A ProtonMail desktop app may be on the way to Windows

By Robert Carnevale
published

Tired of ProtonMail in your browser? An upgrade may be on the way.

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Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • ProtonMail is an encrypted email service designed for users who put a premium on security and privacy.
  • Right now, you can use it in your browser, but the Proton team has hinted a dedicated Windows desktop app may be in the works.
  • There is no release window for the aforementioned app.

When it comes to security-minded email users' wants, ProtonMail offers a lot. It's end-to-end encrypted and comes with less of the data processing and privacy drawbacks that services like Gmail have, making it ideal for those in need of a safer alternative to the most popular, mainstream email options.

With that in mind, ProtonMail doesn't have a dedicated desktop app for Windows 11 (or Windows in general), so it leaves something to be desired for power users who don't like browser-only resources. That situation could change in the near future, though.

In Proton's 2022 roadmap post (opens in new tab), it's mentioned that the company has heard the cries from the ProtonMail userbase and is considering providing a desktop app. Here's what Bart Butler, Proton CTO, had to say: "We're experimenting with an Electron.js desktop app to take ProtonMail beyond the browser for Mac, Linux, and Windows. We're still in the early stages, and we don't have a beta or general release timeline just yet. But we know that a desktop app is high on the wishlist for many of you, so we thought you'd like to know it's on our radar."

As you can see, the details are scant. We know that Proton is aware of the demand for a dedicated app, but we also know the company's yet to produce so much as a basic timeline for the product. In other words, stay posted for more news if and when Proton announces it. And in the meantime, consider checking out ProtonVPN or one of the best Windows 10 VPN services.

Robert Carnevale
Robert Carnevale

Robert Carnevale is the News Editor for Windows Central. He's a big fan of Kinect (it lives on in his heart), Sonic the Hedgehog, and the legendary intersection of those two titans, Sonic Free Riders. He is the author of Cold War 2395. Have a useful tip? Send it to robert.carnevale@futurenet.com.

4 Comments
  • A desktop app would be nice. As a work around I am using Outlook to access Protonmail.
  • that'd be great
  • Electron. That's laughable. Installing an entire Chromium browser stack for each "app" is hardly "native". If they can't make a real app, an Edge PWA would be preferable to this.
  • Edge already shows me that I can install PM as an app, so I guess they have the PWA done? If so then I don't don't see how an app will be super beneficial. Case in point being Slack's desktop app vs the browser version installed as an Edge PWA which is what I do.