10 Hacks Every Proton Mail User Should Know

Proton Mail is a privacy-focused mail service that strips trackers from messages, maintains zero-access encryption (meaning Proton can't read or hand over the content of your emails), and offers end-to-end encryption between Proton mailboxes. If you're a Proton user, there are a handful of other hacks you should know to maximize these privacy features and make sending and receiving emails as seamless as possible.

Complete guided setup to get extra storage on your free plan

Proton Mail is free to use if you have just one email address, but storage is limited to just 500 MB, which will fill up fast if you are receiving messages with large attachments. You can upgrade to a Plus subscription for $4 per month to get 15 GB of storage—the same amount available to most Google users—but if you don't want to pay anything, you can at least double your limit to 1 GB by completing Proton's onboarding process within 18 days of signing up. Look for a Get more storage option on the left sidebar of your mailbox, and click an action to complete the task. Once you've finished the checklist, you'll unlock an additional 500 MB of storage on your account.

Reserve an email address for your child in their name

If you have a relatively common name, it's likely that many email addresses using simple conventions, such as firstname.lastname, have already been claimed. By the time your kids are old enough to set up their own accounts, pickings may be even slimmer. You can go ahead and reserve a username through Proton Mail for them, and they have 15 years to activate it. Once they're old enough, they'll already have a private email set up. Choose an address and pay $1 toward the Proton Foundation, then save the voucher to share with your child down the line.

Use Easy Switch to migrate external email addresses

If you're moving to Proton Mail from a different email provider or simply want all of your messages in one inbox, you can use Proton's Easy Switch feature to connect with and import from Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, and any other provider that allows IMAP access. Once Easy Switch is on, you'll be able to receive and send messages from your external address within Proton, and any mail sent to another Proton user from that address will be end-to-end encrypted. You'll retain copies of messages in your external inbox, so you don't need to make the full transition immediately. Easy Switch can also migrate your contacts and calendars. Go to Settings > Import via Easy Switch, choose your email service, and follow the prompts.

Customize the Undo Send timer to recall emails

We've all sent emails we wish we could take back thanks to a typo we didn't notice, an attachment we forgot to add, or a message we regret. Proton Mail has a delayed send feature that gives you up to 20 seconds to change your mind before your email is out of your hands. The timer is set at 10 seconds by default, but you can adjust it down to 0 or 5 seconds or up to 20. Go to Settings > Messages and composing, scroll down to the Composing section, and choose your desired time from the Undo send dropdown.

Create aliases to filter mail to specific folders

There are plenty of good reasons to use an email alias, from keeping your primary address private to easily filtering messages from mailing lists. Proton Mail supports unlimited plus addressing, meaning you can simply add a plus symbol and word after your username to create a new email—such as [username][email protected]—and receive messages in your regular inbox (with filters if you set them up). This can be done when you sign up for an account or add your email to a list. Alternatively, you can create a randomly generated email alias, which keeps your username hidden. Free users get up to 10, while paid subscribers can create unlimited aliases. On the web interface, click the security shield icon, go to Hide-my-email aliases, and click New alias.

Add a password to encrypt emails to non-Proton users

Messages between Proton users are automatically encrypted end to end, but if your recipient doesn't use Proton Mail, you can set up a password for your emails to keep them private. Replies to password-protected emails are also encrypted (though your reply to that reply will require you to re-enable encryption). When you compose your message, click the padlock icon in the bottom toolbar and enter a password and password hint. You can set an expiration date as well. Note that you'll need to share the password with the recipient separately.

Set expiration timers to automatically delete emails from recipients’ inboxes

Another Proton Mail security feature is the expiration timer, which will auto-delete emails you send and receive after a set period, preventing messages from hanging around in inboxes and sent folders indefinitely. Messages that you send to other Proton Mail users as well as password-protected emails to those outside of Proton can be set to expire. If you have a paid account, you can also set emails you receive to self-destruct (in addition to auto-delete for messages in trash). Click the hourglass icon at the bottom of the message and set the expiration date and time. If you are sending a password-protected email to a non-Proton user, check the box. Then hit Set.

Strip metadata to protect your privacy with sent images

When you take a photo, image metadata may reveal locations, times and dates, and other information that can be used to track you if it falls into the wrong hands. Proton Mail can strip that out for sent images, so you can share photos via email without giving any unnecessary data away. When you attach an image to an email draft, choose Remove metadata when prompted.

Turn on Message Content Search to build a local and searchable index of your emails

Because of Proton's encryption, the standard search feature reads only names, dates, email addresses, and subject lines. If you want to include message content, you'll need to enable the feature that builds a local index in your browser, protecting it from intrusion unless someone has physical access to your device. Click the search bar at the top of your inbox on the web app and tap Enable next to Search message content. Click Enable to confirm. Note that indexing does require storage space, but once complete, it'll automatically update as long as your browser is open.

Activate your short domain to get a shorter, simpler address

By default, Proton Mail addresses end in @proton.me (unless you connect your own domain). But users on paid plans have the option to add a short domain, which is simply [username]@pm.me. You can send messages from either, and both route to your inbox. The shorter address is easier to remember and share, such as when you're giving our your email over the phone. To enable it, go to Settings > Identity and addresses. You must be a paid subscriber to activate a short domain address—if you downgrade to the free plan, you will still be able to receive (but not send) messages sent to your @pm.me address.