Proton Has Just Launched Its Own End-to-End Encrypted Alternative to Google Docs, Aiming to Become the 'Private Google'

It’s been a while since Proton stopped being just a private mail service. Today, it's evolved into a company that offers a suite of tools similar to Google. In addition to email, the company provides a VPN, cloud storage, a password manager, and even a calendar. On Wednesday, Proton introduced a new service called Proton Docs, which directly competes with Google Docs, one of the tech giant's most popular tools.

Private documents. So, what is Proton Docs? Picture Google Docs but without Google. It’s a simple text editor that’s completely private, at least according to Proton. The company claims that the editor is end-to-end encrypted, meaning that even the company itself can’t access the content you create.

In Proton’s words:

“Even keystrokes and cursor movements are encrypted.”

Proton Docs’ real-time document collaboration feature. | Image: Proton

It’s also collaborative. Proton Docs isn’t only private and encrypted. It also supports collaboration, one of Google Docs’ key features. Both Google Docs and Microsoft 365 have made sharing documents easy. You only need to share a link with your coworkers or friends to allow them to write and edit a file. With Proton Docs, you can also do this, as well as add comments and pictures and store encrypted files.

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What now? According to Proton, “Online document editors have become a core productivity tool, used for everything from private journals to sensitive business strategies.” The company believes the problem is that the companies offering these tools “are the same Big Tech companies that collect and monetize your private information.”

Proton also emphasizes that “once you provide your data to these companies, you no longer have control over how it is used. Data that you think is private may even be used to train AI in the future.” As a result, the company reminds users that its headquarters is in Switzerland, which means that their data is protected by local privacy laws.

Pricing. In case you’re interested, Proton Docs is part of Proton Drive, available for free and paid accounts. Drive Plus subscriptions start from $3.99 per month and include 200 GB of storage, while the free version comes with 5 GB.

Image | Proton

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