Proton gives anyone the chance to secure their files in its encrypted cloud
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Proton’s core mission is to promote better online privacy for everyone. In fact, the Swiss-based provider has designed a full-fledged privacy ecosystem to support its commitment — all available for free, too.
For example, Proton VPN is one of the best VPN apps out there. The secure email service, Proton Mail, even integrates new tools like its own encrypted calendar and cloud storage to provide a more private alternative for the biggest names in the game.
Its latest product, Proton Drive, has been extremely successful since its launch last September, recording more than 1 million files uploaded per day in less than two months.
Now, in an ongoing effort to secure more and more people’s online lives, new Proton Drive users can sign up using other third-party emails as their usernames.
Before that, a Proton account was required to access the file storage service. However, this created a barrier for those looking for it only instead, secure their sensitive documents. The provider believes such a move will help Internet users “gradually reduce their exposure to Big Tech’s surveillance infrastructure,” one step at a time.
To take advantage of #ProtonDrive’s end-to-end encryption, one should have received an @ProtonMail email. Starting today, you can create a Proton account with any email address and access Proton Drive. For better privacy, we still recommend purchasing a Proton Mail account. pic.twitter.com/avcObQJpz8February 8, 2023
Decoupling the privacy ecosystem
“When it comes to privacy, things like VPN and encrypted email are becoming more common, but they’re still a bit of a niche. But literally everyone in the world is using some kind of cloud storage,” said Proton founder and CEO Andy. Yen. TechRadar.
“This is then a very good opportunity to bring Proton’s privacy mission and power of encryption to a mass market. It decouples the ecosystem.”
Proton Drive is an encrypted file storage that promises to protect users’ most sensitive documents, photos, and videos with end-to-end encryption and a strict zero-access policy. Users can store and share files knowing no one should have access to them.
From the name and thumbnail of the file to the date it was created and modified, everything is encrypted. Even better, users get full control over their shared files with additional security features like password and expiration date. The convenience of the cloud is combined here with the privacy of local storage.
Swiss safe and open-source, the latest addition to Proton’s privacy ecosystem, represents a major innovation in the market due to its strong focus on mass consumers. “It is also available with the free plan, because for our human rights mission everyone should be able to access it,” said Yen.
This makes the new release a natural evolution. While previously users had to create a ProtonMail account to enjoy the service, now anyone can sign up by simply using their usual third-party email address as their username if they wish.
As Anant Vijay Singh, Product Lead of Proton Drive, said, “This gives users and the public more flexibility, making it much easier for them to sign up and get started on their way to coding.”
It’s not just about privacy, though. He explained that Proton Drive can also help people bypass online censorship.
How? Well, no government could pressure the provider to reveal what its users share on the Proton platform. That’s simply because no one on the Proton team will know about it.
Last year, for example, Chinese activists used such software to distribute videos during the anti-Covid lockdown protests in the confidence that authorities could not intercept them.
“That actually happened the day we launched,” Yen said. “That’s the example of Drive already being used to advance the human rights mission that Proton stands for. It shows that it’s being used properly from the very beginning.”
An intrinsic advantage of Proton as a security company is the fact that all pieces of technology developed from their other products can be integrated with each other. Spreading the knowledge from software to software.
On a practical level, this means that some of the anti-censorship VPN features, such as the Stealth protocol and alternate routing, are all things developers can bring to Drive in the future. While the VPN Accelerator technology already boosts Proton’s cloud storage speed performance.
Proton Suite: Gmail’s private alternative?
It is clear that the Proton suite is increasingly becoming a direct competitor to Big Tech giants such as Google or Apple. A more private and safer alternative, of course.
However, such a competition is anything but easy.
Since such companies’ software comes standard with many devices, especially mobile devices, they actively try to retain customers by restricting user functions when they decide to use third-party services.
“That’s why we’re also very active in speaking with policymakers in Brussels, the US and even the UK to try and get regulations that will allow companies like Proton to have a level playing field,” Yen said.
In fact, he believes that legislation such as the new EU Digital Markets Act will make many of these practices illegal once implemented.
“I think if you gave the average consumer a choice, most of them would choose to adapt to what Proton is all about,” Yen said. “We just want to make the products to be there and fill that need.”
Since protecting users’ privacy in all aspects of their online lives is central to Proton’s mission, the provider will continue to listen carefully to its customers as it integrates its privacy ecosystem according to their needs. Another new product is in the pipeline this year.
“Whatever users ask us to build, we’re going to do it,” Yen said. “We’re very excited to continue expanding Drive over the next few years as well. And we think adding external accounts has a very high potential to bring privacy to a much wider audience. A very important step to open the escape gates.”
