ProtonMail

Overview

ProtonMail is the world’s largest encrypted email service, founded in 2013 by scientists who met at CERN. Based in Switzerland, it benefits from some of the world’s strongest privacy laws and operates on a zero-access encryption architecture.

Unlike Gmail, which scans your emails to build advertising profiles, ProtonMail’s entire business model is built around privacy. They make money through paid subscriptions, not by monetizing your data.

Key Features

End-to-End Encryption

Every email sent between ProtonMail users is automatically encrypted end-to-end. Even emails to non-ProtonMail users can be password-protected with encryption.

Zero-Access Architecture

ProtonMail’s servers only ever see encrypted data. Your encryption keys are derived from your password, which ProtonMail never has access to.

Swiss Privacy Protection

Switzerland is not part of the EU or US and has constitutional privacy protections. Swiss courts have consistently ruled in favor of privacy.

Privacy & Security

ProtonMail uses AES-256 and RSA-4096 encryption, the same standards used by banks and militaries. The entire codebase is open source and has been independently audited.

Getting Started

1. Go to proton.me and click “Create Account”
2. Choose a username (this will be your @proton.me address)
3. Set a strong password (this encrypts your mailbox)
4. Use ProtonMail’s Easy Switch tool to import your Gmail emails

Who Is It Best For?

ProtonMail is ideal for privacy-conscious individuals, journalists, activists, and anyone uncomfortable with Google reading their emails.

Final Verdict

ProtonMail is the gold standard for private email. While the free tier is more limited than Gmail, the trade-off is worth it if you value privacy.