ProtonMail Review 2019 A great way to secure your email communications!ByNovak Bozovic-June 5, 2019 “3/3.547.jpg” In this article we’ll take a close look at ProtonMail and give our best to explain fully what to expect from this service. We have prepared two helpful tables for you to kick things off with some of the basic information first listed. So let’s kick off. Product name overview ProtonMail (Professional Plan) Supported PlateformsIf you don’t have the time to read the whole review, we’ve prepared another table for you alone. Find out the most popular pros and cons associated with using ProtonMail in the table below. The user-friendly email service Bottom Line Pros Tough encryption Supports third-party customers Easy to set up Advanced features for email sending provides anonymity. Cons The ProtonMail Final Verdict seems like a reliable way to encrypt your email messages if you’re a home user or a company user. Our Rating 8.5/10 We are now ready to dive deeply into our full and hands-on ProtonMail analysis. Before making the final call about using this service, be sure to stick with us until the end of this article. ProtonMail-TechNadu’s Hands-On Review
We have an important piece of information before we get started. Please note that we have tested ProtonMail’s ‘ Professional ‘ version which brings the most comprehensive set of features offered by this service (as eclipsed only by the ‘ Visionary ‘ plan). We’re going to tell you everything you need to know about this edition, and what more affordable models can offer.
Background Jurisdiction Reputation “3/3.548.jpg” A very complicated decision to decide whether to trust ProtonMail. It comes from a well-known company-with past troubled accusations. Our Rating: 6/10. ProtonMail is conceived as a secure email service. As such it shapes its service around highly secure technologies but also has to respect its home country’s laws. Starting with the basics, let’s inspect where ProtonMail comes from and what this means for its users.
Jurisdiction Applicable Laws When you visit ProtonMail’s official website you will see numerous messages about all the ways in which it keeps your private data away from prying eyes. And you’ll also see that it comes from Switzerland that sounds reassuring as this country is known for its diplomatic neutrality. It’s not a member of the European Union and there is a general idea that this highly developed country does not even have a strong influence in the USA. The situation is not that simple however. In 2016, Swiss voters decided to support the introduction of mandatory data retention campaigns through proactive measures for the privacy of their users and Swiss citizens. All of this has helped ProtonMail build a reputation for being a caring email provider. Not too long ago (in May 2019) a Swiss layer named Martin Stiegel published a comprehensive reportProtonMail is cooperating with Swiss authoritative this service refuted those claims and highlighted that it is not working with the authorities. It is also important to note that ProtonMail comes from the same company that has a highly reputable VPN solution behind ProtonVPN, designed to protect the privacy of its web users. This is a hugely popular VPN provider which has a reputation for being one of the safest options out there. This company must therefore do something proper when it comes to its users ‘ privacy.
“3/3.549.jpg” ProtonMail fails to offer native mobile client applications. You can however use its Web interface and native Android and iOS apps. Our Rating: 8/10. You will want easy access to ProtonMail just like with any email service. So here are all the platforms which are currently supported by this service. Platform Desktop Platforms Compatibility Android iOS Mobile Platforms. Web YES ProtonMail began its life with a Web interface which is still its main gateway. In other words, you log in to your online account and you’ll see all of the features of ProtonMail’s UI. There is no native application to desktop platforms with this said. Alternatively, you can install the ProtonMail IMAP / SMTP Bridge application that lets you use your encrypted email account with any email clients you may have installed on your computer. For Windows and MacOS the Bridge program is available. There is also a version of Linux but it is in beta at the moment. There are also unofficial desktop clients for ProtonMail (such as e.g. ElectronMail).
Setup Initial Configuration
“3/3.549.jpg” ProtonMail fails to offer native mobile client applications. You can however use its Web interface and native Android and iOS apps. Our Rating: 8/10. You will want easy access to ProtonMail just like with any email service. So here are all the platforms which are currently supported by this service. Platform Desktop Platforms Compatibility Android iOS Mobile Platforms. Web YES ProtonMail began its life with a Web interface which is still its main gateway. In other words, you log in to your online account and you’ll see all of the features of ProtonMail’s UI. There is no native application to desktop platforms with this said. Alternatively, you can install the ProtonMail IMAP / SMTP Bridge application that lets you use your encrypted email account with any email clients you may have installed on your computer. For Windows and MacOS the Bridge program is available. There is also a version of Linux but it is in beta at the moment. There are also unofficial desktop clients for ProtonMail (such as e.g. ElectronMail).
