If you're looking for an email service that prioritizes privacy and security, chances are you've come across 

. Unlike mainstream email providers like Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo, ProtonMail heavily focuses on privacy.

This Swiss-based company has steadily gained popularity in recent years, attracting millions of users worldwide. But who exactly is ProtonMail designed for?

we will explore the diverse user base of ProtonMail

 and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of this service. You will learn:

What alternative privacy-first solution rivals ProtonMail and addresses its shortcomings?

ProtonMail has a diverse and expansive user base. Here are the primary user types:

Individuals who value security and control over their data want an email service that keeps their communication confidential and secure. ProtonMail combines decent security features and a solid commitment to 

 to protect the contents of user emails. This encryption method guarantees the security of messages from the moment they leave the user's device until they reach the intended recipient

—ProtonMail adheres to a zero-access encryption architecture, meaning that even ProtonMail itself cannot access or decrypt emails. 

ProtonMail also doesn’t store personal user data

, making it difficult for third parties to 

While their encryption method offers a certain level of security, it's important to note that it has some vulnerabilities, which will be discussed in detail later in the article.

ProtonMail's Swiss origins and resistance to government surveillance attract individuals concerned about mass data collection and government overreach.

That is why a considerable portion of the ProtonMail user base consists of professionals working in regions with strict censorship or surveillance or

 those who handle a lot of confidential information

ProtonMail maintains a strict no-logs policy, so it 

or any other personally identifiable information. Still, a vulnerability was 

, raising security concerns among its users.

? This article provides an in-depth explanation.

ProtonMail has flexible subscription plans to meet its diverse user needs. Particularly for 

, its lower-priced plans can provide basic security features.

, making it a poor choice for companies, no matter how small.

Small enterprises that need secure communication and are on a budget may need a solution with a more comprehensive free plan.

Choose Skiff Mail, where each user gets the same level of service.

Your privacy is worth more than a monthly subscription.

While ProtonMail caters to users with specific privacy and security needs, it's also popular among

 individuals seeking an ad-free email account

. ProtonMail does not display ads or sell user data to advertisers.

This attention to user privacy sets it apart from typical mainstream email providers that rely on advertising revenue and often collect and monetize your data.

With email security threats becoming increasingly common, email security is a top priority for most industries, especially those that handle sensitive client data. 

Many companies in these industries are prime targets of cybercriminals seeking access to sensitive information, which can be damaging to the company's reputation and also lead to lawsuits. That's why companies are opting for 

Some popular companies that use ProtonMail include:

Can ProtonMail users send messages to regular email clients?

ProtonMail is compatible with standard email protocols, such as 

 (SMTP) and Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), which are common in the email industry. 

You can use ProtonMail to send emails to any email address

, regardless of whether the recipient is using ProtonMail or not.

Keep in mind that if you send an email to a non-ProtonMail address, 

 on the recipient's email server. Unless it supports E2EE, your recipient's email provider can potentially read your email, compromising your privacy.

To secure emails sent to non-Proton email addresses, you must 

enable ProtonMail's 'Encrypt for Outside' feature

. This feature allows you to password-protect your emails, and only recipients who have the password can decrypt and read the email.

If you are interested in how ProtonMail compares to other email providers like 

Skiff Mail doesn’t gamble with your data. Choose unyielding encryption.

One email breach is enough to compromise your privacy.

Even though ProtonMail offers a free plan for individuals, it’s quite limiting, even for an average user. The plan offers:

You can expand the default storage to 1 GB, but it doesn’t make a huge difference as this is storage shared across all Proton apps. Even though ProtonMail’s paid plans provide more 

 and advanced features, they might be expensive for users on a budget.

Professional users can access more features through one of their business subscription tiers. 

Why ProtonMail might not be a good fit for everyone

While ProtonMail is a popular privacy-focused email service,

 its limitations may make it unsuitable for some users

 (PGP), an outdated end-to-end encryption standard that has vulnerabilities and may not protect from current cyberattacks. If that’s not a reason enough, here are other drawbacks to consider:

ProtonMail does not encrypt the subject line and metadata of emails, which includes information about the sender and recipient and the time of sending. This could potentially expose some information about your email communication and compromise your anonymity

—ProtonMail doesn’t support real-time collaboration in secure documents. This can be a drawback for teams that need to work together on shared tasks or projects

—ProtonMail's primary focus is on security and privacy, which means it may not integrate as seamlessly with specific business tools or productivity apps compared to other private email services

 that doesn't compromise on essential safety and privacy features, check out 

Skiff Mail—Superior security standards and advanced features at no cost

 is an all-in-one solution for secure email communication. The platform relies on advanced E2EE that 

encrypts email contents, metadata, and subject lines

, giving you full ownership of your data.

With Skiff Mail, you can rest assured that no one, not even Skiff itself, can access your inbox. The platform uses a set of two keys to protect your messages:

The encryption process happens automatically and is enabled by default for all users. You don’t need any technical knowledge to use it. All you have to do is sign up by providing a username and a password. The platform offers 

, so there's no need to disclose personal information during signup.

