Consumer Rights Wiki

Proton Mail: Difference between revisions

← Older edit
VisualWikitext
SinexTitan (talk | contribs)
confirmed, superconfirmed
1,335 edits
category update II
 
(20 intermediate revisions by 10 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Stub}}
{{Stub}}{{ProductCargo|Category=End-to-end encrypted Email service|Company=Proton AG|InProduction=Yes|Logo=Proton Mail logo.svg|ReleaseYear=2014|Website=https://proton.me/mail}}
{{ToneWarning}}
'''{{Wplink|Proton_Mail|Proton Mail}}''' is a privacy-focused email service based in Switzerland, which has partnered with non-Swiss content delivery networks, such as Radware. Proton Mail is part of the [[Proton]] suite of privacy-focused online services and software which includes Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, etc.


ProtonMail is a privacy focused email client based in Switzerland which has partnered with non Swiss content delivery networks like Radware. ProtonMail offers cloud email, calendar, VPN, and cloud storage services. ProtonMail has a marketing focus on privacy over competitors like Google or Microsoft.
==Consumer-impact summary==
{{Ph-C-CIS}}


==False advertising and work with authorities==
==Incidents==
Protonmail has advertised itself as a private and secure service, as by their own words "No personal information is required to create your secure email account. By default, we do not keep any IP logs which can be linked to your anonymous email account. Your privacy comes first.", which was part of the advertising on their official website<ref><nowiki>https://web.archive.org/web/20210831234120/https://protonmail.com/</nowiki></ref> (www.protonmail.com, now www.proton.me). As it turned out, that statement was false. In 2021, a member of a French activist group had been using Protonmail to communicate with the group, and as an investigation was launched involving them, the email provider has quickly handed over the user's IP address and other data like the device they were using.<ref><nowiki>https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/06/protonmail-logged-ip-address-of-french-activist-after-order-by-swiss-authorities/</nowiki></ref> After the news reached the public and sparked a controversy, claims about the lack of IP logging were swiftly removed from the website. The company tried to excuse their behavior by stating, that they do not have to comply with authorities such as EUROPOL, and although this may be true, in cases of investigations the bigger organizations from outside simply use the Swiss government as a middleman to get any request through that they wish. Protonmail is not anonymous and any information will be handed over when requested by the Swiss government, which does also cooperate with other investigative authorities, leading to essentially no protection in case of any such event.  
This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents related to this product. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{PAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].


[https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i2nz9v/on_politics_and_proton_a_message_from_andy/ Proton official response on the Proton subreddit]
===False advertising and working with authorities (2021.09.06)===
{{Main|Proton Mail discloses activist IP address to police}}
Up to 2021, ProtonMail advertised itself as a private and secure service with the following under "Anonymous email":  <blockquote>"No personal information is required to create your secure email account. By default, we do not keep any IP logs which can be linked to your anonymous email account. Your privacy comes first."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Secure email: Proton is free encrypted email. |url=https://proton.me/mail |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831234120/https://protonmail.com/ |archive-date=2021-08-31 |website=ProtonMail}}</ref>  </blockquote>This statement proved to be false, when in September 2021, a member of a French activist group had been using ProtonMail to communicate with other groups. As an investigation was launched involving them, the email provider handed over the user's IP address and other data, including the device they were using.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lomas |first=Natasha |date=2021-09-06 |title=ProtonMail logged IP address of French activist after order by Swiss authorities |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/06/protonmail-logged-ip-address-of-french-activist-after-order-by-swiss-authorities/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-19 |website=TechCrunch |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260112062019/https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/06/protonmail-logged-ip-address-of-french-activist-after-order-by-swiss-authorities/ |archive-date=12 Jan 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Salter |first=Jim |date=2021-09-07 |title=ProtonMail removed “we do not keep any IP logs” from its privacy policy |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/09/privacy-focused-protonmail-provided-a-users-ip-address-to-authorities/ |access-date=2025-11-19 |website=Ars Technica |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251209002537/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/09/privacy-focused-protonmail-provided-a-users-ip-address-to-authorities/ |archive-date=9 Dec 2025}}</ref> The section was changed shortly after getting attention from news outlets and the general public.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Secure email: ProtonMail is free encrypted email. |url=https://proton.me |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907033644/https://protonmail.com/ |archive-date=2021-09-07 |access-date=2025-11-19 |website=ProtonMail}}</ref>  <!-- This needs a format restructure or a main incident page, but I can't be bothered to learn it right now. I just do tone and citations... -raster -->


