Let’s Encrypt, the nonprofit certificate authority that provides free SSL/TLS certificates, has announced that it will no longer send expiration notice emails for its certificates. This decision is driven by several important reasons, including cost savings and privacy concerns.

1. Cost Efficiency:

   • Sending millions of emails incurs significant costs, including infrastructure and maintenance expenses. By discontinuing these emails, Let’s Encrypt can allocate its limited resources more effectively toward its core mission of providing free, automated, and secure certificates.

2. Privacy Protection:

   • Expiration notice emails often contain sensitive information, such as domain names and certificate details. Eliminating these emails reduces the risk of exposing such information to potential misuse or interception.

3. Automation and Self-Service:

   • Let’s Encrypt encourages users to rely on automated tools and monitoring systems to track certificate expiration. Many modern web hosting platforms and content management systems (CMS) already integrate with Let’s Encrypt to handle certificate renewals automatically, reducing the need for manual intervention.

4. Reducing Email Overload:

   • Many users receive a high volume of emails, and expiration notices can contribute to inbox clutter. By removing these emails, Let’s Encrypt aims to reduce unnecessary communication and improve user experience.

What Users Should Do:

To ensure uninterrupted service, users are encouraged to:

• Set up automated renewal processes: Use PKI Trust Manager to automate Let’s Encrypt Certificate renewal and continue to receive notifications

• Monitor certificate expiration manually: Regularly check the expiration dates of your certificates using PKI Trust Manager Dashboard

• Enable notifications in your systems: Configure alerts in PKI Trust Manager to notify you of upcoming expirations.

Let’s Encrypts decision reflects its commitment to efficiency, privacy, and promoting best practices in certificate management. Users are encouraged to adapt to these changes by leveraging automation and proactive monitoring of PKI Trust Manager