Ask HN: Have you migrated to Proton mail/calendar/pass/etc.? How was it?

I used ProtonMail for a few years, but ended up switching to FastMail. Too much became too difficult due to the full E2EE, especially the calendar app was impossible to use together with other apps or even other people.

The email app was _fine_, but not great, and again E2EE was difficult to use with other apps. Especially on desktop I like using a dedicated app, and their bridge just never cut it for me in terms of stability.

The VPN worked well! I ended up switching to Mullvad, and have now moved to Mullvad-over-Tailscale, which works alright.

I never used their password manager (very happy 1Password user), their cloud storage (content with my Syncthing setup).

I use Proton Mail and Calendar for my main email (and their VPN). Proton is like a slow version of Google, but I like having a cloud-based non-Google option (I use Gmail for other accounts).

My only complaint about Proton is it takes forever to start. Proton Mail shows a splash screen for seconds every single time. Over time it starts to feel unbearably slow. And recently, someone on their product team had the genius idea to put an app switcher as the new default screen, so now it's 1 click plus the splash screen just to get into your inbox. Takes too long to get to email basically, but on the plus side it prevents me from checking it too often.

My gmail emails that I use with app passwords etc. all had their prices raised recently to $7.20/month. For a long time I was paying $5. So it should still be cheaper to use Google over Proton for 1 domain, but if you have more than 1 maybe it's worth switching.

I haven't tried Proton as a developer yet (app passwords, using their APIs, etc.) just as a user. Overall it's a very similar experience to Google.

I just took the plunge and moving off the MS suite to Proton. It is little bit less polished but it serves my (basic) needs. And no more worries of being locked out of everything should MS decide I`m violating their terms somehow. I don`t use a custom domain for privacy reasons so no experience there. They don`t offer excel/sheets kind of stuff but for my personal stuff I don`t need that anyway. I like the authenticator/password manager more, it allows for saving arbitrary notes which I like for the odd governmental acces code that needs saving. The vpn is way better than NordVPN which I had before. Connects faster, and connection feels faster. No hard numbers to back that claim though. The calendar works well with invitations from either Google and Ms, better so than the MS offering actually. For me a perfect fit but ymmv ofcourse :)

I started using Proton Mail in 2016, back when they were called "ProtonMail" and email was the company's only offering. Their Calendar was actually built-in to ProtonMail at the time and wasn't a separate app. I switched to daily-driving this email provider in 2016 and switched to using their calendar app in 2019 from Google Calendar. I could not get their Proton Bridge app working very well on OS X back in 2019 and have been using the web app version instead ever since.

I do not use Proton's other services, not because I don't like them, but because I'd rather not depend on any one company for so many critical functions.

Overall it's been... okay. If they implemented the quality of life improvements (e.g. search bar for Android Proton Calendar events and Android Proton Mail contacts, ability to edit a shared calendar event, hide spam toggle from "All Mail" email view) people have been asking for years for the experience would be much better, but overall it's clearly not a deal-breaker for me since I'm still using it.

Between the bugs in their apps, the slow rollout of basic features, the cost being a little high for what you receive (especially if just paying for email), I think it's a tough sell if you have high expectations coming from Google services. However, if all you care for is basic private/secure functionality, then I think Proton is a fine choice.

I switched from Gmail to Proton last December ('23). So far it has worked okay, but there are some complaints.

First, the Android app is simply not as good as Gmail's. It doesn't allow a read message/delete it/move to the next message. This interrupts my workflow as I deal with large amounts of mail.

Second, I'm frequently running ProtonMail via web on two separate PCs. The two seem to get out of sync. If I bulk delete emails from my inbox on one machine, the other machine sometimes doesn't reflect this. Sometimes the emails reappear on the machine I used to delete them.

There have also been edge cases where I have lost an email I was composing on the PC under circumstances I've had a hard time narrowing down. When it happens it's incredibly frustrating, and there are no remnants saved as a draft. I wish I could tell you how to reproduce it for certain. It is usually happening in a dual-machines running scenario.

