If you’re worried about your email provider spying on your emails to give you targeted ads, or if you’re concerned that you could be a target for hackers, you might want to take a look at ProtonMail. ProtonMail is a relatively new email service provider based in Switzerland that boasts some of the best security features in the business. There are options for both free and paid accounts. But is using the service worth the hassle? What about if you are concerned about privacy but aren’t completely obsessed with it – should you bother using ProtonMail?
It’s a well-known fact that email providers like Gmail will search through your emails to find ways to target you with advertisements. This hasn’t stopped millions of users from joining the service, however. Still, it can be a little unnerving to know that an algorithm is poking and prodding through your love notes, fights with your boss, and doctor’s appointment confirmations. This is one of the reasons why a service is like ProtonMail exist.
ProtonMail is an encrypted email service whose creators have a “shared vision of protecting civil liberties online” through technology. The biggest advantage offered by ProtonMail is that all accounts are encrypted. This means that absolutely no one, not even ProtonMail themselves, can access your account without your password. That’s because your password isn’t merely for logging into the service, but it is also an encryption key that unlocks your account. In addition to encryption, the service also offers advanced security options such as two-factor authentication that can help keep hackers out of your account. For the ultra security-conscious, the service also supports PGP keys and address verification through encryption keys. With that out-of-the-way, let’s take a look at the service itself.
Our Review of Proton Mail – Worth It?
Signing up with ProtonMail was pretty easy. We chose to opt for a free account and found that it offered a decent suite of options to work with. We tested a super long password and found that passwords exceeding 100 characters were no problem. According to the password testing site howsecureismypassword.net, the password we chose would take a brute force attacker 53 tresvigintillion years to guess. Next we set up two-factor authentication which involves installing an app on your phone (we used Authy) and scanning a QR code. Overall it wasn’t difficult.
Inside of the inbox, we found the interface to be clean, simple, and familiar. All of the basic features you would expect from an email service were there. Unfortunately, free accounts don’t get a lot of storage space. A free account has 500MB. If you compare that to other offerings, you would typically expect inboxes to have multiple gigabytes of storage space. Of course you can choose to use the premium service and upgrade your inbox size, but for now we are sticking to the free version. A 5GB account can be had for between 3 and 5 Euros per month, depending on subscription length (longer is cheaper). Interestingly, free accounts are also limited to only 150 messages per day. Paid accounts have no limits.
Next we sent a few test emails back-and-forth to the address from a Gmail account and found emails were delivered quickly and without hassle. Overall we found the free service to be completely competent, but overall lacking frills and extra features. If your goal is nothing but ultimate security and privacy, it’s likely that extra features wouldn’t influence your opinion much, anyway. It’s also important to note that once again, free accounts have a limited amount of messages they can be sent per day.
Is the service difficult to use? No, it’s quite easy. But if you’re looking for a more feature packed experience, you will likely be better off sticking to the big email providers. But if you want absolute security, even a free ProtonMail account would be your best choice.
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