Why I decided to move my email away from Gmail to Proton Mail
In common with a staggering 2 Billion 🤯 other Gmail users in the world, I also trusted Gmail with years worth of emails, and give credit where credit is due, they have a fantastic offering. From a super sleek and intuitive UI, tons of storage, world leading SPAM filtering
In common with a staggering 2 Billion 🤯 other Gmail users in the world, I also trusted Gmail with years worth of emails, and give credit where credit is due, they have a fantastic offering. From a super sleek and intuitive UI, tons of storage, world leading SPAM filtering, plus integrations with 1000's of other services. Oh yes and I forgot to mention, Gmail is also free 🆓.
Gmail aren't the biggest email provider on the planet by accident, these guys know what they are doing.
But when it comes to privacy and data security, it seems these are quite low on their agenda. I'm not just on about unauthorised user access, as they do offer 2-Step Verification etc. I am referring to how your emails are stored and transmitted and the fact that all your emails are scanned so they can present you with tailored advertising. And lastly, that some of the integrations with 3rd parties actually give humans access to read your emails anytime they feel like it.🕵️
I totally appreciate that for Google to offer Gmail as a free service, they need to make their money elsewhere, and using advertising as a means to do this doesn't bother me in the slightest. The issue for me, is the scanning of your private emails, so that it can deliver more personalised and relevant adverts, that's the big turn off for me.
👉 This was written in this Guardian article How private is your Gmail, and should you switch?.
Google claims none of the data collected from scanning emails for purchase information, delivery tracking numbers and flight bookings is used for advertising, but as Andy Yen, founder and CEO of secure email service ProtonMail says: “It remains a fact that Google keeps a record of these events and logs them regardless.”
The more I read online about these issues, the more I knew I had to do something about it. My emails are not that interesting really, and don't normally contain sensitive material, but I do receive emails from the GP and hospital and I would prefer they didn't become public (Not that it was reveal much apart from my long term suffering with ulcerative colitis)
Even Google's paid business email service, Google Workspace, doesn't offer much more protection.
Google doesn't put up much of a fight when it comes to handing over your data to law enforcement requests.
👉 The following quote is from an article on Forbes Google Hands Over User Data For 94% Of U.S. Law Enforcement Requests
Google now reveals the percentage of government requests for user data that it actually complies with: In the United States from July to December 2010 that number was 94%, higher than any other country.
Don't get me wrong, criminals shouldn't be able to hide behind big corporations like Google, but at the same time, activists, whistleblowers and controversial speakers deserve a right to privacy if what they are doing is within the law.
Conclusion
Taking all the above information into account, it felt the right time to change to a different email provider, one who values security and privacy as one of its core values. Proton is one of these companies, and for me they tick every box. They don't scan your emails, they don't log your IP address, even if they wanted to, they can't read your emails. So even if a court order forced them to hand over your emails, they couldn't be read due to the Zero-access encryption used.
To list just some of the privacy and protection they use for all customer accounts:
- Zero-access encryption
- End-to-end encryption
- Proton Sentinel
- Onion address
- Password-protected Emails
- 2FA with hardware security keys
- Enhanced tracking protection
- Built-in PGP support
As Proton is based in Switzerland, they are protected by some of the world's toughest privacy laws, which protect consumers. By default Proton will reject any data request from outside Switzerland, and will only act when compelled to do so by a Swiss court.
Even if the Swiss courts forced them to start logging a customers IP address, Swiss law states that the customer would have to be notified in advance, so they can appeal the judgement. And if forced to handover customers emails? Due to Zero-access encryption the data would be useless to anyone, even Proton couldn't decrypt it.
What a difference, compared to companies based in the USA and other European email providers. 👀
A little background on Proton Mail
Born in Switzerland in 2014, Proton Mail has grown to become the most secure and privacy focused email provider in the world. Proton Mail is protected by multiple layers of security and trusted by journalists, security experts, and millions of people around the world
Over the years Proton have expanded their service offering to include:
- Proton Mail
- Proton Calendar
- Proton Drive
- Proton VPN
- Proton Pass
- Proton Wallet (Early Access Waitlist)
Proton Mail
The most secure email platform in the world. Clean and intuitive user interface (UI) with pricing starting at FREE. Paid accounts can have custom domains and multiple alias names.
Superb customer support 😄
Further Reading
You can watch their TED talk below:
This post covers the reasons I moved from Gmail to Proton Mail, it's not a full review of their service. But I am currently working on a full Proton Mail review which I hope to share soon. Please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.