META: Every person in the world, or so it seems, practically uses an email service that uses at least one free email account. Using a free email address has its benefits as well as drawbacks though not as many as the former.

Free email services are the most widely used form of communication with every person relying on it for instant contact with family and friends. For work related mails or important personal mails many people prefer to use paid services but all in all free email accounts have a higher ratio as compared to a paid email accounts. Web-based mail, is provided with most of the free email services. This is where you access your email account by using the internet browser to log on to the providers site. This is a preferred medium because it is simpler to execute and has more people visiting the site to enrol for their services.

Having a free email account not only saves you money but it also offers you various other benefits. The first advantage to having a free email account is that you can access it from anywhere at anytime from any computer. Unlike an ISP-based email account, you can read or send emails from any computer that has a web browser instead of having to configure the details of your email client to get your mails. It is also safer to use a free email account to check your mails if you are working on a public computer and do not want to divulge your personal details.

Another great thing about it is that no matter how many Internet providers you change or the number of jobs you move on to, you need not change your current email address. Instant messaging and other free software are part of the attractive packages offered with free email accounts. The competition out there today is phenomenal, so with this in mind service providers do offer various features; this can include more storage space, improved grahics, spam guard and automatic message forwarding. By using a free email account for all online activity such as shopping etc, you can also protect your chief email account from unwanted spam. 

However, regardless of the benefits that free email accounts provide us, we must not use such an account for high priority message transactions that you would want to keep under wraps. Due to the fact that you are using the service for free, there is no safety guaranteed. Any message that you send is susceptible to interception and therefore it is essential to go through the privacy policy of the provider before you sign up for a free email account.

Service providers you should be aware, do have your privacy in their hands because although they provide the user with a free service, behind the scenes they need to make enough money to cover the expenses of providing this free service. To meet the funds and to create this revenue they sell space to advertises and may actually trade your personal information with other organisations. While free email accounts can be very handy, they can also potentially encroach on your privacy, so carefully choose a free email service provider that is a little more reliable while at the same time avoid using the service for your important documents.

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