Just because you don’t get a bill for your webmail account doesn’t mean it’s free. You pay by allowing the provider to mine your messaging for data that, among other things, helps target ads. If that sounds creepy to you, consider switching to an encrypted email provider that puts your security first, like ProtonMail. You can use ProtonMail at no cost or pay a fee to remove the free edition’s limits and enable more features. ProtonMail stores your data using zero-access encryption, which means that nobody but you can access it—neither a dishonest employee nor a lawyer brandishing a subpoena. When you communicate with other ProtonMail users, you get end-to-end encryption.
If the ProtonMail name sounds familiar, you’re probably thinking of ProtonVPN, a VPN service that’s strongly focused on physical security. Both products come from the same company, Proton Technologies, and you can save money with a subscription that bundles both products.
How Much Does ProtonMail Cost?
We recommend that you start out with the free edition, to see how it suits you. If you like it fine but run up against its limitations, or if you want those premium-only features, you pay $5 per month or $48 per year.
Some competing products cost more. For example, a year of Private-Mail costs $49.95, and StartMail goes for $59.95. However, SecureMyEmail is just $29.99 per year, and you can get a year of Tutanota Premium for just €12 ($14.18 at the time of this writing.) Tutanota, like ProtonMail, includes a calendar even at its free tier; unlike ProtonMail, it doesn’t put any limits on the number of messages for free users.
In some cases, you pay nothing at all. Virtru works only with Gmail, but it doesn’t cost anything. PreVeil is a free and full-featured email encryption system that lets you keep your existing email address.
Wait, Isn’t Gmail Encrypted?
You may remember hearing that Gmail always uses a secure HTTPS connection. When it sends your messages, it uses the standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to protect your data in transit. However, it’s easy to accidentally give mail-reading permission to third-party apps. And despite claims that Gmail no longer reads your email, it doesdoes read your messages sufficiently to do things like automatically put airline flight notifications in your calendar. Google has a policy for when and how it releases your email to government entities, clearly indicating that it can do so if compelled.
ProtonMail naturally uses HTTPS and SSL, but it doesn’t stop there. Before it securely sends your messages, it actively encrypts them using public key cryptography. It stores your messages in zero-access encrypted form, meaning that the company can’t give your messages to a government entity even if subpoenaed, and a sneaky employee can’t weasel into your private message stash. When you communicate with another ProtonMail user, the connection is encrypted from end to end.
Note, too, that ProtonMail is based in Switzerland, which has stricter privacy policies than the US. It’s also an open-source project, meaning that experts have an opportunity to look over and vet its security algorithms. While Gmail and its ilk boast some security features, ProtonMail goes way beyond them.
Getting Started With ProtonMail
Setting up a free account is a cinch. You start by picking a username. As with any webmail service, this name must be unique, but given the smaller pool of users you may be able to snag a name like billgates rather than billgates_123456. Protonmail.com is the default domain for your account, though a Swiss version, protonmail.ch, is also an option. Paying users can enable the short-form domain pm.me. Add a strong password to protect your account, and an optional recovery email. As a final step, verify that you’re human using a simple CAPTCHA or a code sent by email or SMS. That’s it.
The current onboarding process also displays a QR code that you can snap with your mobile devices to get the ProtonMail app installed. That’s smart; these days you’re just as likely to read email on a mobile device as a desktop or laptop. Along the way you choose one of six themes, two of which will please Dark Mode enthusiasts.
When you open your new account, you’ll find that you already have a few messages of welcome and explanation from ProtonMail. Feel free to explore these, or just start using the service. If you’ve used Gmail, Yahoo, or any other webmail system, you already know how to use ProtonMail.
New Import Assistant
New since my last review, the Import Assistant can pull in messages from your existing email account. The product offers specific instructions for Google and Yahoo, as well as details for configuring other providers to enable IMAP (a requirement for importing) and other necessary settings. Once your old account is ready, you click Start Import Assistant and follow the prompts. I was a bit surprised at the note that “Large imports may take several days.” My contact at ProtonMail explained that the process can get throttled at the provider’s end. For example, Google only permits 2.5GB of exports per day.
Once the import process has started, you can just go back to using ProtonMail. If you get curious as to how it’s going, just check the progress bar on the Import Assistant page. In testing with a free account, ProtonMail paused the import when it had used about three quarters of the available 500MB of message storage. My contact verified that while the storage limit applies, importing doesn’t tap into the limit on messages per day. Practically speaking, users of the free service probably shouldn’t try importing an existing account.
At present, the Import Assistant just pulls messages and attachments into your ProtonMail account. According to my company contact, “In the coming months it will also import contacts and calendar entries. At a later date we expect it to move files into Proton Drive as well.”
Going the other direction, the ProtonMail Bridge lets you manage ProtonMail through your favorite email client, by making your messages available through IMAP. I didn’t try this feature, but it’s available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Hands On With ProtonMail
Emailing with this product is no different from any other webmail service you’ve experienced. Composing messages, viewing replies, and forwarding mail all works just as you’d expect. There are some minor differences, mostly aimed at security. For example, ProtonMail doesn’t render pictures in messages by default. If you click a link, it displays a warning and requires confirmation before opening that link.