Skiff supports 2FA through the Authenticator app

, which you can use to strengthen the security of your email.

, maintaining transparency by making its source code available to the public on the platform's 

. For a detailed insight into the service’s security features, you can read their 

Skiff Mail’s advanced security measures are only part of its service. The generous 

free plan offers a range of valuable features

 that most providers typically reserve for paid subscriptions. They include:

Seamless integration with multiple cryptocurrency wallets like 

four email addresses and ten quick email aliases

, which protect your privacy when signing up for services and keep your inbox organized and free from spammers.

Skiff integrates with E2E-encrypted productivity tools

Who uses ProtonMail? Everything you need to know

With the increasing reliance on online communication, the need for secure email services has never been greater. ProtonMail stands out as one of the world’s largest privacy-oriented email services thanks to its strict 

While this provider offers many benefits, you should consider its safety mechanisms and notable strengths and weaknesses before choosing your secure email service. To make the choice easier, 

this ProtonMail review offers a detailed breakdown of the following:

Vulnerabilities in the security and privacy mechanisms

You’ll also learn about a more comprehensive 

 that surpasses these vulnerabilities and offers a more reliable free plan.

ProtonMail was initially developed as a standard secure email platform for everyday users. In 2014, the company launched its Beta version to improve privacy for its growing user base. For the same purpose, it added other secure tools, which include:

 solution that integrates with ProtonMail used for storing files, photos, and other documents

—An encrypted calendar app for saving events and reminders that connects and syncs with the inbox

—A virtual private network (VPN) service that encrypts internet traffic and hides user IP addresses

—A secure password manager that helps users create strong passwords and stores them

ProtonMail offers solid cross-platform accessibility. Users can log into their accounts through a webmail client, Android and iOS apps, and the Tor network.

Before delving into a detailed review of the provider’s features, 

here is a quick ProtonMail pros and cons table overview:

ProtonMail security features and capabilities

As a security-oriented email service, ProtonMail offers a variety of features you won’t get from a typical mainstream provider. Starting with encryption,

 supported by the OpenPGP (Pretty Good Privacy) protocol, more on which you’ll read a bit later in this review.

E2EE is enabled automatically between ProtonMail users, but if the recipient is not a ProtonMail user, once it leaves your device, your data relies on their provider’s encryption standard. If the provider also supports PGP, 

you can manually set it up to E2E-encrypt your messages.

, which allows you to send a secure link that loads the encrypted message. To open it, the recipient must enter your set password.

Get Skiff and access superb E2EE and the latest security features.

You want privacy that is more than pretty good?

As another security layer, ProtonMail also offers

. Enabling 2FA requires installing one of the following authenticator apps on your mobile phone:

This feature is a standard measure that protects you in case 

. With 2FA, they won’t be able to access your email without the code.

Besides these basic security mechanisms, ProtonMail has a few other interesting security features, such as:

—When you receive an email with an attachment, ProtonMail automatically scans it for malware and viruses using advanced threat detection technology

Users can send self-destructing messages by assigning an optional expiration time. The message will automatically be deleted from the recipient's inbox after the set date

—Prevents Proton from sharing user data with third parties and ensures privacy in case of a server breach

When it comes to email organization and user experience, ProtonMail is a reasonably reliable provider. You can categorize mail using 

, and the filtering feature allows for an easy browse.

, allowing you to perform actions like automatically deleting 

. Similarly to Gmail, you can set up rules to sort incoming mail into different folders or labels based on specific criteria.

—It lets users set up an automatic reply message. You can customize the message and specify the duration for the auto-reply to be active

—Users can set their custom domain name with the ProtonMail account

—Allows choosing between the dark and light modes and changing the folder color

—Makes navigating the interface easier, like switching between different folders

While the platform typically doesn’t experience major loading issues, some users report lagging when logging into the account or when sending emails.

If you are interested in seeing how ProtonMail compares to providers like 

, find in-depth reviews of their notable features in these articles.

One of ProtonMail’s biggest disadvantages is its limited free plan. 

While you don’t have to pay for the service, the free plan is not sufficient for most 

, but you can unlock up to 1 GB, which is still not nearly enough, and you are limited to sending only 

. You can only add one personal calendar, and there are no options to share calendar entries and invitations via a link.

Users who need more than these minimum features must pay for one of the paid individual plans.

ProtonMail free vs. paid for individual users

Besides the free plan, individual users can choose between two paid plans, including:

Even though the Mail Plus plan gives users more storage space, 

, for which you would need to upgrade to Proton Unlimited. This feature should be standard for any privacy-oriented email provider, so having to choose the higher-priced plan to get it is not ideal.

With Skiff, each user gets top-of-the-line service with rock-solid encryption.

Privacy doesn’t have a price

Besides the Individual tier, users can choose a paid plan from two other tiers, including:

$29.99/month and unlocks up to 3 TB of shared storage across six accounts. 

