Additionally, Proton automatically identifies these mailing lists as “newsletters” and puts them in their own view. There you can see how many messages they sent, move addresses to different folders and unsubscribe. Proton also displays services you have already unsubscribed from. After unsubscribing from about 100 mailing lists, at least half a dozen companies were still emailing me. I was able to pursue them and exit their lists correctly. (Gmail also recently added a subscription management system.)
The difference with Proton compared to other clients is that these tools are brought to the forefront. I only had five email addresses that it didn’t recognize as mailing lists. The vast majority of emails were categorized correctly and the app itself pushed me to use the tools available.
A comfortable view
Proton Mail via Jacob Roach
Proton’s look is familiar. By default, you have a list-style inbox reminiscent of Gmail, with standard or “compact” spacing options, the latter of which overwrites each line. You can use the columnar layout, which moves your inbox to the left of the screen with a view for each message on the right, similar to the default Outlook view. You also get a toolbar on the right that will show your contacts and calendar, and a menu on the left that will show your labels and folders. You’ve used an interface like this before.
Proton Mail via Jacob Roach
Once you start digging in, there are some important differences. When you’re composing an email, you’ll find a handful of buttons at the bottom of the screen. One lets you set a password, encrypting the email to its destination regardless of which server it passes through. Another lets you set an expiration date for messages, as well as attach your public key; we’ll talk about it later.
I don’t use an AI writing assistant, but Proton lets you run its writing assistant locally, which is an important distinction from almost every other email service with similar functionality. Most AI functionality runs on remote servers. So when you enter prompts with Google’s AI, for example, those prompts and the responses are stored on Google’s servers. With Proton, you can keep it all local, without any remote servers involved. You’ll need a PC that meets certain system requirements, and text generation isn’t as fast as on Proton’s servers. But having this option is huge.
Proton Mail via Jacob Roach
As for reading emails, Proton goes out of its way to make things as easy as possible. By default, messages load as full rich text, including images. However, Proton will block images from loading if trackers are linked to them. It will also, by default, ask for confirmation when you click a link, displaying the full URL before it loads. This is important, especially on mobile devices where you can’t hover over a link to check if an email is legitimate or a phishing attempt.
Most of the features available in the web or desktop app are available in Proton’s mobile app, which, at the time of writing, has very recently been revamped on Android and iOS. You can link actions to swiping left or right to quickly archive or organize messages, as well as use offline mode, which is a new addition. My only issue with the mobile app is that it doesn’t provide the same tools for unsubscribing from mailing lists. They’re completely missing, so you’ll have to manage all of this through the web or desktop app.
