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Proton Mail Reviews 

1,739
TrustScore 2.5 out of 5

2.3

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Considering 261 reviews, most reviewers were unhappy with their experience overall. Many people found customer service to be unhelpful and difficult to reach, often experiencing long response times and ineffective solutions. Customers frequently encountered significant problems with account access, including unexpected blocks, difficulties with recovery, and loss of older emails after password resets. Additionally, some expressed frustration with inflexible subscription plans, unwanted upselling, and issues managing billing. However, some customers appreciated the intuitive interface, useful features like calendar and custom domains, and the focus on privacy and security. A few also found the service well-designed and smooth, with some reporting responsive customer support.

What people talk about most

Service

Customers had ambiguous experiences with service, with many praising it as a great email service that can... See more

User experience

Consumers find user experience to be ambiguous, with many praising the clean, intuitive interface and ease of... See more

Website

Reviewers highlight ambiguous aspects of website functionality, with some praising its lightweight and... See more

Customer service

Customers consistently note negative experiences with customer service, describing it as poor, abysmal, and... See more

Subscription

Reviewers mention ambiguous feedback about subscription, with some customers expressing satisfaction with... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

As a sole email user, I find the current and past plans inflexible. My limited use of email and lack of interest in other products or a second account for a family member puts me at a disadvantage.... See more

Company replied

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

On the whole it’s a good product and you kind of rely on the privacy aspect. The apps are slick and work well. The one big thing that lets them down is their support and upselling - often led by p... See more

Company replied

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

I' ve been using Proton Mail for a few weeks now. Importing all history from my 2 Gmail accounts worked like a charm (some emails initially seemed to be missing, but that was just because Proton... See more

Company replied

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Originally, I chose ProtonMail because of its FOSS web client, sieve support, the capability to contact support personnel, and that its UserVoice instance provided a way to vote on feature reque... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Email Service Provider

Written by the company

Keep your conversations private with Proton Mail, an encrypted email service based in Switzerland.


Contact info

2.3

Poor

TrustScore 2.5 out of 5

2K reviews

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1-star

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2.3

All reviews

(1,739)

418 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Products are great

Products are great, all working as you would expect on all platforms. Automatic backup of mobile device photo's to proton drive is also great.

And it's a great feeling I am not depended anymore on US tech companies for e-mail and storage.

Also, I have had a great experience with the customer support. They were very helpfull.

6 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for your review and feedback! We're glad to have you as a party of our community.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

cash grab no service

Unfortunate that any payment issues are leading to instantly getting locked out of accounts. As a business it’s not something we can rely on as mail needs to be available.

Another downside is that there’s isn’t a proper workspace and you need alternatives. I want to be on a EU based and secure platform but this isn’t it sadly. Being locked out of my account instead of being able to resolve issues yourself is a big no

Update in regards to Protons response below this post: If a bank accidentally refunds it due to insignificant funds it marks you as fraud instantaneously and your account is not downgraded but blocked.

10 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi Sarah. If your account enters in a delinquent state, it does not get locked out. You can still access it, but you might be downgraded to a Free plan depending on your plan limits. See more here: https://proton.me/legal/terms

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Badly lacking & User Unfriendly

This e-mail service is supposed to be a top end, safe, secure and easy to use service. Often used by the likes of consultants. It's actually the most user unfriendly e-mail service I've ever used, and can picture some overpaid fool making it as complicated to use as possible. Go elsewhere.

10 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi Keith. Sorry to hear that you feel that way. What exactly do you find unfriendly about the app? Would you please contact us https://proton.me/support-contact and elaborate?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Want an infallable password manager?

I couldn't understand the set-up instructions for Proton's password manager.
My password manager now is a spiral-bound notebook with alphabet tabs. It works every time and I had no trouble setting it up - I know the alphabet and I've got a pen ....

10 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi Janna. Sorry to hear about the trouble. Please reach out to us at https://proton.me/support-contact so we can help you get set up. In the meantime, see our guide here for more information: https://proton.me/support/pass/using-proton-pass

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

"activity monitor"

Proton, please, you continue to miss the point so I will try to make it simple.
Since last year the "activity monitor" announcements (such as "wiped security events") have been forced on and irremovable, seemingly permanently. For the entirety of Proton before this, this did not occur.
It is neither wanted nor helpful. Most people do not need nor want an audit trail of the personal private emails.
Having this forced upon people is a direct and genuine security and privacy risk for those who must keep this Monitor on.
I also note though that having it turned off does not remove the information either.
Proton, focused on privacy, should also not want this information.

How do I turn this off so that the "wiped security events" message no longer exists?
It is a basic requirement that when you change your user experience there is an opt out especially when you opening up users to risk.