Proton announces partnership with Zoom, a non private messaging platform. [https://proton.me/support/calendar-zoom How to add Zoom meetings to event invitations].
===Harsh inactive account policy===
In 2022, ProtonMail announced a policy that entails the [[Inactive account deletion|deletion of inactive accounts]], resulting in major controversy. Many users have criticised the decisions and advocated for nuanced versions of inactive account policies, such as deleting only the email contents of any inactive ProtonMail accounts instead of the accounts themselves, as the latter would reportedly result in major inconvenience for users who used the accounts as multiple-factor authentications for important services, such as banking. It has also been said that the harsh policy will adversely affect those who had good reasons to become inactive for a long time, such as hospitalisation, prison incarceration, and being in totalitarian countries that have prolonged internet shutdowns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ProtonMail |date=2022-04-14 |title=Protonmail's dormant policy is now in effect. |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/u3ejjp/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241218103805/https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/u3ejjp/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/ |archive-date=18 Dec 2024|access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-14 |title=Protonmail's dormant policy is now in effect. |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/u3g406/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20221016093816/https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/u3g406/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/ |archive-date=16 Oct 2022|access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Reddit}}</ref>


==Harsh inactive account policy==
In response, ProtonMail added an exemption, where the inactive account policy would not apply to any accounts that had premium subscriptions, <ref>{{Cite web |title=Update to our inactive account policy |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/uca15y/update_to_our_inactive_account_policy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250402195858/https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/uca15y/update_to_our_inactive_account_policy/ |archive-date=2 Apr 2025|access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Reddit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ashwin |first= |date=2022-04-27 |title=ProtonMail will not delete user accounts for inactivity if the user had paid for a subscription at any point |url=https://www.ghacks.net/2022/04/27/protonmail-will-not-delete-inactive-user-accounts-for-former-premium-subscribers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250316094922/https://www.ghacks.net/2022/04/27/protonmail-will-not-delete-inactive-user-accounts-for-former-premium-subscribers/ |archive-date=16 Mar 2025|access-date=2025-11-20 |website=ghacks.net}}</ref> although the exemption was revoked as of 2024.{{CitationNeeded|reason=any official announcements?}} <!-- This change is visible in the support article though. before : https://archive.ph/H3jjI | after : https://archive.ph/BEEuw --> ProtonMail accounts created before April 9, 2024, have a two-year grace period before being subject to the policy, as opposed to one year for newer accounts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inactive Accounts |url=https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260131180800/https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts |archive-date=31 Jan 2026|access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Proton}}</ref> In some cases, users have reported success in recovering their inactive accounts after being locked under the policy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Account is no longer available due to inactivity |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i7gbd7/account_is_no_longer_available_due_to_inactivity/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260222223819/https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i7gbd7/account_is_no_longer_available_due_to_inactivity/ |archive-date=22 Feb 2026|access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Reddit}}</ref>
On 2022, Protonmail announced a policy which entails the deletion of inactive accounts, resulting in a major controversy. Many users have criticized the decisions and advocated for nuanced versions of inactive account policy, such as deleting only the email contents of any inactive Protonmail accounts instead of the accounts themselves, where the latter would reportedly result in major inconvenience for users who used the accounts as multiple factor authentications for important services such as banking. It has also been said that the harsh policy will adversely affect those who had good reasons to become inactive for a long time, such as hospitalization, prison incarceration, and being in totalitarian countries which have prolonged internet shutdowns. <ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/u3ejjp/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/</ref><ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/u3g406/protonmails_dormant_policy_is_now_in_effect/</ref>


