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Proton Mail
Proton Mail is an email service built for the privacy-conscious user.
Based in Switzerland, this platform provides encrypted communications when talking to other Proton users or even externally.
But whats wrong with Gmail (and the like), you ask?
[1]Plus, you are shown personalized ads, which subtly affect your purchase behavior.
I wont delve into more details about if and why you should ditch your free email provider.
What is Proton Mail?
Proton Mail is the privacy-respecting brainchild of the scientists who met at CERN in 2014.
The companys primary stakeholder is the Proton Foundation, a Swiss non-profit.
Overall, the company structure is clear, and I dont see it run by greedy opportunists.
Proton Mail Features
With this section, you will get a sneak peek into Proton Mail.
More importantly, Ill highlight the privacy-friendly features that set it apart from the standard email service providers.
It is the most widely used protocol for encrypting mail.
But thats not the case with Proton Mail.
Here, the emails are secured with the recipients public encryption key before being transferred to Proton servers.
This is the safest form of encryption you’re free to have at Proton Mail.
Upon arriving at Proton servers, they are decrypted and encrypted again with the recipients public key.
Afterwards, they can only be read by the user with no possible intervention by others or Proton themselves.
However, since these are not end-to-end encrypted, the security posture also depends on the senders email service.
Simply set the password (and the expiration date) and give it to the recipient for decrypting.
The catch is these messages expire after 28 days.
Although you might set an earlier date for deletion, it cant be extended beyond 4 weeks.
Besides, for some weird reasons, the recipient can only reply up to 5 times to password-protected emails.
Pick a username and set a strong passwordthats it!
However, that puts you at risk of losing the account and the data if you lose login credentials.
As a failsafe, you could add a recovery mail address or phone number.
In this case, you could download a recovery file from the Proton account to a trusted equipment.
This stores an encrypted backup keychain in your browsers web storage.
And yes, it remembers your surfing app and not your equipment.
Self-destructing Emails
Self-destruction applies to the emails in your inbox.
it’s possible for you to also remove self-destruction if needed.
Encrypted Attachments
The email body and attachments are encrypted automatically within a Proton account.
However, encryption isnt guaranteed at infrastructure not under Protons direct control.
For instance, attachments sent from Gmail to Proton may remain unprotected at sending servers.
It ensures the same level of security with your preferred IMAP/SMTP email client as Protons native applications.
This Bridge runs in the background and uses a separate password for encryption/decryption that happens on the local rig.
It even supports offline editing.
There are detailed guidelines on how to install Proton Mail Bridge and its security protocols.
Custom Domain and Additional Addresses
Custom domains are great for projecting brand voice.
it’s possible for you to indeed use one (your_name@your_domain.com) with Proton Mail.
However, you need a paid Proton subscription and, of course, a custom domain.
Afterwards, the process is pretty straightforward.
Paid subscriptions allow users to have 10 additional email addresses.
However, there is no such limit on keeping aliases.
it’s possible for you to simply suffix your username with+anythingand start receiving emails on username+anything@proton_domain.com.
Unfortunately, you might only reply to emails sent to any alias but cant start new conversations.
In addition, its easy to guess the real username with such aliases.
The easiest way to get started with hidden aliases is with Protons Security Center.
you might create multiple aliases from there.
Alias management takes place at Proton Pass, however.
you might clickAll aliasesto open aliases in Proton Pass.
you might stop receiving emails on any specific alias or trash it.
Gmail and Outlook support importing email, contacts, and calendars simultaneously.
However, you must import one entity at a time with Yahoo Mail.
you’re able to also set up auto-forwarding with Gmail through this Easy Switch.
Both processes are quick enough.
U2F and FIDO 2 physical security devices like Yubikey also work as a 2FA medium.
Interestingly, you’re free to also deploy Two-password mode.
If turned on, this will have you enter two passwordsone for login and another for decrypting the mailbox.
Personally, I would not turn this on unless absolutely required because a single strong password is enough.
Additionally, it’s possible for you to always turn on multi-factor authentication for greater security.
Regulatory Compliance
The best business use case for deploying Proton Mail is for internal communication.
Since it offers E2EE by default, all the messages are secure without any additional configuration.
For emails to non-Proton users, everyone must set a password for end-to-end encryption.
As for Proton servers, all business communications remain secure even if done with a 3rd-party mail service.
Proton Mail also supports GDPR and HIPPA compliance.
What are the Benefits of Proton Mail?
There are many pros of using Proton Mail.
If youre on the fence, Ive listed 5 major benefits that will help to take you the call.
Note: Dont dump your standard email provider just yet!
The best way forward is to try Proton Mails free tier before committing to sustained use.
Proton Mail Support
Support is one of the major downsides of Proton Mail.
You only have ticked-based support without any live assistance via phone or chat.
However, they can provide call-based onboarding support for business subscriptions.
Tutanota
Tuta is a great option if you want to take encryption one step ahead.
The conversations are end-to-end encrypted and you oughta set a password to send encrypted messages to non-Tuta users.
you could use the same passwords in future conversations tooanother big upside over Proton Mail.
Plus, it has a free tier and cheaper family plans (starting at 3/month).
You also have business plans for 8 per user/month.
Tutanota has cross-platform presence with applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
Mailfence
Mailfence is another secure email service that works similarly to Proton Mail.
It uses PGP encryption but does not encrypt the subject line.
Communications between Mailfence users are always encrypted.
it’s possible for you to get started for free with Mailfence.
Paid subscriptions start at $2.5/month and $3.5/month for individuals and business users, respectively.
Zoho Mail
Zoho Mail is a GDPR and HIPPA-compliant email service aimed at businesses.
Though they offer end-to-end encryption, the punch in and process depend on the subscription.
The base level plan has password protection, while the higher tier comes with E2EE by default.
Zoho implements E2EE via S-MIME, compared to OpenPGP at Proton.
There are differences between the two, the biggest of which is key management.
StartMail
StartMail has PGP encryption working quite similarly to Proton Mail.
It natively deploys E2EE for PGP-compatible email providers, or one can password-protect to communicate securely with others.
you might set up unlimited aliases and unlimited custom domains with StartMails business account.
StartMail is GDPR compliant premium provider you’re free to try for 7 days without paying.
Afterward, its a paid service, which puts us against our decades-long practice of using free email.
But even the security isnt without some noticeable caveats.
And even then, its just 28 days, and your message will be gone!
Personally, I sometimes have to go through month-old emails, both personal and professional.
So, this brings us to a critical questionwhat are the ideal Proton Mail use cases?
Well, here they are .
Reminder: Proton Mail doesnt encrypts subject lines.
Who Shouldnt Use Proton Mail?
This section is a must-read before you onboard Proton Mail.
In short, dont use Proton Mail if you resemble any one of the listed situations.
I liked its interface, encryption, and security protocols.
On the flip side, its password-protected emails are a deal breaker.
If youre privacy-conscious or deal frequently with sensitive information, Proton Mail will definitely exceed your expectations!
