ProtonMail: Secure and Private Email for Everyone

Privacy and security are one of the major concerns of today’s digital world. According to research by Egress, around 94% of organizations suffered from email phishing attacks in 2023.

What I believe is ProtonMail is the most effective solution to these problems. It’s one of the largest and most secure email services in the globe, with more than 100 Million users. Every service is protected by end-to-end encryption.

However, in this article, I will briefly inform you about everything related to this service, including email features, business plans, security features, reviews, and more.

What Is ProtonMail?

ProtonMail is a secure email service focused on providing more privacy and digital freedom to its users. Its data encryption provides more security to its users against cyberattacks. It protects data from being sold or misused. It is based in Switzerland and follows strict privacy laws. It offers several plans, which make it the best choice for both personal and business use.

It was launched in 2014 by a team of CERN scientists after a crowdfunding campaign. Ten thousand people donated around $500,000 to start this company. The non-profit structure of this company makes it an ideal choice for users. Proton focuses on its valued users instead of advertisers. It also offers some extra services alongside mail for the proton community as well.

Other ProtonMail Services

Alongside encrypted email, ProtonMail also provides some additional services to its customers. However, you may not get these services free of cost because they come with special business plans. Here is how all of these additional services can help you;

• Proton Calendar: It helps you manage all your schedules and events in your personal and professional life and keeps them private and secure.
• Proton Drive: You can use it to safely store and share files in the cloud. All your data is protected with advanced encryption.
• Proton VPN: It helps you browse the internet privately and securely. It is very fast and unblocks several online media services for you.
• Proton Pass: It’s an encrypted password manager that protects your online identity.
• Proton Wallet: It manages and protects your cryptocurrency transactions with an encrypted self-custody wallet.

ProtonMail’s Key Features

This email service offers several features that make it easy to use and secure. These are the reasons it has more than 100 million users, and the number is increasing every day. Let’s take a look at these features.

• Free forever: One of the things I love about ProtonMail is that it’s completely free for personal use. You only need to pay for advanced features that are available in the business plan.
• End-to-end encryption: All emails are encrypted by default. No one can access them, not even the company itself.
• Block email trackers: Advanced protection keeps you safe from email trackers. It automatically detects and blocks them to keep users’ data safe from advertisers, etc.
• Always ads-free: Proton is a nonprofit organization. It doesn’t flood your inbox with ads. I have never seen an ad, even with their free services.
• Safe from spam and phishing: They have a special PhishGuard that protects the users from spam and phishing attacks. The link confirmation feature notifies and protects from malicious websites.
• Password protection: It helps you set passwords and expiration dates on your emails while sharing important information for additional security. I use this feature a lot for my business. It can even be used for sending mail to people who don’t use ProtonMail.
• Hide-my-email aliases: Email aliases hide your real address and show a made-up one instead. It can be used while signing up for new websites, etc.
• Schedule, undo, or snooze emails: Another special feature I like about this email service is you can schedule emails, undo sent messages, or snooze incoming emails.
• Available on all platforms: Proton is available on all devices. It can be accessed via phone, tablet, computer or web.
• 1-click unsubscribe: You can easily unsubscribe from emailing lists with just one click, which I have done by the way. It keeps your email inbox organized and free of unnecessary messages.
• Swiss privacy: It is a Swiss-based company, so your data is safe under the world’s safest privacy laws. No one can ask for it, including the USA or EU.
• Security made easy: ProtonMail’s encryption is automatic. Simply sign up and start using it. It’s automatically applied to all emails.
• Open source and audited: Moreover, Proton is open-source, so anyone can find bugs and help in improving its security. Third-party companies independently audit their service, and you can read the reports from the official website.
• One account, any device: Everything, including email, files, calendars, passwords, and VPN, can be accessed from anywhere by just logging into Proton’s account.
• Switch to ProtonMail in one click: Lastly, if an important email can’t be changed but needs to be secured, it can be switched with just one click. All data, including emails and contacts, will be transferred and set up.

