Is Unroll.me Safe?

Everyone has been in a situation where they signed up for a service or simply opened a website only to be bombarded with unsolicited emails they didn’t ask for.

Having to unsubscribe to each email is a lot of work, and that’s what Unroll.me was created for.

Unroll.me is an email subscription platform that was made by Rakuten to assist people in managing their email subscriptions.

It allows users to consolidate all subscription emails into one email subscription called The Rollup. With this, you can clear all emails with a single click without dealing with a bloated mail inbox.

However, there are concerns surrounding Unroll.me’s user data safety.

In this article, we will explore Unroll.me’s privacy policies and its connection to selling user data to third parties. We will also look at reasons for avoiding the platform and give you tips on how to better protect yourself.

If you’ve been using Unroll.me for managing email subscriptions, put a pause on that and read this first.

Unroll.me’s Privacy Policy

As of January 2023, Unroll.me’s privacy policy describes a number of issues, including the following.

• The information the platform collects through the website and the apps
• How the collected information is used
• To whom the collected information is disclosed
• The measures the platform takes to protect the collected information

What Information Does Unroll.me Collect?

Photo by Markus Winkler/Pexels

There are two types of information that Unroll.me collects from users. The first set involves information authorized for collection by the users themselves. The second set is information that the platform automatically collects without consent.

Some of the information that users have to authorize Unroll.me to collect includes basic contact information like email addresses and names. This is collected when you sign up for email alerts, subscribe to receive information, take part in a survey, or seek customer support.

Once in a while, Unroll.me may reach out to request additional information so they can provide specific offers, features, or functions.

The other type of information that Unroll.me collects without needing your permission involves the way in which you interact with the service. The following automated data collection occurs when you access Unroll.me’s services.

Web Browsers – Whenever you open any Unroll.me website, your browser immediately sends them your IP address.

This information is then used to determine how much time you spend on Unroll.me sites, the features you use the most, and the frequency of your visits.

Cookies – Unroll.me claims to collect cookies in order to improve your overall experience when you browse their sites. This lets them know everything you do, how long you take to hover over a webpage, and the exact places you click.

While there’s an option to disable cookies, Unroll.me adds that you won’t be able to take full advantage of the website’s features.

Web Beacons & Log Files – This is probably the most nefarious data collection tool used by Unroll.me. It allows third parties to collect your private information like your exact IP address, the exact time you opened a page, the type of browser used, etc.

The interesting bit is that you won’t even know these are being collected.

What Information Does Unroll.me Disclose and Protect?

Unroll.me discloses the following information to the public.

• The parent company that funds the platform
• The affiliated companies and third parties that collect user information through Unroll.me
• Service providers that work with Unroll.me to develop and sell measurement products

There’s no specific mention of any security technology used to protect user data on Unroll.me. The best I could get from reading their privacy policy was the use of “physical, electronic, and managerial procedures” to protect data integrity, access, and use.

Most secure sites usually use standard encryptions to protect user data, but as far as I could tell, this isn’t available on Unroll.me.

Privacy Concerns

Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán/Pexels

While Unroll.me offers you the convenience of managing your unsolicited subscription emails, you can see how concerning the amount of data being harvested in exchange is.

This has led many privacy advocates to warn people against using the platform. Here are some of their leading concerns.

Data Harvesting

One of the main privacy issues brought up by privacy activists has to do with how Unroll.me gathers and uses user data.

You unintentionally give Unroll.me permission to scan and examine the content of your emails when you provide the platform access to your email account.

In addition to identifying and classifying your subscriptions efficiently, this scanning provides Unroll.me with access to a wealth of private data.

There’s no telling what Unroll.me does with this data because what’s disclosed may not be the whole truth.

Data Sharing

The fact that Unroll.me has been found to monetize this data by selling it to third parties—mostly marketers and data brokers—is the most concerning issue.

This implies that your emails, which contain private information, may be used without your permission or, worse, for targeted advertising. This level of risk isn’t worth what the platform offers.

