As someone who cares about user privacy, I’ve thought a lot about getting rid of my Gmail account over the years. But it’s not easy to quit Gmail, and it’s not easy to switch email providers in general. Not only do you need to send your new email to all your contacts, you need to change your address with each account you currently have. It’s a hassle, and, unfortunately, not worth the trade-off — even if Google is spying on most of my activity. I’m also not all-in on Google’s ecosystem; I can only imagine the gravitational pull on people who use Google Photos and Docs on the platform — not to mention the Android OS.
Proton Mail can make Gmail more private
Now, it seems, there’s a reasonably easy way to improve your email privacy without sacrificing Gmail’s functionality (or switching email providers altogether). On Thursday, Proton announced that its email service, aptly named Proton Mail. Now supports Gmail. For the first time, you can link your Gmail account to Proton Mail, and use it to send and receive messages from your Google address instead of your Proton.
On the surface, this ad seems wildly out of character for Proton. The whole point of the company is that it offers what Google doesn’t: productivity services without compromising user data privacy. Inviting Gmail into Proton Mail seems counterintuitive and only suitable for Proton users who have an active Gmail account. In contrast, however, the integration goes a little deeper: Proton says its app will strip any trackers, ads or spam from all Gmail messages that come through your Proton Mail inbox. Also, by checking your Gmail in Proton, you avoid using the Gmail app, which leaves even more of Google’s data storage.
According to Proton, by choosing to read your Gmail inbox in Proton Mail, you deprive Google of the data it normally uses to build a profile of your activity. Sure, you’re still using Gmail, but Google can’t see which emails you open, how long you read, or how you use its services. That said, you won’t have your entire Gmail history ready here. The company says that when you connect your Gmail account, “recent” conversations will appear, but not all New Next the email will arrive in your mailbox.
Gmail can be end-to-end encrypted in Proton Mail
Perhaps the best advantage here is that, through Proton, your Gmail messages can be end-to-end encrypted (E2EE). Gmail offers E2EE on its platform, But only for some users (specifically, workspace accounts). With Proton, any Gmail user, regardless of subscription, can take advantage of E2EE—but with a catch.
What do you think so far?
If you only use Proton you won’t see the benefits of E2EE. For example, if you send a message to a Gmail user from your Gmail address in Proton, the message will not be end-to-end encrypted. However, if both participants are using Proton to access Gmail, the emails will be E2EE. That’s a bit confusing, since it’s unlikely that many of your contacts are using Gmail within Proton. That said, it encourages privacy-minded Google users to add Gmail to Proton Mail, which is a clear win for Proton.
How to set up Gmail in Proton Mail
Proton says the feature is rolling out gradually, so you won’t see it right away. When you do, though, the company says setup is easy. First, open Proton Mail, then go to Settings and select “Import via Easy Switch”. Here, connect your Gmail account and you’re set.