How ProtonMail Differentiates Itself From Other Email Providers?

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As far as I have experienced, ProtonMail is different from other email providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL etc, due to its advanced privacy and security measures. It provides free end-to-end encryption for all customers. I find its high level of security safe because it helps me share sensitive information without worrying about data leakage.

Moreover, due to the non-profit structure of the company, customers are the top priority. The company offers all mail features for free except the advanced business plans. You don’t get these benefits from other email providers. Only Proton provides this level of transparency and commitment to user privacy. Below is a brief comparison of Proton and other reputable email providers;

Feature	ProtonMail	Gmail	Yahoo Mail
Encryption	End-to-end encryption with 256-bit AES	TLS encryption (less secure than ProtonMail)	Basic encryption for data in transit
Privacy	Zero-access encryption, no tracking, based in Switzerland	Collects data for advertising, based in the USA	Collects data for advertising, based in the USA
Ad-Free Experience	Ad-free with all plans	Ad-free only with paid plans	Ads in the free version, ad-free in paid plans
User Interface	Simple, privacy-focused interface	Feature-rich, with AI integrations	Traditional interface with ads
Data Retention	No logging or tracking of user activity	Data retention and logging for advertising	Data retention and logging for advertising

Understanding ProtonMail‘s Encryption

ProtonMail provides strong encryption at all times. Since signing up, everything is end-to-end encrypted. Most people mix encryption with passwords, but it is completely different from passwords. Let’s take a look at some of the encryption features which I like the most;

• Zero-access encryption: Zero-access encryption ensures that only the sender and the receiver can access the data in your emails. The company itself cannot even decrypt or read your messages.
• Built-in PGP support: PGP is built-in, so you don’t need a separate key for it. It automatically encrypts your messages using the receiver’s public key. It even works if the receiver is using another email instead of Proton.
• Elliptic curve cryptography: ProtonMail uses elliptic curve cryptography. It is a highly advanced feature that makes encryption and decryption fast and efficient. It provides strong security while requiring less computational power. It saves your time and battery life as well.
• Encrypted contacts: Most users are worried about their contacts when it comes to email data. Proton encrypts the contact details as well. It improves the security of sensitive information like email addresses and phone numbers.
• Onion address: One of my favourite features is the Onion address. It helps you access your email securely through the Tor browser.
• Alternative routing: This feature helps you bypass censorship and maintain access to ProtonMail in case the services get banned in your area.

What Is Encryption And How Is It Different From Passwords?

Encryption and passwords both protect your data; however, there is a big difference between them. A password is a key to unlock your account. You have access to the data once you are logged in.

However, encryption turns your mail into a coded format for the transfer of your data. Later, this data is decrypted after reaching the receiver. Even the proton cannot access the decrypted data. This additional layer of security makes ProtonMail special as compared to other email providers.

How Can Companies Benefit From ProtonMail?

Data breaches and leaks can ruin a business in today’s digital world. From what I’ve seen, Proton offers businesses a solution for securing email communications with 256-bit end-to-end encryption. It is nearly impossible to breach. You can imagine how secure it is by knowing even credit cards are 128-bit encrypted. It keeps emails protected from unauthorized access.

Most businesses have custom domain names, but they can’t change them. Proton has a solution for it as well. You can even keep your custom domain and still benefit from their top-tier security, as I did myself for jacob@we-make-it-happen.tech Just redirect your domain’s MX records to ProtonMail servers, and that’s it.

Additionally, you can store your photos and files with the ProtonApp on mobile as well. It is encrypted and highly secure storage as compared to the traditional items like Google, Apple or etc. I’m using it for both my personal and business data. It is one of my favorite Proton’s features.

