After years of loyalty to Gmail, I finally created a Proton Mail account to switch over completely. While using an encrypted email provider like Proton Mail sounds ideal, I quickly ran into obstacles that made me give up.
4Less Convenience
Moving from Gmail to Proton Mail, I expected a small learning curve. I initially thought the transition would be smooth after reading how Proton Mail has streamlined its experience. But what I didn’t anticipate was just how much convenience I’d be giving up. Take email sorting, for example. Gmail automatically sorts emails into categories like Primary, Social, Forums, Promotions, and Updates, which kept my inbox organized, especially with a steady stream of emails arriving daily.
In Proton Mail, this doesn’t happen automatically. Instead, I have to set up my custom filters so that if an email has certain characteristics, it should be moved to a given folder or labeled appropriately. It works, sure, but it would be great if Proton could provide default rules and let those who want more tweak them to their liking. I mean, Proton Mail is one ofthe best email services for blocking spam, so categories shouldn’t be an issue, right?
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That’s just one example. Proton Mail falls short in other areas as well, which made it hard for me to stick with them despite having an account. For example, the contacts feature doesn’t have sync support with the default contact apps yet (although the company plans to launch that in the future, with no timeline provided). And even something simple like search doesn’t work well compared to Gmail, which is a bummer.
I looked through ther/ProtonMailsubreddit for a solution, and I found out the only way out is to use Proton Mail Bridge (exclusive to paid users) and a third-party app like Thunderbird. But, hey, I needed something that worked without so much heavy lifting.
3It’s Hard to Get Friends to Switch
One of Proton Mail’s biggest selling points is end-to-end encryption, which promises to keep your emails private, not just from hackers, but even from the company itself. That’swhy I switched from Gmail to Proton Mail. It’s a great feature, but it comes with a catch. The catch is that end-to-end encryption only works when both the sender and receiver are using Proton Mail.
To enjoy that level of privacy, I had to convince friends and colleagues to switch to Proton Mail too, which was a tough ask. It’s hard to get people to ditch their familiar services for something else, and even worse, adopting a whole new app to exchange messages privately isn’t exactly a compelling sell.
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But then I discovered they didn’t need to switch because Proton Mail includes an option to send end-to-end encrypted emails to other providers by adding password protection. However, that quickly fell apart as it added friction to what has always been a simple experience. You can bet it didn’t go smoothly.
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) was the last resort, but a non-starter since not everyone is tech-savvy. My migration plan continued to crumble.
2Limited Ecosystem Integration
One thing I didn’t fully appreciate before switching to Proton Mail was just how my Gmail account was tightly integrated with everything else I use. My Gmail wasn’t just an inbox for my emails. It’s the center of an entire ecosystem of services.
Sure, Proton has continued to add more services to offer a complete suite of tools like what you get in Gmail, but they aren’t as seamless. Take Proton Drive, for example. Yes, it’s Proton’s cloud storage service, but it doesn’t work in tandem with Proton Mail.
For example, if I receive an attachment in an email, I can’t save it to Proton Drive unless I download it first and then upload it. Another frustration was not being able to create meetings directly from Proton Mail like I could in Gmail.
1Limited Compatibility With Third-Party Apps and Services
Another issue I encountered after switching to Proton Mail was its limited compatibility with the other digital tools I use daily. For privacy reasons, it makes sense that Proton Mail doesn’t play nicely with most third-party apps and services, but it’s something I wasn’t prepared for when making the switch.
I quickly realized that even though Proton offers a full email service with an ecosystem around it, they all exist in a walled garden with limited integration with third-party tools. Unlike Gmail, there’s no integration with apps that I use daily, like Slack, Todoist, Notion, and Google Calendar. And if you’re a fan of automation, forget about it since there’s no native support, and tools like Zapier and IFTTT aren’t supported.
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And given there’s no support for common email protocols like IMAP or SMTP, I couldn’t add Proton Mail to my go-to email client for a seamless transition. The only option here was Proton Mail Bridge, which is not only exclusive to paid users but, even worse, is only available on desktop.
Proton Mail is a solid option if you’re looking for an encrypted email service. I wanted privacy, and Proton Mail delivered on that front, but I wasn’t prepared for the trade-offs. While I’m keeping my Proton Mail account, I’ll stick with Gmail for everyday communication and only use Proton Mail when privacy really matters.
