Important

Email

Your email provider reads your messages to sell ads. Switch to one that can’t — and won’t.

My recommendation

Proton Mail

End-to-end encrypted email from a Swiss company that cannot read your messages. No ads, no scanning, no compromises — with a generous free tier.

Get Proton Mail Free
  1. 1

    Create a free Proton Mail account

    Go to proton.me/mail and sign up for a free account. You’ll get a @proton.me email address. No phone number required.

  2. 2

    Download the Proton Mail app

    Install the app on your phone (iPhone / Android) or use it at mail.proton.me in your browser.

  3. 3

    Start using your new address for new accounts

    When you sign up for anything new online, use your Proton Mail address. This is the easiest first step — you don’t need to abandon your old email immediately.

  4. 4

    Gradually notify important contacts

    Let your bank, doctor, and close contacts know about your new address. You can set up a simple auto-reply on your old account pointing people to the new one.

  5. 5

    Consider a custom domain (optional)

    For a more professional address like [email protected], Proton Mail supports custom domains on paid plans starting at $3.99/month.

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You don't have to switch overnight

Start by using Proton Mail for new sign-ups and sensitive communications (banking, medical, legal). Migrate your old email gradually over months.

What’s wrong with Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo Mail?

The major free email providers offer their service in exchange for access to your data. Google has historically scanned the contents of Gmail messages to build advertising profiles. While Google stopped scanning emails for ad targeting in 2017, it still processes your email for features like Smart Reply, and third-party apps connected to your Gmail account may still read your messages.

More fundamentally, these providers store your email in a way that they can read — and that means law enforcement, hackers, or rogue employees potentially can too. Your email contains an enormous amount of sensitive information: financial statements, medical records, personal conversations, passwords, and more.

What end-to-end encryption actually means

Proton Mail uses end-to-end encryption, which means your messages are encrypted on your device before they leave it. Proton’s servers only ever see encrypted data — they cannot read your emails even if compelled by a court order, because they technically don’t have the key to decrypt them.

This is a fundamental architectural difference from Gmail. It’s not just a policy promise — it’s a technical reality built into how the system works.

Note: end-to-end encryption applies when both sender and recipient use Proton Mail. When you email someone on Gmail, the message is still encrypted in transit, but Gmail can read it on the other end. Proton Mail also offers a feature to send password-protected encrypted emails to non-Proton users.

About Proton

Proton was founded in 2013 by scientists who met at CERN, the European particle physics laboratory. The company is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, which has some of the world’s strongest privacy laws. Proton is a certified B Corporation and has published its source code for independent security review. It is used by journalists, activists, and privacy-conscious individuals worldwide.

Further Reading