Proton Mail uses end-to-end encryption by default, meaning none of Proton’s servers have a copy of your decryption key. This differs from how typical Gmail or Outlook accounts work, because those services store your encryption and decryption keys, so they can read your emails if they want to. Proton Mail is currently the world’s largest encrypted email service provider, with over 100 million users. With a paid subscription such as Proton Mail Plus, you also get a fully encrypted calendar and Proton Meet for secure video conferencing.
A private mail server that you’ll feel safer having subscription to
When you use Proton Mail, your emails are encrypted on your computer before you send them over the internet. Those encrypted emails will remain encrypted while sitting on Proton’s servers. Proton doesn’t have a decryption key, which limits the company’s ability to access the content of your emails. While some may view this as a minor detail, consider all of the other ways a free provider might use information about your communications to create a profile about who you are.
For example, many free providers scan your emails to determine who you’re contacting, what you purchase online, and what searches you perform. That information then gets packaged for advertisers into a picture of your interests and behaviors. When you pay a few dollars each month for a Proton Mail Plus subscription, there isn’t any financial motivation for Proton to package up this information about you. In turn, your inbox is less influenced by ads trying to shape your decisions.
As mentioned earlier, Proton is a Switzerland-based company. That matters almost as much as the fact that Proton uses strong end-to-end encryption. Switzerland has some of the strongest privacy laws in the world. Any government agency seeking to obtain data from a Swiss corporation, including Proton, faces significant barriers. Where an organization is located is now a critical part of the overall security picture when deciding where to store sensitive information.
A major barrier to getting people to switch away from their current email service providers is getting them to start over again. With Easy Switch, you simply need one click to migrate your existing email account, contacts, and calendar from Google Gmail or Microsoft Outlook, so you won’t lose years’ worth of archived material or important threads you need.
Both Proton Calendar and Proton Meet also come bundled together with a paid Plus subscription. Since these two tools let you schedule appointments and conduct video meetings in an encrypted environment similar to your email, it makes sense they should be included together.
Proton was founded in 2014 by scientists who met at CERN, on the premise that most tech companies profit from your data rather than protect it. The company has since grown into a full suite that covers Proton Drive for storage, Proton Pass for passwords, and a VPN alongside Mail. New users can start with a first month at $1, or take 40% off an annual plan.