protonmail

Firstly, yes, Proton started as an email service in 2014, and Proton VPN was added to the offer in 2017. The case shared above in fact shows that Proton's encryption provides privacy by default - none of the user's emails could be shared with law enforcement despite the data request which we had no legal grounds to contest. Of course, as any other legally operating company, we have to comply with the local law enforcement. The privacy we provide is reflected in not having access to the data to share with law enforcement, not in refusing to comply (which is not possible for anyone operating legally).

Thank you for your feedback. We're working on improving the Proton Calendar offer, currently making sure that our iOS app is on par with its Android equivalent (we've recently made it possible to add participants directly from the app, as well as some additional convenience features). Once this is finished, we'll look into other planned improvements for Proton Calendar.

No, we don't use bots to respond to questions here. Automated messages from us (which we sometimes use in our support ticketing system) are always marked as such.

That doesn't sound right. Have you opened a support ticket with us so that we can look into what's happening? You can do it here: https://proton.me/support/troubleshooting?product=mail

Hi! Note that if you import your emails from Gmail into Proton Mail via our Easy Switch, the labels will be imported too: https://proton.me/easyswitch. During the process, you're also given an option to select what you wish to import and what you wish to leave out. If you encounter any issues during the import, please contact us at: https://proton.me/support/contact.

We're truly sorry for the inconvenience the recent app update has caused you. Rest assured, our team is aware of the issues you've mentioned and is working hard to address them as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Thankfully, gag orders are not permissible in Switzerland, so the scenario you are describing is impossible.

The case you shared in fact shows that the Proton's encryption ensures privacy by default and that it cannot be bypassed even when we're presented with a court request that we cannot legally contest. Namely, weren't able to share any of the user's email content due to zero-access encryption which makes it inaccessible to us: https://proton.me/blog/zero-access-encryption. All we could provide was the limited metadata we need to have access to anyway in order for the email service to work properly. Additionally, the user's identity had already been known to the law enforcement. As any legally operating company, we need to comply to the local legislation.

There is also no comparison between Crypto AG and us. Our encryption occurs client-side, our cryptographic code is open source ( https://proton.me/community/open-source ), and our tech can and has been independently verified. More about this here: https://proton.me/blog/is-protonmail-trustworthy

Finally, regarding payment in cryptocurrency, you can also pay for Proton's services in Bitcoin: https://proton.me/support/payment-options#bitcoin.

In fact, this case shows that Proton Mail is exactly as private as advertised. The emails of the user stored on our servers could not have been shared because we don't have a access to them (due to zero-access encryption: https://proton.me/blog/zero-access-encryption). Of course, as any other legally operating company, we need to comply to local legislation, and the very little data we need to have (more in our Privacy Policy: https://proton.me/legal/privacy) will be shared if we're presented with a court order we have no legal grounds to contest. Proton doesn't provide privacy by refusing to cooperate with the law enforcement, but by not having access to the data.

On the other hand, as described in the blog above, Apple does have access to your data, and uses some of it to serve targeted ads: https://proton.me/blog/iphone-privacy.

In fact, the case you shared shows that Proton Mail is exactly as private as advertised. The emails of the user stored on our servers could not have been shared because we don't have a access to them (due to zero-access encryption: https://proton.me/blog/zero-access-encryption). Of course, as any other legally operating company, we need to comply to local legislation, and the very little data we need to have (more in our Privacy Policy: https://proton.me/legal/privacy) will be shared if we're presented with a court order we have no legal grounds to contest. Proton doesn't provide privacy by refusing to cooperate with the law enforcement, but by not having access to the data. We also don't have any backdoors for intelligence services, as you seem to imply.

On the other hand, as described in the blog above, Apple does have access to your data, and uses some of it to serve targeted ads: https://proton.me/blog/iphone-privacy.

This doesn't sound right. Our anti-abuse systems don't discriminate against self-hosted email by default. You can find the possible reasons for account suspension here: https://proton.me/legal/terms. You're also welcome to share your support ticket number with us here so we can track it internally.