All in all the solution overall lacks the polish that Gmail has. I wish it wasn't so.

I found it didn’t work well for me, because it didn’t play well with any other email clients or any other calendars. I felt the migration tools were great and I was able to quickly leave gmail, but I couldn’t tolerate the lack of support for integrations and ended up leaving for fastmail after about 1 year.

Honestly, I don’t want to be the product like gmail, but I don’t need total security to the point of eclipsing out everything else.

I tried after they introduced the family plan, then gave up after a few months since most of the products were (at least then) extremely half baked and missing what were to me key features.

VPN was great, no issues. Calendar was pointless; no way to sync between Google calendar updates; you could import your calendar from Google, but as soon as someone changed an event Proton Calendar was out of sync and you wouldn’t know unless you check in on Google Calendar, thus making Proton Calender pointless.

Proton Pass seemed good except it launched with no way to use it on an Intel Mac. So unusable for me since one of my machines is an Intel Mac.

Drive I tried out but since there wasn’t a way to view photos like their competitors at the time I never did much with it.

Mail was good for years, but the family plan was enough for me to give up. There didn’t seem to be a way to share an email domain with my wife and have each of us be able to access an email on that domain (e.g. wife@example.com on her account and husband@example.com on my account).

I think Proton has good services once they mature but they had a spate of releasing half-baked products.

I got hit by some privacy gamma radiation I wanna say 5 or 6 years ago. Did some research and they seemed like a good fit. I really liked the idea of being able write my own filters in script form rather than via some horrid form like what Google had at the time.

I've mostly been happy. There was a bug at one point where the iOS app couldn't delete more than 10 emails at a time, which may still be there. I haven't had to do a purge for a long time so I've not checked.

Otherwise, pretty great. I don't care about having a desktop client - never did with gmail and never have with proton. Aside from the aforementioned bug the iOS app has been good enough. The filtering features worked just like I hoped, and with catchall addressing I've been able to detect a few data breaches, on a few occasions before the company in question did.

VPN works well. I wish I could just pin my favorite connnection on the desktop app since I only ever use the one. I've got it set up on my router as a toggle, but I don't usually want my whole network switching.

I don't use the calendar, I've got a paper calendar instead because I like the art and having it in my face makes me actually look at it.

I also don't use drive. I really don't have much data honestly outside of my media collection which is too big for such storage services, and backed up with the physical media anyway. I pay for iCloud for easy backup and photo storage, and so I just put the handful of docs I need to sync there. And none of that is stuff I'd care much if it leaked. No nudes, no tax documents.

Pass is pretty great. I'd been using LastPass for ages and eventually migrated to BitWarden after being unhappy with the offering for a while. Then recently I switched to Pass since I was already paying for it essentially. I really like the email aliasing feature, since that's something I was already doing manually via catch-alls. My only complaint is that it's not obvious that I can just respond to emails sent to that alias without compromising my actual address. I'd really like for it to be part of the mail UI. With my hand-crafted aliases I always just created a new user whenever I needed to respond, and it'd be great if I didn't have to do that and could just use the same system as protonpass. Because it's so much nicer.

For reference, I'm on a (legacy) Visionary plan that gives me access to everything, which is very similar to the current family plan.

I have had a mail account almost since launch, and within the last month signed up for the tier that includes VPN.

Haven't had any complaints about the mail service! In fact, I recently made the decision to completely drop gmail and it has been working great so far.

I do wish you could have separate emails funnel to separate inboxes that are accessible in the same UI. Right now you can only route to different folders, or create a separate account entirely and switch between them using a toggle in the app. I think functionally the separation need is met, just not in the way I prefer, so I'm not too upset about it.

The VPN has been fine so far when I sparingly use it. I would get a lot more use out of it when it has Apple TV support. I am holding out for that, apparently it is on the roadmap for this summer.