Users also get an additional 20 GB of shared storage each year and access to the premium versions of the Proton apps.

This may not be enough for businesses, so they can choose between three paid plans, including:

While more encompassing than individual plans, ProtonMail business plans are not especially inclusive. With the Mail Essentials plan, users get 

15 GB of storage, ten email addresses, and no email aliases

, for which you’d have to choose one of the higher-paying plans.

* For a detailed breakdown of each plan and its features, check out this guide to 

 and privacy-focused email service provider, it has several vulnerabilities that may undermine its security features.

The platform relies on the OpenPGP end-to-end encryption standard. While there are notable advantages to using this standard, it is an 

that many providers have moved away from due to known vulnerabilities.

The protocol was developed in the 1990s and hasn't seen any major updates in recent years. Although more secure than basic protocols like 

PGP may not offer sufficient protection against modern and sophisticated cyber attacks.

ProtonMail's use of the PGP also ensures that address-related metadata is part of the message header and must remain unencrypted to allow a message to reach its destination. This means that

, potentially allowing third parties to see your emails' subject lines and compromising your 

. If they receive a court order, they are legally obligated to turn over some user information to the authorities, including:

 to reveal the IP information of a French climate activist under criminal investigation. While they did not disclose any mailbox contents, this opened doors to 

, so the incident raised concerns about ProtonMail's commitment to user privacy.

If you need a free, fully end-to-end encrypted email service with no restrictions and a significantly larger storage capacity, 

Skiff Mail—Advanced E2E-encrypted email for all users

Skiff Mail uses an advanced form of end-to-end encryption to take privacy a step further by encrypting not only the contents of your messages but 

The platform uses a set of two keys to secure your emails:

—Shared with the recipient and used for encrypting emails

—Generated and kept on your device and used for decrypting emails

With device-based encryption, the private key remains on your device and encrypts emails before you send them. This process happens automatically and guarantees that even 

 and its team cannot access your messages.

Besides end-to-end encryption, Skiff employs additional security measures to 

Unlike ProtonMail, Skiff makes all of its security and emailing capabilities available with the free plan. By default, each user gets

 for signing up for services anonymously.

If you’re interested in learning how these and other Skiff’s security features work, you can read this 

 platform, so anyone can review its source code on its 

What makes Skiff Mail a good alternative to ProtonMail

Skiff’s generous free plan offers advanced features that ProtonMail reserves for paid users.

, which is ten times more than what you get with Proton’s free plan.

ProtonMail review—A comprehensive look at the secure email service

If you receive loads of messages daily, manually locating emails can become next to impossible. That’s why it is crucial to 

 to ensure that you can trace your conversations whenever you need them.

, finding specific messages becomes more difficult. Whether you're a seasoned Gmail user or new to its features, this comprehensive guide aims to simplify the process. By the end of this article, you will learn:

How to find archived emails in Gmail manually and with filters

How to keep your inbox clean by managing spam and why doing so is important

Take command of your inbox with Skiff Mail, where security meets seamless organization and full control

Secure and organize your inbox

 is a feature designed to help you organize and 

 without permanently deleting messages. Archiving an email removes it from the Primary inbox but 

Instead, Gmail moves the archived email to the 

 section, where you can find it anytime. This compartment allows you to maintain a clean and focused inbox while still being able to 

retrieve and reference important messages

Archiving is particularly useful for managing large volumes of emails, letting you prioritize messages that require your immediate attention without the risk of losing valuable information.

 and maintain a more organized and clutter-free inbox.:

located in the top menu right under the search bar

If you’re using more than one email service, check out this guide to 

When you archive your emails, they remain in the All Mail folder until you move them to your inbox, delete them, or receive a reply. Because of this, 

—every time someone responds to a message in the archives, it will appear in your inbox as an 

manually retrieve archived emails to your Primary inbox

option in the left-hand navigation of your Gmail menu

section and click on it. This action takes you to a comprehensive view of all your emails, including those you have archived

How to locate archived emails using Gmail filters

 are a powerful feature that allows you to automate the organization and management of your incoming emails. Essentially, filters are rules or criteria that you can set up to perform specific actions on emails that match predefined conditions.

 next to the search bar while still in the 

Gmail filters give you various options to help you find your archived emails, which include:

For example, if you're looking to locate an archived email from a particular sender named Austin Smith, 

 and click the search button. Gmail will then filter your archived emails and present a list of messages from this specific person.

Once you've found the archived emails you want, you can 

. Click and hold the archived email with your mouse or touchpad, then drag it to the 

label in the left sidebar. This action achieves the same result as using the 

How to use Gmail filters to delete spam automatically

Managing spam emails is crucial in maintaining a clean inbox, enhancing productivity, and ensuring online security. Here is a step-by-step guide to 

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the 

In the filter creation window, specify the criteria for identifying spam. For instance, you can use the 

. By setting this condition, you're telling Gmail to

emails that have already been marked as spam

, effectively managing both incoming and existing spam messages.

Andrew Milich