FrankMail
Reclaim your email. No more spam.
The Problem with Email
Email is broken. Your inbox is not yours; it belongs to spammers, phishers, and anyone who buys a list with your address on it.
Because email is free to send and free to receive, the incentives are fundamentally wrong. When there is no cost to reaching someone’s inbox, entire business models emerge around exploiting that access: mass spam campaigns, the harvesting and selling of address lists, and data mining of personal communications. Decades of filters, blacklists, and AI detection have failed to solve the problem because they treat the symptoms, not the cause.
Meanwhile, you can’t trust the emails that do arrive. Is that really your bank? Your council? Your doctor? Phishing attacks exploit the fundamental lack of verified identity in email.
The FrankMail Solution
FrankMail is a sovereign email service where you control who reaches you.
Three simple rules:
- Approved senders get through. You whitelist contacts. They reach you instantly.
- Unknown senders pay a stamp. You set the price. Pay it, and the message arrives. Spam economics break when sending has a cost.
- Your data stays yours. No advertising. No tracking. No selling your attention.
How It Works
For You (the Recipient)
- Create your FrankMail address
- Approve contacts by email address, or require them to verify via EU Digital Identity Wallet
- Set your stamp fee for unknown senders (you keep the revenue, minus 1p to the service)
- Choose what happens to non-paying unknowns: silent reject or held for review
For Senders
- Whitelisted? Your email arrives normally
- Not whitelisted? Pay the stamp fee set by the recipient, or request to be added to their approved list
- Verified identity via EUDIW? Recipients can auto-approve verified senders
The Economics
| Sender type | What happens | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Approved contact | Delivered instantly | Free |
| Unknown, pays stamp | Delivered | Recipient’s set fee |
| Unknown, no stamp | Rejected or held | N/A |
| Spam at scale | Economically impossible | N/A |
The stamp fee is the spam filter. Legitimate cold contact (a recruiter, a business inquiry) pays a small fee. Mass spam becomes uneconomical. You set your own threshold (10p, £1, £10) based on how much you value your attention.
Why Payment Matters
FrankMail is a paid service. This is essential, not optional.
Free email is the problem. Free services monetise your attention through advertising, which means they benefit from engagement, including the engagement caused by spam and outrage.
Paid email aligns incentives. We work for you, not advertisers. Your inbox stays clean because that’s what you’re paying for.
Trust requires accountability. For email to be trusted for banking, government, healthcare (the interactions that matter) the service must be accountable. Payment creates that accountability.
Pricing Models (Under Consideration)
| Model | Who pays | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Citizen subscription | You | Monthly fee for your sovereign inbox |
| Public service | Government | State provides secure comms to citizens |
| Employer benefit | Your organisation | Provided like a pension or healthcare |
| Hybrid | Mixed | Government covers basic tier, premium features paid |
We’re exploring these models with pilot partners. The right answer may vary by country and context.
Built on Open Standards
FrankMail implements the The Sovereign Stack digital primitives:
- Identity: OAuth 2.0 + OIDC, with EUDIW integration for verified sender identity
- Passwordless: FIDO2/WebAuthn, no passwords to remember or steal
- Open source: Core capabilities available for anyone to implement
- Interoperable: Works with existing email infrastructure
EUDIW Integration
The EU Digital Identity Wallet launches December 2026. FrankMail will be ready.
When senders verify via EUDIW, you know exactly who is contacting you, not just an email address, but a verified identity backed by their member state. You can auto-approve verified senders, or require verification for sensitive contacts like financial institutions.
This is what trusted email looks like.
Timeline
| Phase | Date | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot stack proven | H1 2026 | The Sovereign Stack stack built and validated through pilot service |
| FrankMail development | H2 2026 | FrankMail built on the proven stack |
| EUDIW integration | Q4 2026 | Verified sender identity via EU wallet |
| Public availability | 2027 | Open registration |
Get Involved
FrankMail will be the first service built on the The Sovereign Stack stack once it is proven through the initial pilot. If you’re interested in FrankMail or becoming a pilot partner, we’d like to hear from you.
We’ll respond within five working days to discuss how your organisation could be involved.
FrankMail: Because your inbox should belong to you.