I've been using proton suite since the early days. I recommend giving it a try if you haven't ever, or in recent months. You aren't going to get an accurate picture from reviews here. There's so many changes recently in the past 6 months that people that stopped using it just arent experienced with. In all my history with proton, there hasn't been anything bad enough for me to switch back to non-E2E mail but it hasnt been smooth sailing the whole time. I switched from Keeper to Proton Pass and it's actually better. I was actually surprised. Good luck!

I've had a free email account since 2016, and started to really use it in 2020. I did not managed to use proton bridge with Thunderbird at all at the time, but the webUI was good enough. I recently started to use calendar and now pay for the service.

Basically: once a new feature/product exists, you will have to wait before it's really usable (Pass might be the exception). I wouldn't use their cloud storage yet, if it's a deal-breaker, wait a few months, maybe a year.

Really happy with the support, the few UI/UX changes, the performance improvements over the last 4years.

Email search is poor. It's not important enough to me to switch, but it's almost surprising when a search returns the emails I'm looking for.

Calendar is too separate from email, especially in the apps. I can't accept invites from other services, or if I do, they don't show up in Calendar. I forget, because I gave up on using it within days.

Pass is terrific, so far. Transition to it was easy- much better than some commercial offerings that have been around a lot longer. Password generation options are top notch.

I've been with them for a couple of years now, and happy. I get the VPN on my plan too, which saves me paying for it elsewhere, plus I trust Proton already.

In terms of e-mail, it's pretty good. Nothing special, but the fact that it's E2EE and they've figured out a way for me to still search the contents in the browser is pretty cool. I use it mainly with Apple Mail though.

I don't use the calendar and contacts. Not sure why, but I remember I tried them and they just weren't as useful as Google's.

I use the mail and VPN, and they both work nicely. Proton pass seems nice, but I'm happy with Bitwarden. I've yet to try Proton Drive, but I actually use very little cloud storage. As for calendar, I just use macOS's built-in calendar and actually bother to set appointments with it about three times a year. I'm not exactly Type A.

Proton's offerings don't stand out, they just work and I forget they're running. "Boring" is pretty much what I want from such services.

I am actually moving from Proton to iCloud. I find using the bridge and custom iPhone app a bit of a pain in the ass. Not to mention, once the emails are in there, you have to figure out how to get them back out.

The security was good, but I find it more practical to just use iCloud. The VPN was nice, but for everything else - I have 1Password, etc..

Look into the lock-in, I was able to sync my mail out over several days using the bridge but some people have had issues getting their email back.

For personal correspondence, I've exclusively used Proton Mail for the last 7 years or so. I have been happy with it, no plans to change. I migrated from Gmail, and initially set up message forwarding so that I would still receive emails from old contacts. A few years ago I connected my personal domain with Proton so that I can send and receive from @mydomain.com - their setup wizard was quite helpful.

I've also used the calendar, drive, and VPN products. They all seem to work well in my experience of light day-to-day personal use. For the email and calendar products, I interact with both other Proton users and people using other providers (Google products, company-administered systems, etc) and it seems to integrate seamlessly. If you use Google docs/sheets/slides, it can be convenient to set up a Google account tied to your Proton Mail address, with no associated Gmail addresses.

Calendar to me is more less useless and I am still using Google Calendar, but other services I am using - Mail, VPN and Drive - It is fine.

I made double migration as I have moved from OneNote (which I really liked) to paid Joplin plan (which could be better) when AI craze and race for data has started.

Also the Drive has allowed me to completely switch from the Dropbox after they decided to openly use user's file for AI training.

Slightly offtopic but the swiss domain made me think:

Long time ago, here on HN, someone recommeded a swiss email service. It was not hosting, they didn't have a webmail they just provided the SMTP/POP/IMAP service and you could bring your own domain. Started looking for them but can't find it anymore...

I use their mail (and occasionally their VPN), and they both work fine. The best compliment is probably that I don't want to have to think about my email provider, and with Proton I don't; it "just works". I keep intending to check out their other tools but I haven't yet.

I'm not sure what all the complaining is about. I use their email/vpn and protonpass with zero issues. Their support has been incredible with minor feedback. Their drive apps are not great for backups yet but for everything else it works. I have their Pro plan and paid upfront for 2 years and got a great price.