In response, Protonmail added an exemption where the inactive account policy would not apply to any accounts which had premium subscriptions at one point, although the exemption was revoked as of 2024. Protonmail accounts that were created before April 9, 2024 has a two year grace period before being subjected to the policy, as opposed to one year for newer accounts.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/uca15y/update_to_our_inactive_account_policy/</ref><ref>https://www.ghacks.net/2022/04/27/protonmail-will-not-delete-inactive-user-accounts-for-former-premium-subscribers/</ref><ref>https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts</ref> In some cases users have reported success in recovering their inactive accounts after being locked under the policy.<ref>https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i7gbd7/account_is_no_longer_available_due_to_inactivity/</ref>
As of 2025, many users continue to voice their concerns regarding the inactive account policy, advocating for sensible measures such as deleting only the contents of inactive accounts while sparing the accounts themselves.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inactive account policy - keep account when deleting data {{!}} How can we improve Proton? |url=https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/945460-general-ideas/suggestions/48235556-inactive-account-policy-keep-account-when-deleti |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260212110648/https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/945460-general-ideas/suggestions/48235556-inactive-account-policy-keep-account-when-deleti |archive-date=2026-02-12 |access-date=2025-11-20 |website=protonmail.uservoice.com}}</ref>


As of 2025 many users continue to voice their concerns regarding the inactive account policy, while advocating for sensible measures such as deleting only the contents in the inactive accounts while sparing the accounts themselves.<ref>https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/945460-general-ideas/suggestions/48235556-inactive-account-policy-keep-account-when-deleti</ref><ref>https://proton.me/support/inactive-accounts</ref>
The Proton team has stated on Reddit that the inactive account policy aims to "manage their resources in a sustainable way". In the comments, it was noted that retaining the accounts themselves indefinitely and only purging their contents would not noticeably increase operating costs compared to deleting entire accounts, given that login information is all that would have to be retained. ProtonMail also does not allow registering email accounts with the same address as deleted email accounts to prevent impersonation, which would be possible only because it retains the deleted email addresses in its records.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-09 |title=Proton's New Policy for Free Inactive Accounts |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1bzt1ka/protons_new_policy_for_free_inactive_accounts/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250128155913/https://old.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1bzt1ka/protons_new_policy_for_free_inactive_accounts/ |archive-date=28 Jan 2025|access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Reddit}}</ref> <!-- "would only be possible / is only possible" is strong language, needs rewording. also is there an "unless...?" on this justification -->


===Data portability===
Until around 2023, there was no way for users without a paid subscription to create local backups of all of their emails at once (an example of [[data lock-in]]). Paying users could utilise the Proton Mail Bridge to download their emails via the IMAP protocol using an external client, such as Thunderbird or Outlook. In contrast, free users were limited to downloading each email individually, making it impractical for backup purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to export and import emails |url=https://protonmail.com/support/knowledge-base/export-import-emails/ |url-status=unfit |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220426212143/https://protonmail.com/support/knowledge-base/export-import-emails/ |archive-date=26 Apr 2022|access-date=2025-11-20 |website=ProtonMail}}</ref>
Since approximately 2023, Proton Technologies has offered an export tool that anyone can utilise.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to export and restore emails using the Proton Mail Export Tool |url=https://proton.me/support/proton-mail-export-tool |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260131212130/https://proton.me/support/proton-mail-export-tool |archive-date=31 Jan 2026|access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Proton}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Ph-C-SA}}
==References==
==References==
<references />
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Proton]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
Retrieved from "https://consumerrights.wiki/w/Proton_Mail"