The main reason why people hate subscription mail is how invasive it can be. Unroll.me solves one privacy issue while introducing an even more concerning alternative that puts you at a greater risk.

Opaque Privacy Policy

The obscurity of Unroll.me’s privacy policy is another gray area that many privacy advocates don’t like. It’s often criticized for being complicated and hard for the typical user to understand.

Users are left wondering how and to what degree their data is being used and shared due to a lack of openness.

The lack of proper security frameworks like a simple encryption standard doesn’t help make matters any better for Unroll.me

Alternative Apps and Tools Safer Than Unroll.me

It’s almost impossible to find any online platform or service provider that doesn’t take advantage of user data in one way or another.

But there are some better alternatives to Unroll.me that do a better job while respecting the privacy of everyone involved.

Here are the most notable ones.

1. Clean Email

Compared to Unroll.me, Clean Email is a more robust and intuitive email management solution with a number of benefits.

It makes it simple to organize your inbox, unsubscribe from unsolicited emails, and even create custom filters for a more organized email experience.

Furthermore, this premium tool stands out for its dedication to protecting user privacy. It guarantees the confidentiality and security of your email history by never selling or sharing your most sensitive information with outside parties.

2. Spike

Spike is another premium, cutting-edge platform for managing teams that also comes with a very reliable email client.

This turns your disorganized inbox into a chat-style interface and makes it easy to block and get rid of subscription mail.

On top of this, managing emails is simple with features like the innovative Conversational Email strategy that helps you identify the most important mail to deal with.

Spike prioritizes security and privacy by encrypting all of your files and messages end-to-end, something that Unroll.me doesn’t offer.

3. SaneBox

SaneBox is an email management tool that efficiently sorts and filters your emails so that your inbox contains only the most crucial communications.

It is renowned for its strict privacy guidelines and procedures, unlike Unroll.me. SaneBox takes privacy seriously and doesn’t sell your data or jeopardize your security.

However, like the other alternatives on this list, SaneBox is not free, but you can give it a try with a 14-day trial.

4. Mailbird

Mailbird is an email client with a sophisticated design and robust email management functions. It allows you to arrange your mail depending on their priority. This makes it easy to spot annoying subscription emails and delete them in batches.

The tight adherence to privacy regulations and openness regarding data handling of Mailbird makes it a safer option than Unroll.me.

Their top priority is maintaining your privacy, and they only gather the bare minimum of information needed to run their service.

5. Proton Mail

Proton Mail is a great substitute for Unroll.me for people who value increased email security and end-to-end encryption.

With Proton Mail’s encrypted email services, you can be sure that your correspondence is completely hidden from prying eyes.

At the same time, you can get rid of all unwanted mail from advertisers and other trackers with so much ease. If you’re someone who values control over their email data, this is a great option.

How to Protect Your Privacy?

With a clear understanding of how Unroll.me treats user data, how can you keep yourself safe? Try the following quick tips.

• Understand what Unroll.me’s can access and what you can block. Before you grant them any access, read their policy well to avoid being surprised later on. Once you’ve understood everything, try as much as you can to limit the permissions to only the necessary things.
• Use alternatives that offer better privacy and security features. One key thing you should be looking out for is anything that offers encryption, as that makes it hard for anyone to track your IP address. Proton Mail is one good alternative that you should pay attention to.
• If you can manually unsubscribe from annoying emails and avoid using Unroll.me, the better it is for you. If you must use the tool, then revoke all access once you’ve cleaned your mailbox. At the same time, be mindful of the websites you visit and the permissions you grant them before accepting anything.

Verdict – Is Unroll.me Safe?

No. Unroll.me is not safe!

Though it does a good job of decluttering your inbox by getting rid of unwanted mail, but that comes at the expense of your private data.

Its privacy policy is too vague. The fact that the platform doesn’t even hide that it sells user data to third-party entities is enough cause for alarm.

You’d be much safer managing your own mailbox. Or if you have to use a tool, then consider any of the five alternatives we’ve discussed above.

Your private data is important, and you should have full control over it.