Setup Initial Configuration
“3/3.550.jpg” Starting with ProtonMail is simple even if you have never previously used an encrypted email service. Our Score: “10/10. You can log in to this service with your new ProtonMail address. ProtonMail is definitely the best way to experience it via its Web UI. However, there is no need to change your habits as you can continue to use your favorite desktop email client as well. What you need to do is install ProtonMail Bridge which allows full integration with most of the clients I support. Now let’s take a look at what sets ProtonMail apart from conventional email services like Gmail. Here is a snapshot of its most prominent features. End-to-end cryptography. Simply put, this feature ensures that your emails are readable by none other than yourself and your message recipient. Total Online Privacy: ProtonMail argues they have no access to your messages. Since they do not log anything they can not pass on any data to third parties. Interestingly enough ProtonMail won’t be able to recover your data if you lose your password which is another proof that they don’t actually collect anything. Open Source Cryptography: This email client uses algorithms for time-tested encryption including AES RSA and OpenPGT. All its cryptographic libraries are open source making sure they have no backdoors.1 1 1 to 5000 6 Storage 5 GB 20 GB Addresses 1000 Unlimited Unlimited Folders / Labels 200 Unlimited Unlimited Support Standard Priority 1 2 10 Email Filters YES NO YES ProtonVPN You can create private mailboxes for up to 5000 users (each user is extra priced) and each of them gets 5 GB of storage (though this parameter can be fine tuned). This plan also allows you to set the number of VPN connections per each user if you decide to use ProtonVPN as your business VPN solution. And of course you’ll get the full set of features that this email service offers.
Ease of use
ProtonMail may not have the most polished user interface out there. This email client is however very easy to use and comes with lots of customization options. Our rating: 9.5/10. You will see a very familiar interface once you log in to your ProtonMail account (on the official web site). We’re sure you’ve used Gmail before or nearly any other email client on the Web. Well ProtonMail doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and sticks to an established concept. On the left side of your email account you’ll see different folders including your inbox drafts that send starred archive spans and trash emails. ProtonMail also allows you to create additional folders and labels so you can filter your email messages in many ways. The remainder of the window is reserved in the folder you have previously selected for handling your email messages. What’s nice to know is that ProtonMail comes with two different layouts meaning some fine tuning is available. “3/3.553.jpg” You’ll see a prominent search field at the top of the window. And to the right, you’ll find four buttons called Report Bug Settings Contacts and your account name. All of these are quite self-explanatory but we would like to highlight the panel of settings. So here’s all you can fine-tune in here. Folders Labels Filters: ProtonMail comes with advanced options for filtering. You can easily create specific filter lists of spam addresses (where email addresses can be whitelisted and blacklisted), and much more. “3/3.554.jpg” Security: You can enable two-factor authentication for greater security. This is also where authentication logs can be reviewed and your sessions reviewed. Appearance: There are several options to choose from here relating to the appearance of ProtonMail (which of course applies to its Web UI). Custom theme can even be created by pasting a CSS code. “3/3.555.jpg” IMAP SMTP PM.ME: These tabs allow you to download and manage the Bridge application required to connect your ProtonMail address to any third party email client. You also have the option of using ‘ @pm.me ‘ email addresses which are reserved for paying customers. Keys: This is where you can do that if you need additional encryption keys or want to import your own keys. It is nice to see how ProtonMail has made this otherwise complicated process simpler. ProtonVPN: Finally there is a dedicated tab from where you can download your account information from a ProtonVPN client, and more. Please note that only the ‘ Visionary ‘ plan includes ProtonVPN but this is also a premium-priced addon. Finally writing and emailing is (as you might expect) a piece of cake. Click the ‘ Compose ‘ button and you will see a familiar user interface at the bottom right corner. Fill in the required information-and don’t forget to check the buttons ‘ Expiration Time ‘ and ‘ Encryption ‘ in the bottom-left corner. These allow you to set an expiry time, and you can also encrypt your email message (if you send it to someone using an unencrypted service). This way the receiver will have to click on the link provided to enter the password and only then will they be able to read your message.
Doesn’t it?1 1 1 to 5000 6 Storage 5 GB 20 GB Addresses 1000 Unlimited Unlimited Folders / Labels 200 Unlimited Unlimited Support Standard Priority 1 2 10 Email Filters YES NO YES ProtonVPN You can create private mailboxes for up to 5000 users (each user is extra priced) and each of them gets 5 GB of storage (though this parameter can be fine tuned). This plan also allows you to set the number of VPN connections per each user if you decide to use ProtonVPN as your business VPN solution. And of course you’ll get the full set of features that this email service offers.
