I Switched from Gmail to Proton Mail, and Not Just for Privacy

Here’s a scary thought: Google probably knows me better than my own mother. Between my emails in Gmail, images in Photos, all my online searches, personal Gemini conversations, files stored in my Drive account, and all the data the company collects from other Google apps I use, it can create a surprisingly accurate profile of me. The more it knows me, the better it is able to show me ads that can attract my attention, which in turn will increase their profits. I understand the business behind it, I just don’t like it.

I want privacy. Duration. Google wouldn’t give it to me, so I started searching elsewhere. I’ve already given up on Google Drive and Photos proton driveAnd while I was initially skeptical about moving away from Gmail since I had just cleaned it out, proton mail For several reasons, I soon managed to convince me to abandon ship.

Proton is all about privacy, but Mail is probably the least private app it offers. However, this isn’t the company’s fault – it’s just how email works.

Thanks to end-to-end encryption, Proton can’t read the contents of my emails. It can still see some metadata like sender and recipient addresses – this is how email routing works – but the actual content of my messages is encrypted and invisible to it. This is a sharp contrast to my Gmail account, where Google can see everything, including the content, and is constantly scanning my emails to provide specific features. smart answer.

So from that perspective, Proton is definitely more secure and more private than Gmail, but that’s not the whole story. Proton’s encryption only really works when I send a message to another Proton user. When this happens, all the data is stored on Proton’s servers, making it completely private. But as soon as I send an email to someone who has a Gmail account, Google can basically still see everything on their behalf, because this is something Proton has no control over.

This was one of the reasons that stopped me from switching to Proton, as complete privacy is not really possible outside of Proton accounts, at least at first glance. I’ve been working with email for about 20 years and I don’t think I’ve ever sent an email to a Proton user.

However, there is a solution. Proton allows me to send encrypted emails to non-Proton Mail users, but it’s a bit of a hassle. I can encrypt each email and set a password for it – and even set a self-destruct timer – and when a Gmail user gets it, all they have to do is click a link in the email to view it. Email and its contents are stored securely on Proton’s servers, and the user must enter a password to view it. This basically solves the problem, but to make it truly private I would have to send the password via a message to the email recipient, which, again, is a hassle that many people won’t be able to deal with.

So Proton Mail may not provide as much privacy as I’d like, since I’m certainly not encrypting every email I send. However, I have peace of mind knowing that when I send something more sensitive, the option is right in front of me. Also, while I use Proton Drive primarily for its end-to-end encryption, privacy isn’t the only reason I like Proton Mail.

ProtonMail is a pleasure to use. The first thing I noticed when setting up an account was the newsletter button. Those of you who read my Gmail cleanup posts know that I had to open old newsletters one by one and unsubscribe from each one individually. It wasn’t as painful as I expected, but I did suffer a lot of pain in the process, which is something that doesn’t happen with Proton’s better solutions.

The Newsletter tab shows me all the newsletters I’ve signed up for on one page. It shows me how many emails I received last month, how many of them I haven’t read, and most importantly, I can unsubscribe from them with one click. It’s fast. It’s easy. It’s easy. I think this is a feature that Gmail and every other email provider should have. Google has actually released this feature, but it is Not available globally – I don’t have access to it.

Email management is great too, as I was able to set up my own version of Inbox Zero, just like Gmail. I created several folders (important, promo, etc.) and whenever I get an email I want to keep, I put it in a dedicated folder – if it doesn’t go there automatically – which keeps my main view email-free. Proton has the edge over Gmail here because it allows both folders and labels, whereas you only get the latter with Google’s email service. For example, I throw all important emails into the Important folder in Proton, which includes emails from my partner, friends and family, doctor, accountant, and a few others. I can then add a label to just the emails I receive from my partner, so I can see them all on one page with one click. This two-tier email organization is something Gmail doesn’t offer, and now that I’m used to it, I can’t go back.

I also like how I can manage emails I no longer need. Like Gmail and other email providers there is a standard Trash button that gets rid of these. But Proton took it a step further by adding a self-destruct option. It basically deletes emails after a specified amount of time, which really helps me keep my inbox clutter-free.

For example, I buy stuff online all the time. Just last week, I went to an amusement park and purchased tickets online, which were delivered to me via email. I need that email to go to an amusement park because it contains my tickets, but after my day trip is over, the email is practically useless. So instead of going back to delete it, which is something I wouldn’t remember to do anyway, I can set it to self destruct in a day as soon as I open it.

I also much prefer the number and layout of settings in Proton Mail vs Gmail. I mean, check out the screenshots below and see for yourself. Everything in Proton is well laid out, whereas Gmail’s settings are so cluttered that I feel dizzy just opening them.

Then there are email aliases I can set up in combo with proton passMaking sure I don’t share my real email address with anyone. And if you thought Proton was completely AI-free due to privacy issues, you’d be wrong. It has Proton Scribe feature which can help you write emails just like Gemini in Gmail. The difference is that it doesn’t keep any logs like Gemini, so it’s completely private. It can also be run locally for added security, ensuring that no data leaves your device.

I also really like Proton Mail’s UI – especially on desktop – as it feels more professional and minimalist than Gmail. There are also a few themes available, so I can make it more how I want. It’s not as robust as Gmail, but I actually prefer it because the themes are less quirky than Google’s email service.

ProtonMail is great, but far from perfect. First of all, its free tier is more or less a joke. It’s there just so you can demo it and see if you like it, as its 1GB cap won’t get you very far. For reference, Gmail has a far more generous 15GB free tier used across its services (Gmail, Drive, Photos).

To use it long-term you’ll need a subscription, with prices starting at $4.99 per month for 15GB of space. you can also find Proton Unlimited At $12.99 per month (or $9.99 per month on the annual plan), that gives you 500GB of storage across multiple Proton services, including Mail, Drive (Docs included), Calendar, and Pass, which stores your passwords. there is also one vpn The bundle also includes Proton Meet for online conferencing. From my perspective this is a better deal, although it is more expensive than what Google offers. It’s hard to compare them 1:1 because Google, for example, doesn’t have a VPN, but it does offer other services that Proton doesn’t. And for context, you can get 2TB of storage on its apps – 4 times more than Proton offers – for $10 per month.

There is a search again. It’s not as fast on Proton and certainly not as nice, which makes sense considering that the company offers end-to-end encryption and doesn’t have AI scanning your emails all the time. The AI ​​allows you to search in natural language on Gmail if you’re looking for a specific email that you can’t remember exactly (example: vacation reservation), whereas Proton doesn’t allow you to do that to the same degree.

Proton Mail is also generally slower, although not by a huge difference. If you don’t compare the two side by side, you won’t notice that much. What you will notice is the difference in Android apps. Proton, for reasons unknown to me, does not allow text formatting. For example, you can’t bold or italicize your text – however, you can do this on the web version. Gmail explicitly allows this, so if you’re constantly formatting your emails on mobile, Proton Mail isn’t for you. And regarding that Newsletter tab I mentioned, it’s not available on the Android app – only on desktop.

So while Proton and I became good friends very quickly, it’s not something I would recommend to anyone. If sending private emails isn’t your priority, you don’t see any benefit in any of the other Proton apps bundled in its Unlimited subscription, and you don’t care about extra features like folders and a dedicated newsletter tab, stick to Gmail or whatever might work for you. But if privacy is a concern with certain emails, you enjoy specific features or the look of the app, or just want to de-Google your life, you really can’t beat Proton Mail.