ProtonMail has announced the official launch of their mobile apps for iOS and Android today. ProtonMail brings seamless PGP end-to-end encryption to emailing, making it significantly more secure for those looking for an extra layer of privacy.
With the privacy and encryption debate looming on, more and more people may become interested in other ways in which encryption impacts them.
When Snowden was discussing documents with different journalists, it was reported he would only communicate with them if they were using PGP. Ensuring both ends of the communication were secure was vital for his discussions with journalists.
PGP may have been around for a long time, but I have yet to see one that integrates it as seamlessly as ProtonMail.
Originally founded in 2013 as an email web app, ProtonMail strives to protect online privacy. Their security page details the way in which ProtonMail keeps users secure, and how they themselves don’t have access to the information.
Working with open source cryptography (AES, RSA, and OpenPGP), owning their own servers instead of relying on a cloud, and using full disk encryption, ProtonMail seems serious about creating a business to keep users safe.
The other major feature that stands out in ProtonMail is the ability to create self-destructing messages. Think of it as a sort of SnapChat for emails. When sending out a message, a user can choose when the email will be deleted from the recipient’s inbox. This feature works with both ProtonMail email addresses, and non-ProtonMail email addresses.
ProtonMail is available for free in the iOS App Store and is compatible with iPhones and iPads. Users who would like to sign up for a free ProtonMail account may do so here, and ProtonMail Paid Plan pricing details are available here.