Security is also one of the major concerns of most of the companies. Following are some of the key security features of Proton that can help you keep your business secure;

• Proton Sentinel
• Password-protected Emails
• 2FA with hardware security keys
• Enhanced tracking protection
• Hardware-level security
• Unique defences against attacks
• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
• Web Key Directory
• Advanced protection
• DANE and MTA-STS
• Device-level security
• DNS Certificate Authority Authorization

If you would like to set up a ProtonMail account please use my link SING UP I`ll give you a few tips on how to do it right in return;-)

ProtonMail For Business

You can also use ProtonMail for your business as well. It keeps all your data protected, including emails, calendars, passwords, and drives, through advanced encryption. More than 15,000 businesses are using this service in the world. Alongside strengthening cyber security, it can also help centralize digital tools and save money.

Proton has a very user-friendly interface that anyone can use without any training. Business owners can easily grant team members access, permissions, and storage from Proton cpanel. It helps manage the team’s workflow efficiently and keeps data organized and secure. The company offers 3 different plans. Let’s take a look at these plans in detail.

Mail Essentials

The first plan is Mail Essentials, which is for entrepreneurs. It provides access to mail and calendars. Protonmail pricing for this plan is €7.99 per user per month. It can be paid monthly or annually. Following are the features you get by subscribing to this plan.

• 15 GB storage per user
• 3 custom email domains
• Secure personal and shared calendars.
• Cloud storage and sharing for large files
• Proton Scribe writing assistant

Mail Professional: ProtonMail Recommended Plan

The next plan offered is Mail Professional. It is more suitable for larger teams. The price of this plan is €10.99 per user per month. It also provides access to mail and proton calendar alongside the following features;

• 50 GB storage per user
• 10 custom email domains
• Secure personal and shared calendars.
• Cloud storage and sharing for large files
• Advanced account protection
• Manage user permissions and access.
• Proton Scribe writing assistant

Proton Business Suit

The third and the special mail plan is a proton business suit. It provides all the proton services, including VPN, Drive, Pass, and Calendar, alongside mail. Protonmail pricing for this plan is €14.99 per user per month.

This plan is really a steal at this price with these additional features. Even the only Proton VPN is worth it at this price. I was using ExpressVPN before subscribing to this plan and paying $12.95 per month for it. After subscribing to this plan, I no longer need it. Proton VPN is fulfilling all my requirements for free. Even this single feature of this plan is enough for me to choose this service over others.

Let’s take a look at the other key features you get with this plan;

• 500 GB storage per user
• 15 custom email domains
• Secure personal and shared calendars.
• Cloud storage and sharing for large files
• Advanced account protection
• Manage user permissions and access.
• VPN connection for 10 devices per user
• Password manager to secure credentials
• Proton Scribe writing assistant

ProtonMail Reviews: What The Experts Say About Them?

Proton has millions of satisfied customers around the globe, including me. They have a very positive reputation. The service has also been featured in Forbes and several other reputable platforms due to its special digital safety and privacy features. Below are their reviews from some of the renowned platforms;

PCMag

PCMag rated them 4.5 out of 5 in their review. Here is what they said; “Proton Mail is an easy-to-use webmail service that brings zero-access encryption to your local message store and end-to-end encryption for message transmission, along with an impressive posse of related programs.”

CNET About ProtonMail

The 2nd review is from CNET. It is a reputable tech review institution. CNET said, “It’s hard not to be impressed with the lengths Proton’s gone to shore up security and privacy.”

Wall Street Journal

Proton has been featured in WSJ due to its higher security standards. They encouraged users to use this service by saying, “ProtonMail hosts its servers in Switzerland… so all user data is protected by strict Swiss privacy laws.”

Final Words

Wrapping it up, I believe ProtonMail is the most secure email service. You should use it if you want to keep your personal and business data safe. It provides protection against all kinds of cyber attacks with its advanced and strict encryption protocols. It has been featured on Forbes, CNBC, and several other platforms due to its exceptional services.

The best part is you can switch to Proton even without changing your old email. I personally love and recommend this service due to its top-tier security and privacy. Customers are their only priority. The company believes in “Internet by the people, Internet for the people.”