Proton Mail
Updated Sep 22, 2026 — see what changed
Gmail forwarding exposes messages to Google indefinitely
When you connect your Gmail account for continuous forwarding, new emails arrive unencrypted through Google's servers, meaning Google can read your incoming mail for as long as the connection remains active—this defeats Proton Mail's encryption promise.
Email metadata collected despite end-to-end encryption claims
Proton collects sender, recipient, IP addresses, subject lines, and timestamps on all messages—this metadata alone can reveal sensitive information about who you communicate with and when, undermining privacy even if content is encrypted.
Unencrypted messages scanned for spam without explicit user consent
Emails sent from non-Proton services arrive unencrypted and are scanned for spam "in memory"—meaning Proton staff or systems can read your incoming mail from regular email providers before encryption happens, with only vague justification about "service integrity."