Ease of use
ProtonMail may not have the most polished user interface out there. This email client is however very easy to use and comes with lots of customization options. Our rating: 9.5/10. You will see a very familiar interface once you log in to your ProtonMail account (on the official web site). We’re sure you’ve used Gmail before or nearly any other email client on the Web. Well ProtonMail doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and sticks to an established concept. On the left side of your email account you’ll see different folders including your inbox drafts that send starred archive spans and trash emails. ProtonMail also allows you to create additional folders and labels so you can filter your email messages in many ways. The remainder of the window is reserved in the folder you have previously selected for handling your email messages. What’s nice to know is that ProtonMail comes with two different layouts meaning some fine tuning is available. “3/3.553.jpg” You’ll see a prominent search field at the top of the window. And to the right, you’ll find four buttons called Report Bug Settings Contacts and your account name. All of these are quite self-explanatory but we would like to highlight the panel of settings. So here’s all you can fine-tune in here. Folders Labels Filters: ProtonMail comes with advanced options for filtering. You can easily create specific filter lists of spam addresses (where email addresses can be whitelisted and blacklisted), and much more. “3/3.554.jpg” Security: You can enable two-factor authentication for greater security. This is also where authentication logs can be reviewed and your sessions reviewed. Appearance: There are several options to choose from here relating to the appearance of ProtonMail (which of course applies to its Web UI). Custom theme can even be created by pasting a CSS code. “3/3.555.jpg” IMAP SMTP PM.ME: These tabs allow you to download and manage the Bridge application required to connect your ProtonMail address to any third party email client. You also have the option of using ‘ @pm.me ‘ email addresses which are reserved for paying customers. Keys: This is where you can do that if you need additional encryption keys or want to import your own keys. It is nice to see how ProtonMail has made this otherwise complicated process simpler. ProtonVPN: Finally there is a dedicated tab from where you can download your account information from a ProtonVPN client, and more. Please note that only the ‘ Visionary ‘ plan includes ProtonVPN but this is also a premium-priced addon. Finally writing and emailing is (as you might expect) a piece of cake. Click the ‘ Compose ‘ button and you will see a familiar user interface at the bottom right corner. Fill in the required information-and don’t forget to check the buttons ‘ Expiration Time ‘ and ‘ Encryption ‘ in the bottom-left corner. These allow you to set an expiry time, and you can also encrypt your email message (if you send it to someone using an unencrypted service). This way the receiver will have to click on the link provided to enter the password and only then will they be able to read your message.
Doesn’t it?Email Contact: You can finally also contact the support team at ProtonMail. You can generally expect to hear back within 24 hours.
Pricing
“3/3.557.jpg” You have to ask yourself how much this fascinating service costs? Well you should know you can get started free (through their limited free plan). So let’s first take a look at premium-priced plans which bring ProtonMail’s ‘ unlocked ‘ features. Subscription plan Price per month Price per year Plus $48.00 Professional $8.00 (per user) $75.00 (per user) Visionary $288.00 As previously noted we reviewed ProtonMail’s Professional plan. Return to our ‘ Prominent Features ‘ segment to learn more about the differences between this and two other plans please. This is where you’ll find a table of comparative reference points. Regardless of which subscription plan you choose, we recommend that you go to your annual plan. That’s because all three annual plans for ProtonMail come with large savings (around 20 per cent). So when subscribing to ProtonMail, make sure you choose wisely. We need to add that you can also purchase additional addons to your ProtonMail account. You can buy additional storage ($1.00 a month for 1 GB) for additional domains ($2.00 a month for 1 domain) and additional email addresses ($1.00 a month for 5 addresses). All these addons come with annual pricing, and allow you to save in the long run. Currently ProtonMail supports Visa MasterCard and American Express as regards payment methods. You can pay through PayPal too. Sadly there are no cryptocurrencies on offer. Differentiating Free Vs. Paid
One of ProtonMail’s greatest selling points is its free scheme. However, you can think of this plan as a very limited trial version of ProtonMail. So here’s what you are going to get with the free plan. Free Professional Plan 1 5 per user Messages by Day 150 Unlimited 3 Unlimited Support Limited Priority 0 2 Email Filters NO YES NO Catch-All Email NO YES NO As you can see you can use ProtonMail free of charge but be prepared Still this account could be a good way to test this email service and maybe upgrade to a paid ProtonMail account afterwards.