Using Gmail? Think your emails are private? Think again. Here’s 16 simple reasons why switching to Proton Mail for your email is one of the best things you can do for your privacy this year…
Gmail has become so ubiquitous that using anything else feels like a weird outlier move. With almost 2 billion active users, Google’s free email service has achieved total domination.
And yet, a few months ago, I did the unthinkable: I moved both my personal and my business emails out of Google’s Gmail ecosystem.
I never thought I’d do this. Gmail has been a part of my life for 20 years now, so making the switch was kind of painful. But it had to happen.
Just because something is popular, doesn’t mean it’s good. Especially when it comes to matters of privacy and security. In this arena, Gmail falls woefully short and if you value your online privacy, you’d do well to consider Gmail alternatives Like Proton Mail.
16 Ways Proton Mail Is Better (And More Secure) Than Gmail
- Gmail is not end-to-end encrypted. Your emails are exposed. Proton Mail offers full end-to-end encryption, ensuring only you and your recipient can read your emails.
- Google holds the keys to your Gmail data. They can access your emails at will and hand them over to third parties. Proton Mail’s zero-access encryption means even they can’t read your emails.
- Gmail was caught giving third-party developers full access to user emails. Did you consent to strangers reading your emails? No, no you didn’t.
- Google scans your emails to enable features like smart replies. “Smart” for them, invasive for you.
- Gmail is not secure from hackers if Google’s servers are breached. Proton Mail’s decentralized architecture makes it far more resilient to attacks.
- Google tracks your activity to serve you ads. That free email service comes at the cost of your privacy. Proton Mail adamantly refuses to track users or serve ads. Ever.
- Google shares your data with advertisers. Remember, if you’re not paying for the product, you are the product. With Proton Mail, you’re the customer, not the commodity.
- Gmail’s privacy policy is a labyrinth of legalese. Proton Mail’s privacy policy is simple, straightforward, and puts your interests first.
- Switzerland’s strict privacy laws protect Proton Mail users. The CLOUD Act and PRISM program mean your Gmail data is up for grabs.
- Proton Mail’s code is open source and audited. Gmail’s code is proprietary and opaque.
- Proton Mail offers anonymous signup. No phone number or personal info required. Gmail demands your life story.
- Proton Mail has a Tor onion site for maximum anonymity. Gmail is about as anonymous as a Facebook profile.
- Google can hand over your Gmail data to governments. Proton Mail can only hand over heavily encrypted bits, useless without your keys.
- Gmail’s UI is designed to keep you engaged and viewing ads. Proton Mail’s UI is designed to let you get in, get your email, and get out.
- Proton Mail offers easy migration from Gmail. They’ll even import your old emails for you.
- Proton Mail is committed to privacy as a fundamental human right. Google is committed to… Google.
Proton Mail offers a free service but it is limited. To be fair, its $3.99/£3.99 per month plan has everything 99.9% of users will ever need.
Is it worth it? I think so. If I have to pay a small fee to protect my personal data, that’s a small cost to bare versus giving it all to Big Tech so it can line its pockets using my data to build personas for advertisers.
Bottom Line?
Most people assume their email is private, that what they send and receive is protected. But as myriad Yahoo Mail data leaks and lawsuits against Google have revealed, this simply is not the case – your email is not private, nor it is very secure.
And when you consider ALL the personal stuff you have in your email, from pictures to banking and financial data to sensitive, personal stuff, this isn’t exactly a good spot to find oneself in.
Personally, I had no idea about the level of snooping and general data sharing that goes on with Gmail. Google says its email platform is secure but it has been caught numerous times sharing data with advertisers and developers, so yeah…
If you want to keep your email private and stop companies like Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo from accessing and sharing your personal information, you need to use a private email platform like Proton Mail or Tutanota.
Both options are great but the reason I prefer Proton Mail is because Proton has invested heavily in its UX, so that it looks as slick and is as easy to use as Gmail. Tutanota is a bit more, umm… traditionally open source in its aesthetic.
Oh, and Proton Mail also has business emails too, so if like me you run a business, it can handle your business emails securely as well.
