Proton Mail has released a brand new desktop app for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
The app means subscribers to the privacy-focused mail service no longer need to use a web browser to read, send, and manage their mail.
For privacy-conscious folks, Proton needs little introduction. Formed by a group of scientists and engineers who met working at CERN circa 2014, the company provides a wide range of secure, privacy-focused online services including encrypted email, VPN, and cloud storage.
On the Proton blog the company explains the rationale behind freeing their webmail service from the confines of a web browser:
“In addition to privacy concerns, accessing your email from a browser can make it hard to focus on the task at hand. You use your browser for much more than email, so it’s easy to miss new messages or reminders in between all the open tabs for social media, online shopping, and more.”
In order to give users “the best email experience that’s not only safe but distraction free” they created a dedicated Proton Mail desktop client.
The desktop version offers the same features, innovations, and privacy protections as Proton Mail’s web version plus extra integrations with the underlying OS, including native desktop notifications, light/dark mode support, and the (optional) ability to use the system font.
“Despite these new additions,” the company says “our desktop apps remain recognizably Proton. Anyone who has used our web app before will instantly feel at home.”
Download Proton Mail Desktop Client
If you have a free, basic Proton Mail plan you can download the Proton Mail app and use it for 14 days (no obligation, no payment details needed), after which you need to upgrade to a paid tier to keep using it.
The desktop Proton Mail app is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux (the Linux client is in ‘beta’).
Proton Mail’s Linux installers are offered in DEB and RPM format. If you use Ubuntu download the DEB version. Also: you can’t install DEBs in Ubuntu 23.10 and 24.04 out-of-the-box (annoying, I know) so first install Gdebi then use that (GUI), or use apt (CLI).