As explained previously going to you customer service team through direct channels in its current state is simply a waste of time.
On behalf of all users who have been forced to deal with this service team and those who will in the future we eagerly await significant improvement in your service standards, prior to this being done ticket numbers are irrelevant.

9 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thanks for the clarification. The Activity Monitor is designed to keep a consistent record of security-related actions, including when events are cleared, and these entries can’t currently be removed or hidden. There’s no separate opt-out for individual entries like “wiped security events” at this time.

If you contacted support about this before, please share the ticket number so we can review exactly what was discussed. If not, we recommend contacting us at https://proton.me/support-contact so your feedback and use case are formally logged and reviewed by the team.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Dreadful

Dreadful! Almost immediately all other email accounts were invaded by unwanted notices from Proton. I deleted the Proton account but I get numerous notifications in every account each time I log in. I complained but had weak excuses each time and the problem remains unresolved months later.

7 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Sorry to hear about your experience. Please share your ticket number with us here so we can follow up on your case.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Great product

Great product, am using it for the entire family now.
I'm glad with the addition of Sheets.
The only thing really missing is good integration with my android contacts, and/or that Proton does not give a clear explanation on why they have chosen this contact implementation and which (security) issues they encounter when they would integrate with Android contact. It might be worth a blog the share their vision on contacts.

3 January 2026
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi Michiel! Thank you for the 4-star rating! We've noted your +1 to help the team prioritize future improvements.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Kinda okay

Could be better, could be worse.
The free range of products they offer is definitely good, especially since free.
However, their paid services and products can and should be improved. Some of the apps have unexplainable deficits that make me question why they even exist and why I am paying for them...
For example, unlike Google or Microsoft, the Proton cloud storage/sync seems to be programmed only for PC to mobile and not the other way.

29 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The free tier is meant to let people try Proton’s ecosystem, while paid plans continue to evolve with added features and improvements. We’re actively developing our apps, including Drive, and feedback like yours helps guide what gets improved next.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The Service is really good

The Service is really good, no Ads even in the free Version - I've never recieved any suspicious Spam mail after being more then 8 years a customer there

25 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for your 5-star review and support over the years!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Is this scamming?

I can't login my proton mail, I don't know why, I asked about this to support team, but already passed several hours, but they haven't replied so far.
There is a sensitive credentials, I am not sure is this scamming or not.

28 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi João. Sorry to hear about your experience. Do you see any error messages? Can you please share your ticket number with us here so we can follow up on your case?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Proton - Next level on-line Security

Used the Proton bundle unlimited subscription for 3+ Years now !!

Flawless set up - Easy to use - Super Secure and keeping my data secure and private in Firefox browser and on the Mobile APP as well, I never had any problems or issues - All upgrades works perfectly and nothing to complain about :-)

Also Proton never stops developing all their products - Keep up the good work Proton Team.

Thanks - Happy New Year ➡️ 2026

28 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for your review and feedback! Happy New Year to you as well!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They force you to purchase a…

They force you to purchase a subscription, and the Swiss block other services under the pretext that you have created a free email account with them to verify other services. And what else is an email account for if not that?
Their free VPN also works terribly, constantly disconnecting on my phone. Schemers.
"Your account has been suspended by our automated fraud detection system. Learn more at proton/blog/anti-abuse-account-security. If you believe this is a mistake, please contact us at proton/support/appeal-abuse."

27 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi Marco. Please share your ticket number with us here so we can follow up on your case.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Blocked account because of username

Blocked my account for picking the 'misleading' username! After it was available and I used it and logged into different services! Asked for proof of proper usage, which I provided, and still kept the desicion. Horrible and frankly quite stupid politics.

19 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hello. Please contact us at https://proton.me/support-contact so we can help you accordingly.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Encryption Recovery

I've used Proton Mail and Password keeper for years.

Recently I got an email from True Identity stating my signon info is on the black web and I should change my password.

There are two ways to change a password on Proton, neither is explained very well.

Unfortunately I chose the option that also deletes the encryption key. All my save emails prior to doing this are now encrypted so I can't read them.

The system to restore encryption keys doesn't work. I used to recovery phrase that Proton gave me - no good.

I used the password method (I only had one password liftime prior to this) and it didn't work.

They tell me I'm stuck and they can't help me.

Advice : 1) be very careful how you change passwords; 2) don't store any importand emails with documents as you may loose them.

22 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for sharing your experience. Proton uses end-to-end encryption, which means only you control the keys needed to read your data. When the option to reset encryption keys is chosen, older encrypted emails can no longer be decrypted, and this is a limitation of how zero access encryption works, not something support can override.

