ProtonMail offers secure, encrypted email for free. ProtonMail offers free end-to-end encrypted email service via a convenient web interface & mobile apps. Exporting emails and accessing them by any other means is tricky and challenge, but the free version of ProtonMail provides more productivity features.
Note: This article applies to the web version of ProtonMail and the ProtonMail apps for iOS & Android.
ProtonMail Pros and Cons:
Compared to similar services, ProtonMail offers several benefits & a few limitations.
What We Like:
- Easy and secure email encryption.
- Multiple encryption options.
- Set emails to expire after a particular date.
- Access ProtonMail on any device with the phone app.
What We Do not Like:
- Occasionally sluggish web interface.
- They have limited search & organization features.
- Cumbersome integration with other email clients.
- Free vs. Premium ProtonMail
Anyone can sign-up for ProtonMail & get 500 MB of online storage for free. And paid accounts include up to 20 GB of storage and priority customer support and other productivity features. The free service should be enough if you occasionally send encrypted emails.
What Is End-to-End Encryption?
Encryption saves and protects the content of emails from prying eyes. As messages are sent from your PC to the recipients’ inboxes, they can be intercepted by malicious 3rd parties.
Moreover, with end-to-end encryption, the message is encrypted when you send it & is decrypted when the recipient opens it. Because the message can be unlocked merely with the recipient’s key, nobody in between can solve it. Services such as ProtonMail make it possible to transmit sensitive info without anxious about it falling into the wrong hands.
How ProtonMail Encrypts Email Messages:
When you exchange emails with other ProtonMail users, messages are encrypted with their key in your browser or smartphone app & are deciphered when the recipient opens the message. Thus, you do not have to set-up passwords.
Besides, when you send a message to someone who doesn’t use ProtonMail, you’ll encrypt it with a password. And the recipient will receive a piece of news containing a link to the ProtonMail web interface and enter the password to look at your message. From that very same interface, they will reply with an encrypted message protected by an equivalent password.
You can even use PGP to encrypt messages and export your public and personal PGP keys from ProtonMail to use with a unique service. Conversely, if you have been using encrypted email, you’ll import your existing keys to your ProtonMail account.
The ProtonMail Interface:
The ProtonMail web interface contains folders found in other email clients (like Archive & Spam). It includes stars to make messages stand out, color-coded labels, and rules to label incoming mail automatically. Paid ProtonMail users can create limitless custom rules, whereas free accounts are limited to one custom rule. It even has a simple auto-response feature.
Tip: Rather than entering @protonmail.com whenever you enter your address, select pm.me on the ProtonMail interface to reduce it to an easy @pm.me.
Send Messages With ProtonMail:
Use the ProtonMail rich text editor to customize messages with HTML formatting & inline images. However, ProtonMail supports a few keyboard shortcuts; it offers limited to assist with composing messages. You can’t set up templates or text snippets, & ProtonMail doesn’t suggest text, times, or recipients.
ProtonMail’s cryptography offers another benefit: You can set emails to self-destruct at a time you specify. For additional security, enable two-factor authentication.
Search for Messages in ProtonMail:
ProtonMail contains a search feature, but the fields that can be searched are restricted to the message headers’ info like sender, subject, & date. Encryption stops or prevents ProtonMail from searching the body of a message. Still, if you set-up the ProtonMail Bridge app on your desktop, you can expand searches to include the email contents.
How to Use ProtonMail With Other Email Accounts:
ProtonMail Bridge is a desktop app that links your other email accounts with your ProtonMail account. Due to ProtonMail encrypts mail, it can’t connect straight with other email clients; thus, the Bridge acts as a remote server to help or facilitate communication. Any mail client supporting connecting to a private mail server, like Outlook & Thunderbird, can connect to ProtonMail this way.
Also, Check :
ProtonMail can’t collect mail from your existing email accounts, and you cannot set it up to send mail using your current email addresses. Nonetheless, using your most-liked email program with ProtonMail might help with some of the productivity shortcomings.
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