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Gmail isn’t the only email provider out there. That’s especially true if you’re looking for a more secure experience that does a better job of filtering out spam and keeping malicious mail out of your inbox. I’m talking aboutProton Mail.
Proton’s email offering has come a long way since its launch in 2014. Ten years and many updates later, there are many reasons why I’m glad I ditched Gmail for Proton Mail.
Protonmail vs. Gmail
From a bird’s eye perspective, Proton Mail and Gmail aren’t that far apart. Both are excellent email services with plenty of features and good security measures to protect users. However, the biggest difference is how both services treat their users. For Proton, you’re the customer. For Google, you’re the product.
A simple look at the data collection practices between the two will explain what you just read. Unlike Proton, Google’s business model relies on its ad business, meaning Gmail scans your emails and lets third-party trackers inside your inbox to serve you more personalized ads. Proton encrypts your messages and blocks all third-party trackers to give you that clean inbox you’ve been dreaming of.
Outside of Proton providing better security and privacy, both email services are actually neck and neck. But even on top of that, there are more reasons that made me ditch Gmail eventually.
The 6 Reasons I Switched to Proton Mail
Better Security and Privacy
As mentioned before,Proton Mailis the clear winner when it comes to protecting user data and offers better privacy protection. For starters, Proton is based in Geneva, Switzerland—a country with some of the world’s strongest privacy laws. Google, on the other hand, is based in the US, which doesn’t have robust privacy laws, to say the least.
Proton Mailuses end-to-end encryption by default, meaning only you and the email’s recipient can read what’s in your messages. Google keeps its own key to your inbox instead, scanning your messages as they come in. When using Proton Mail, you don’t get any ads, no third-party trackers get access to your email, and your data remains safe.
When it comes to user security, though, both services are nearly on par. Both Proton Mail and Gmail offer multi-factor authentication and support for hardware keys to protect your inbox. However, Proton Mail also allows you to use biometric authentication to secure your inbox.
Proton Is Open Source
Another thing that’ll likely bolster your confidence in Proton’s commitment towards privacy and security is the fact that all of their services (and corresponding apps) are open source. In fact, you can check outProton Mail’s GitHub repositoryright now to review the code. Proton Mail’s code has also been independently reviewed by third-party auditors, with afull report [PDF]publicly available.
When it comes to Google, we don’t have any clue what’s going on behind the scenes, except that your data is likely being scraped and sold to advertisers. That said, Google does have an army of security engineers and developers working around the clock to keep the platform secure, but you’ve got to take their word for it.
Cleaner UI
I find Gmail’s user interface rather clunky. There’s nothing wrong with it per se, and once you get used to it, it’s actually a breeze to navigate. However, there’s just too much information on the screen at any given time, so you’ll be missing a few emails from time to time.
There are ways tosee only important emails on Gmail, but it does require extra steps like setting up your priority inbox. Proton Mail, however, maintains a clean, simple user interface, which, despite not being as feature-rich as Gmail, makes it a breeze to get through your daily emails.
You see a list of folders, your inbox, and the email you’re reading, and that’s it. It’s far less overwhelming than Gmail’s UI, which constantly changes colors, alerts, and other information.
Both email providers offer features that let you customize your inbox and bring important information to the front. These include the ability to create folders, labels, and filters as well as download and use other email clients. However, if you just want something simple and functional, you’ll like how your Proton Mail inbox looks from the start.
Better Spam Filtering
To Google’s credit, it has been working tostop bulk senders from spamming your inbox. However, spam and sometimes even malicious phishing emails do slip its safeguards and end up in your inbox. While Proton Mail isn’t perfect either, I’ve found that the volume of spam and malicious messages is far lower.
Do keep in mind that this will vary from person to person. The amount of spam you get largely depends on how many sites you give your email address to. This is where Proton Mail’s email alias feature comes in handy, though. Avoiding giving out your actual email to seemingly shady sites can massively reduce the number of spam emails you get.
Both Gmail and Proton Mail alert you about potential phishing links in emails. However, Proton goes a step ahead and includes a warning for emails that fail their domain’s authentication requirements, indicating that they may be spoofed or improperly forwarded.
Access to Other Proton Services
When it comes to additional services, Google is ahead of Proton, but the gap is narrowing. At the time of writing, you get access to Proton’s VPN, cloud drive, password manager, calendar, and even a crypto wallet with just one account.
Sure, Google has more, and arguably better, offerings, but the search giant’s business model makes the difference once again. All of Google’s products collect your data to some extent. All of Proton’s products are focused on security and privacy, so you’re better protected across their services.
Better Value for Money When Upgrading
As long as you don’t care about cloud storage capacity, upgrading to a paid plan from Proton Mail can provide better value for money compared to Google One subscriptions.
Google One subscriptions start at $2 a month and include 100GB of cloud storage shared across Gmail, Photos, and Drive. By the time you get to the $10 per month subscription, you’ll have 2TB of cloud storage to share with up to five people.
Proton Mail is quite different. At the time of writing, its cheapest plan is $4 per month and includes 15GB of cloud storage, something you get in Google’s free tier. It also includes up to 10 extra email addresses and aliases, support for one custom email domain, and unlimited folders and labels.
However, the Proton Unlimited subscription, which costs $10 a month, offers much more. You get 500 GB storage, 15 extra email addresses, unlimited aliases, support for three custom email domains, advanced account protection, dedicated customer support, and premium access to all of Proton’s other services.
In the real world, you’ll unlikely be able to avoid using a Gmail account. However, if you’re looking for a more private and secure alternative,Proton Mailwill definitely scratch that itch for you. Combined with other Proton services, it makes for a handy package that makes sure you stay protected across the internet.