I am happy to get away from Google, a lot less SPAM comes to my mailbox these days. Email is easy to get to, I've spent hours configuring their filters which are years ahead of Google. I think their UI is much more sleek and responsive. I love some of their features like expiration on password with share files.

I do hope they introduce more cloud apps as they have been like protonpass and now standard notes.

Yes. It's OK. I hope I'm getting the privacy I'm paying for.

Mail search is hamstrung, it only does subjects and from, not the body. I miss being able to find stuff easily. The web application is passable.

Any one have issues with the Desktop App loading to a blank white screen?

I'm a long time protonmail user and it works fine for me. Like, its email and it does email and all my expectations for email are met. I've read in some of these comments about long wait times for load, but that's not been my experience. Both on the phone app on when using a browser, it loads and is ready as fast as anything else I've used.

I use proton as my daily driver for email, calendar, and vpn. Overall the entire suite gets a 6-7/10 for me. They all do exactly what they need to, calendar has been improving a lot, and has a dedicated iOS app nowadays which is a great improvement.

I do not use Proton drive or pass so I can't comment on those. But the email, cal, and vpn do exactly what I need them to.

No, because I see no point in switching from some commercial services from a company to other commercial services from another company.

I host what I need as a service, I run locally and sync the rest.

Even if Proton act as a friendly company, it's still an enterprise witch have the job o making money. They are less close than their direct competitor Tutanota, so with them you can pull your data for a local automated sync with JMAP (at least for mails, I do not know if they offer {Card,Cal}DAV for the rest) but that's is. They are as hard a Alphabet to get data synced (not punctually exported), Alphabet offer a buggy non-standard IMAP, offer a broken cardav API, they offer a homegrown IMAP version. In practice it does not change much.

You want to own your data? Buy a domain name, keep a relay personal mailserver, if you need a webmail choose one (Mailpie, Modoboa, Roundcube for instance), run OwnCloud if you like such web-centric model. Most of the west world have FTTH connection with more than enough upload for personal usage. You emails for antispam cab be hosted also by Google if you want, but on your transferable domain, and you have all the infra at home, if a service start to be bad you switch transparently for yours correspondents.

I had a paid account Proton Mail for several months recently but it is hopeless for my use case, namely using their Proton Bridge so that I can use my mail reader of choice.

Proton Bridge does not work as advertised. Its IMAP server loses mails, puts them in unexpected places and synchronises incorrectly.

I cancelled my account.

There are cheaper options for Mail + CalDAV + CardDAV that don’t require nonstandard bridge apps.

I use protonmail, it's great aside from a few occasions where my personal communications went straight to the recipient's spam folder. The VPN is fine, works basically as expected. The password manager, calendar, etc, I've never used.

I've been pretty satisfied with Proton Mail, but have opted to not use their other services. The point of setting up a non-Google email for me was to decentralize my dependencies so they aren't all tied to one company.

Mail, VPN, Pass & Drive have been great for me over the past year. The lack of proper native desktop applications has been a setback for a few colleagues and is worth considering before migrating.

No complaints. Good for de-Googling. Been using them for several years now. Watch for special offers - you can occasionally get good deals on the Visionary plan.

I did use their VPN sometime ago and using their mail for longer already. Can’t complain.

When I will need a suit I would consider them over others.

Yeah, agreed with the other comment here on mail.

I've tried their VPN, Calendar, Protonpass extension, etc.

VPN gets a 5/10 for me. I prefer PIA for speed, reliability, and streaming. (Also dedicated IP optino.)

Calendar gets a 1/10 for me. I don't use it, it was too hard to figure out in terms of UX.

Proton Pass gets a 9/10 for me. Easy, quick, importing all my passwords into it was fast. I wish it had a standalone app with local storage or something.

I use several custom domains for mail and have appreciated having the option to have it all in the same inbox. I wouldn't personally compare it to Google one-to-one, but it's excellent at mail.