There’s a New Way to Make Your Gmail More Private.
As someone who cares about user privacy, I’ve been thinking about ditching my Gmail account for years. But quitting Gmail isn’t easy, just like switching email providers altogether. Not only do you have to send your new email address to all your contacts, but you also have to change the address on every account that uses it. It’s a hassle, and unfortunately, it’s not worth it—even if Google monitors most of my activity. I’m not even a fan of the Google ecosystem; I can only imagine the pull this platform has on people who use Google Photos and Docs—not to mention the Android operating system.
Proton Mail can make Gmail more private.
Now, it appears there’s a simple way to increase your email privacy without sacrificing the convenience of Gmail (or switching email providers altogether). On Thursday, Proton announced that its email service, appropriately 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, rather than your Proton address.
At first glance, this announcement seems completely out of character for Proton. The company’s whole point is to offer something Google doesn’t: productivity services without compromising user privacy. Gmail integration into Proton Mail seems counterintuitive and only useful for Proton users with an active Gmail account. However, the integration goes a bit deeper: Proton claims its app will remove any trackers, ads, or spam from all Gmail messages arriving in your Proton Mail inbox. Furthermore, by checking your Gmail in Proton, you avoid using the Gmail app, thus avoiding Google’s data collection.
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. Of course, you’ll still be using Gmail, but Google won’t be able to see which messages you open, how long you spend reading them, or how you use its services. Your entire Gmail history won’t be immediately available, either. The company claims that after connecting your Gmail account, “recent” messages will be displayed, but all new messages will continue to arrive in your inbox.
With Proton Mail, Gmail can be encrypted end-to-end.
Perhaps the most important benefit is that Proton enables your Gmail messages to be encrypted end-to-end (E2EE). Gmail offers E2EE on its platform, but only for certain users (specifically, Workspace accounts). With Proton, any Gmail user, regardless of subscription, can take advantage of E2EE—but with one caveat.
You won’t notice the benefits of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) if Proton is used only by you. For example, if you send a message to a Gmail user from your Gmail address via Proton, the message won’t be end-to-end encrypted. However, if both parties use Proton to access Gmail, the emails will be end-to-end encrypted. This is a bit disappointing, as the likelihood that many of your contacts use Gmail with Proton is slim. However, it encourages privacy-conscious Google users to add Gmail to Proton Mail, which is a clear benefit for Proton.
How to set up Gmail in Proton Mail
Proton says this feature is being rolled out gradually, so you may not see it right away. However, when it does arrive, the company says setup will be simple. First, open Proton Mail, then go to “Settings” and select “Import via Easy Switch.” From there, connect your Gmail account, and you’re all set.