The little lock icon next to each From address indicates the security level. If the sender is also a ProtonMail user, pointing to the lock displays a floating tip saying, “End-to-end encrypted message.” For other senders, the tip says, “Stored with zero access encryption.”
If you’re sick of all the email you get, you could just start fresh with an empty contacts list, but most people probably don’t want to lose connection with their existing contacts. ProtonMail can import contacts from CSV files exported by Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, and others. Google isn’t on the list, but it can export to Outlook’s CSV format. Getting my Gmail contacts into ProtonMail was a snap. As noted, eventually the Import Assistant will handle this task.
You can use define a signature, with formatting, that ProtonMail will apply to all your messages. It also adds a note, “Sent with ProtonMail Secure Email.” Only paying customers can modify that note.
Message Expiration and Encryption
On Window or macOS, the Lock, Hourglass, and Paperclip icons, representing encryption, expiration, and attachments, show up below the main body of the message. In the simple mobile app for Android or iOS, those icons take a more prominent position, just below the subject line. The function is the same; only the position is different.
Clicking the Hourglass icon lets you set an expiration time for the message, measured in days, and hours. Clicking the Lock icon lets you define a password to encrypt the message for a non-user of ProtonMail. By default, encrypted messages to non-users expire after 28 days, though you can set a shorter expiration time, measured in days and hours.
When your correspondent receives the message, it comes with an explanation, and a link to view message content online. The recipient simply enters the password (which you’ve transmitted securely, perhaps using a secure messaging app) to see your important missive. A banner above the message body counts down to the message’s expiration.
StartMail, another encrypted email service, offers a similar method for secure communication with those who don’t use the service, but it doesn’t support automated message expiry. With SecureMyEmail messages outside the network don’t require a password; the recipient’s ability to log into the email account is considered sufficient. You can add a password if you wish, and out-of-network messages expire in 30 days by default.
The mobile apps do have a few features just not found in the web-based app. You can enable authentication by fingerprint and define actions for left and right swipe. By default, swiping to the right trashes a message, while swiping left marks it as spam. You can also set a mobile signature, distinct from the regular signature.
Security Features
One useful security feature offered with Gmail is two-factor authentication. Naturally, ProtonMail also includes this feature. To prepare for two-factor, you must equip your smartphone with Google Authenticator, or with a work-alike that creates Time-based One Time Passwords (TOTPs) in the same way. Then open Settings, click Password & Recovery, and click to enable two-factor authentication. As usual, you snap the QR code to add ProtonMail to your authenticator. Now even if a sneak thief gets hold of your password, your encrypted messages are safe.
During this process, ProtonMail displays a collection of one-time emergency passcodes. Copy this collection and put it in a safe place. Now if you lose your phone or it goes kaput, you can still get into your account using one of those codes.
While you’re looking at the security settings, check out the list of all current ProtonMail sessions. If you suspect someone might be misusing your account, or just want to secure a session you left open back at home, you can shut down all sessions but the one you’re using with the click of a button.
For yet another layer of protection you can enable Two-Password mode. In this mode, one password unlocks your account, but a different password decrypts your messages. The app itself notes that this provides only a minor security benefit and recommends the usual one-password mode for most users.
You only get automatic end-to-end encryption when corresponding with other ProtonMail users. However, if you have tech-savvy friends who’ve implemented PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) email encryption, you can set up fully encrypted communication with them. When you compose a message, there’s a simple menu option to attach your public key. After that it’s up to the recipient to enter that key into their PGP-aware email system. Using PGP outside of ProtonMail definitely required uncommon expertise, but it’s available.
SecureMyEmail uses PGP internally, but hides the key exchange process by default. As with ProtonMail, you can dig in and set up PGP-secured communication with your geeky friends. StartMail and Private-Mail both work in a similar fashion, but with a tad more awkwardness.
Premium Features
Possibly the biggest limitations on users of the free edition are the caps on storage space and messages per day. Without spending anything, you get 500MB of storage and 150 messages per day. For some, that may be plenty, especially if you’re the type to deal with email right away and then delete it. Ponying up for a premium account gives you 5GB of storage and 1,000 messages per day. For comparison, a free Google account gets you 15GB of storage, shared between Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos; you can raise that to 100GB for $19.99 per year. With StartMail, you get 10GB of storage and no limit on number of messages.
ProtonMail lets you put messages in folders, tag them with labels, or both. The difference is clear; a message can only reside in one folder, but it can have multiple labels. However, those using the free edition can only define three folders and three labels, while paid users get 200 of each. I can’t imagine needing more than 200.
