While Gmail and Outlook claimed userbases of hundreds of millions of people in 2013, Lavabit had signed up less than half a million users to its email service at the time.
But unlike its rivals, the company refused to share any of its customers’ data with the government, and when pressured to reveal data, went so far as to shut down its service. It was no surprise then that Lavabit was the email provider of choice for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.