Recovery methods only work if they were set up and preserved beforehand. See more here: https://proton.me/support/recover-encrypted-messages-files

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Spamming users to make them upgrade to paid plan

I heard lots of good stuff about Proton, but I'm already fed up with the daily spam from Proton urging you to update to the relatively expensive paid version.

If you have the free version, there are lots of limitations; for example, you cannot download mails to your usual mail programme.

So you have to use Proton's app, but if you keep notifications on, you will receive notifications every time Proton spams you with promotional mails. There's no way to unsubscribe from the spam.

However, without notifications, I'll miss important mails from others.

I'm aware that Proton needs to earn to maintain and develop the system. But then be frank from the beginning and inform potential new users that your main aim is to have users pay for a relatively expensive version.

Or, offer a cheaper paid version rather than offer an annoying free version.

I'll probably delete my subscription again if the spam continues.

19 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thanks for sharing your feedback. Proton does send occasional product and upgrade emails to free users, but these can be managed. Log in to your account at https://account.proton.me/mail and navigate to "Settings" → "All settings" → "Subscriptions" → "Notifications" and toggle off the emails you wish to stop receiving. Paid plans are optional and meant to support ongoing development, and we appreciate you giving the service a try.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolute Rubbish

Absolute Rubbish, no real customer service and its not free. They even have a special auto reply entitled
Code for pissed off customers, but that's not working either. I only gave 1 star for being so unprofessional.

18 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi Terence. Sorry to hear about your experience. Could you share the ticket number with us here so we can look into your case?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing Support and Confusing Subscription System

Update (23 December 2025):

2 refunds were made. One via PayPal and I’ve got notification whilst the 2nd one to my other credit card account went in without alert and only show it went when I checked today. I can confirm that the refund issue is now fully resolved but the overall experience in getting VPN Plus and getting a refund has been very disappointing.

"”””””””””"””””””””””””””””””””

Update (22 December 2025)
Proton support has claimed that my refund has been completed — however, they only refunded me £0.31 via PayPal, despite the fact that my Proton account had £30.62 in available credit as shown in my dashboard (I have a screenshot as proof).

This is incredibly misleading, especially as they responded to my Trustpilot review saying my payment was refunded — when in reality, it was only 1% of the amount. I’ve raised this again with their support team but still no resolution.

Very disappointed in how they handle support and billing. Will update again if this is resolved fairly.

====================================
Original Review

I’ve been a paying customer of Proton Mail (Mail Plus) and recently tried to add Proton VPN Plus to my account. The upgrade process was confusing and misleading — I selected what appeared to be an option to add VPN Plus, but instead it simply extended my Mail Plus subscription, which I had already renewed.

Proton's support has been extremely rigid. Despite acknowledging that combining "Plus" plans isn't supported, they still allowed me to go through a purchase flow that offered no clear warning. Then they refused to correct the mistake, claiming subscription changes are "irreversible," even though their user interface caused the issue.

I was offered a strange workaround that doesn't even match the current interface — no “Explore Other Proton Plans” button exists where they said it would be. The system is clearly not user-friendly, and support agents are unable or unwilling to fix simple billing issues.

I expected more from a company that promotes transparency and privacy. This whole experience feels like the opposite of user-first design.

I’m still waiting for a proper resolution (case 4258864). Until then, I cannot recommend Proton to anyone looking for flexible, transparent services. Disappointing overall.

14 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hello. Thank you for sharing your ticket number with us, and apologize for the inconvenience.

We can see that your case has been resolved successfully in the meantime, and the payment has been refunded.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Had a great experience, no complaints.

Touch wood, I haven’t had any bad experiences with Proton Mail or any other Proton service, it’s all been genuinely very good. Maybe i’m lucky or as this is all based around privacy maybe only people with complaints post? i say that because my experience is completely at odds with other posters. I think it’s an excellent set of services at a fair price.

17 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for your 5-star review and support! We're glad to have you as a part of our community.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent ease of setup and flexible…

Excellent ease of setup and flexible technology. One of the best in the jndustry and ready to become the leader.

Does not use reduces to control and abuse people like other platforms

15 December 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Thank you for your review and kind words Andy! We appreciate the support! If you have any feedback on what we can do to improve, feel free to let us know at https://proton.me/support-contact

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

No 'sent' deletions

They don't allow the deletion of sent items therefore filling your mail to the hilt and having to BUY their plan. Screw Proton mail!

15 May 2025
Unprompted review
Proton Mail logo

Reply from Proton Mail

Hi James. You can use the "Undo" feature to unsend an email. See our guide here: https://proton.me/support/undo-send

Contact us at https://proton.me/support-contact if you need help.

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