything forever. CarrierPony takes the proven standard and rebuilds the envelope around it.
the short version
Same OpenPGP, minus email's leaks. If your correspondent is a person you can pair with, CarrierPony gives you the crypto you trust without the headers, subjects, and archives. If you need to reach strangers' inboxes, that's PGPony's job.
At a glance.
| CarrierPony | PGP email (GnuPG + mail) | |
|---|---|---|
| Content encryption | OpenPGP, Ed25519 + Curve25519 | OpenPGP |
| Subject lines | Don't exist | Typically in the clear |
| Headers / routing metadata | Opaque relay identifiers | From, To, timestamps visible to providers |
| Message retention | Relay deletes on delivery | Mailboxes archive indefinitely |
| Setup difficulty | Pair and go | Famously fiddly |
| Signature handling | Automatic on every envelope | Depends on client and habit |
| Reach strangers by address | No — pairing required | Yes — anyone with email + a key |
| Keyservers / WKD | Not used | Yes |
| Use your existing key | Yes — direct import | Naturally |
Honest tradeoffs.
Where PGP email wins
- Reach. Email goes anywhere. With a keyserver or WKD lookup you can write encrypted to someone you've never met.
- Institutions speak it. Security teams, journalists' tip lines, and infrastructure have OpenPGP-over-email workflows decades deep.
- Your archive, your rules. Sometimes keeping every message forever is the requirement, not the bug.
Where CarrierPony wins
- The metadata email can't shed. SMTP was designed to announce sender, recipient, and time to every hop. No amount of GnuPG fixes the envelope.
- No mailbox to subpoena. The relay deletes on delivery; your provider's archive of ciphertext-with-revealing-headers simply doesn't exist.
- Crypto without the ceremony. Pairing plus a safety number replaces key parties, trust signatures, and the config screens that made PGP email a meme.
- Mistakes are hard. There is no "oops, sent unencrypted" — sealed and signed is the only mode.
The verdict.
- Choose CarrierPony if your encrypted correspondence is with people — someone you can pair with once and message forever.
- Choose PGP email if you need to reach strangers, institutions, or archives. On your phone, that's PGPony, same developer, same crypto core.
- Use both if you live in both worlds — the shared OpenPGP standard means one identity can serve them all.
Try CarrierPony
Free. No accounts, no phone numbers, no tracking. Currently in App Review — one email on launch day if you want it.