What Outlook calls Rules, ProtonMail calls Filters. You can add one or more conditions based on the subject, sender, recipient, or attachments, combining them using And or Or. You can apply actions such as moving messages that match the filter to a certain folder, tagging them with labels, or marking them as starred. I defined a rule stating that any message with “webinar” in the subject goes straight to the trash. Very freeing! But only premium users can have more than one filter.
You’ll encounter warnings when you try to use other premium features. Only paying customers can define an Auto-Reply message for when you’re out of town. Like StartMail, ProtonMail can be configured to support IMAP/SMTP, so you can use your preferred email client. That’s another premium feature. Premium users can also have up to five ProtonMail addresses. Free users just get one. A StartMail subscription gets you one primary account and two feature-limited companion accounts.
If you own your own domain, you can configure ProtonMail to use your personal email address, but only if you upgrade to premium. As with the custom domain feature in Burner Mail, I don’t think many consumers will use this feature.
ProtonCalendar and ProtonDrive
Near the ProtonMail title at top left is an icon that lets you access other Proton products, among them ProtonCalendar. Released earlier this year, the calendar app works like any other, but keeps your appointments private using zero-knowledge encryption.
When you first launch the calendar, it offers to import existing events, which is very handy if you maintain lots of repeating ones such as birthdays or weekly meetings. Eventually the Import Assistant is meant to handle this task. For now, you must export the existing events to an .ICS file for import. The calendar is available even to free users, but paying customers gain features like the ability to share calendar items outside of ProtonMail.
ProtonDrive, as the name suggests, is a secure online file storage system. It’s currently in beta, and available only to paying users. Even paying customers must confirm their understanding that this is a beta feature by enabling beta access. Just drop files onto the app to upload them. The space occupied by these files does come out of your 5GB of storage, so don’t go too wild. If you want more storage, it’s a dollar per GB per month.
Once you’ve uploaded a file to ProtonDrive, you can optionally generate a link to share it with friends. You can (and should) protect the link with a password—otherwise anyone at all can click the link to download the file. You can also set an expiration date for the link, up to 90 days out. And if you no longer feel like sharing, you can disable the link.
Other Avenues
Both Virtru Email Protection for Gmail and Preveil take a different approach from ProtonMail. With these two, you keep your existing email address (in Virtru’s case, it must be a Gmail address). The security elements integrate with your email client for seamless security. If you dread the thought of getting hundreds of contacts to start using your new, secure email address, one of these two free solutions may suit you.
StartMail works in much the same way as ProtonMail. You can send encrypted messages to anyone, but you must define a secret question and answer for each message. The recipient clicks a link to answer the question and read the message. To get seamless encrypted communication, you must initialize PGP within the program. Once you’ve done that, your correspondence with other StartMail users is encrypted. As with ProtonMail, you can send your public key to tech-savvy friends who know how to use PGP.
StartMail also includes the option to create unlimited random disposable email addresses (DEAs), or up to 10 custom email aliases. You use these to interact with online merchants and such while protecting your real email address. With Burner Mail, disposable email addresses are the star of the show. You can let it gin up random disposable addresses or create custom ones, with no limits. In addition, it lets you forward mail from one burner address to multiple recipients. With either product, if you start getting spam on one of your disposable addresses, you simply…dispose of it!
ManyMe also protects your actual email address behind disposable addresses, which it calls FlyBy addresses. The big difference here is that you don’t need to register the disposable address in advance. You can meet an ad rep at a conference and make up a FlyBy address for correspondence on the spot. ManyMe is free, with plans for a feature-enhanced premium version to pay the bills.
Keeping your true email account private is a great way to avoid drowning in spam, but there’s more work to be done. In addition to masked email addresses, Abine Blur Premium lets you shop online using masked credit cards that can’t be tapped for money beyond the individual purchase, and even mask your phone number. It’s also a complete (if basic) password manager, and it actively prevents advertisers and others from tracking you online.
When you adopt ProtonMail, StartMail, or a similar encrypting email service, you’re starting over with a brand-new address. Adding a disposable email address service lets you keep that shiny address from ever hitting the spam lists. If your email address has already been smeared promiscuously all over the internet, you can still get some benefit from using DEAs, but not as much. That’s where Abine DeleteMe comes in. This service looks for your email and other private information on many dozens of legitimate data-aggregating sites and sends opt-out requests for you, following up as needed. Because the service requires human monitoring, it’s relatively expensive.
Easy Encrypted Email
ProtonMail stores your message stash using zero access encryption, and messages with other users of the service receive end-to-end encryption automatically. You communicate securely outside the ProtonMail network by password-protecting messages, or (if you’re a tech whiz) by giving PGP-using correspondents your public key. You can set messages to expire after a time and configure your account for two-factor authentication. It’s free if you can live within certain limits, and still inexpensive if you need premium features. As icing on the cake, it now includes an Import Assistant, a secure calendar, and a (beta) secure file storage system. Our Editors’ Choice for encrypted mail, Preveil, also offers top-notch security for your messages (along with 10GB of secure and sharable file storage), but without requiring you to change your email address. Still, ProtonMail is a solid alternative.
