Proton

Proton is a Swiss technology company that builds privacy-focused online services. Its best-known product is Proton Mail, an end-to-end encrypted email service, and its suite also includes Proton VPN, Proton Drive for encrypted file storage, Proton Pass for passwords, Proton Calendar and Proton Wallet, plus an AI assistant designed to keep conversations private. The common thread is a business model built on subscriptions rather than advertising or data. Proton's pitch is that mainstream free services are paid for with personal data, while its services use end-to-end and zero-access encryption so the company itself cannot read users' emails, files or passwords. Being based in Switzerland, with strong privacy laws, is part of that positioning, and the company's majority shareholder is a non-profit foundation, which it presents as a safeguard for its mission. Proton Mail works like a familiar email service with web and mobile apps, custom domains, aliases and a desktop app, and messages between Proton users are encrypted automatically. Proton VPN offers a free plan with no data limits and paid plans with faster servers, streaming support and features for censorship circumvention. Proton Drive provides encrypted storage with sharing, and Proton Pass manages passwords, passkeys and hide-my-email aliases. A single Proton Unlimited subscription bundles the services, and Proton for Business offers them to organisations. The trade-offs come with encryption. Searching encrypted email and integrating with third-party apps is more limited than with Gmail, and sending encrypted messages to non-Proton users requires extra steps. Some features are reserved for paid plans. Alternatives include Tuta, another encrypted email provider; Fastmail for privacy-respecting email without end-to-end encryption by default; Mullvad and NordVPN for VPN services; Bitwarden and 1Password for password management; Tresorit for encrypted file storage; and Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 for mainstream productivity suites. Choose Proton when privacy is a priority and you want encrypted email, storage, VPN and passwords from one provider.