We already do have such a page: https://proton.me/support/proton-mail-encryption-explained. Additionally, our Threat model has been publicly available since the service came into being in 2014: https://proton.me/blog/protonmail-threat-model

Proton was created because we believe that privacy is a human right, and therefore needs to be available to everyone. The Proton ecosystem is there to make privacy convenient.

For most users, losing a password is a major risk -- the most common request our support team receives on a daily basis is by far from users who lost their passwords. This is why we try to make sure users input some sort of recovery method. It doesn't need to be a recovery email address, or a phone number, you can also use a recovery phrase: https://proton.me/support/reset-password#how-to-reset-your-p...

Note that, at Proton, we are resolutely against the use of Proton services for purposes that are contrary to Swiss law (Proton is a Swiss company). The issue you're mentioning has been raised to the attention of the Swiss federal authorities, who have been in contact with the relevant Indian authorities. You can learn more about the case here: https://proton.me/blog/india-block-proton-mail

The article doesn't link the original court filing or discuss what actually happened, and from the title alone, is rather misleading.

The actual warrant can be found here and has the important missing details: https://drive.proton.me/urls/57QC5F26BW#nseYl6ICaQHm

The only data we could provide (in response to a binding Swiss legal order), was the user's recovery email address, which the user added himself, and is optional to begin with.

Unfortunately, said user also used that recovery address to create a Twitter account, and Twitter turned over his phone number and IP address.

Coincidentally, this case again proves that Proton Mail's encryption cannot be bypassed by law enforcement.

Note that our cryptography is open-source and independently audited: https://openpgpjs.org/. The encryption keys are generated with your Proton account password, which we don't have access to, so we have no way to decrypt your content stored encrypted on our servers.

Exactly, and even in the case when the emails are coming from a non-Proton service, the incoming emails are encrypted immediately after being checked for spam, phishing or malware: https://proton.me/support/proton-mail-encryption-explained.

We do offer alternatives to email addresses and phone numbers when it comes to recovering account access - you can also use a recovery phrase: https://proton.me/support/set-account-recovery-methods#how-t...

Regarding the case in question, you can find the actual warrant here, to understand what exactly happened: https://drive.proton.me/urls/57QC5F26BW#nseYl6ICaQHm

The only data we could provide (in response to a binding Swiss legal order), was the user's recovery email address, which the user added himself, and is optional to begin with.

Unfortunately, the said user also used that same recovery address to create a Twitter account, and Twitter turned over his phone number and IP address.

Coincidentally, this case again proves that Proton Mail's encryption cannot be bypassed by law enforcement.

Experiencing an additional verification step - sorry if we were unclear. Yes, you should be able to create a new account using our onion page or access our website via Tor browser. Additionally, you can create a Proton Mail account while connected to a no-logs VPN, which will also help protect your identity.

Yes, but all emails exchanged between two Proton accounts, as well as between a Proton account and a non-Proton user who relies on PGP encryption, are protected by PGP.

You still can.

This depends on the exit node, so if you are experiencing this, we recommend trying another one. If it persists, contact us here so we can take a closer look: https://proton.me/support/contact

Hi! It is in fact possible to signup via our onion website or using Tor browser.

Hi! PGP is open source, and therefore Proton Mail's encryption is interoperable with anyone who uses PGP to encrypt their emails: https://proton.me/blog/what-is-pgp-encryption. Proton Mail also allows you to send password-protected emails to anyone: https://proton.me/support/open-password-protected-emails.

That is false information, there was no connection between Proton and the Bataclan attack.

Happy to hear you've switched to our password manager! Just to clarify, you can use Proton Pass for free too: https://proton.me/pass/free.

Thank you for sharing your feedback! We're working on improving the search as well as other features in our mobile apps, so keep an eye on our channels for updates!

Here is a migration guide: https://proton.me/blog/migrate-skiff-to-proton