The case for leaving Gmail is well-established. Google scans all your Gmail activity to build advertising profiles that follow you across the internet and tie all of your activity to you.
Breaking up with Gmail overnight and making the transition to a privacy-first email provider, however, might not seem so easy, because it means informing all of your contacts and updating your email across possibly dozens of other services. To make switching from Gmail easier, you can now send emails from your Gmail address directly inside Proton Mail.
When you activate this feature, your latest Gmail messages will be imported into Proton Mail, so you have your recent conversations and updates right there with you. New emails received in your Gmail will then continue to appear in your Proton Mail inbox automatically.
Unlike Gmail, Proton doesn’t scan your emails, serve you ads, use your data for AI training, or build profiles on your correspondence. Your inbox is yours, not a data source. And the more you shift to your Proton address, such as services like Netflix and Amazon, the less Google has on you.
A more private way to use Gmail
This new feature allows you to check your Gmail inbox directly from Proton Mail, meaning you don’t need to go back to the Gmail app, which brings about several privacy benefits.
Proton strips trackers, ads and spam from your emails, giving you greater privacy compared to Gmail, which is basically adware. The Gmail app gathers an immense amount of data about you, and by Google’s own admission(new window), uses your approximate location to show you more relevant ads, all of which is prevented by switching to the Proton Mail app.
Google will no longer be able to use your email activity, such as which emails you read and engage with, to build a profile about you. When your friends and family use Proton Mail too, messages exchanged between Gmail addresses connected to Proton become end-to-end encrypted, so Google will not be able to read your data anymore. That’s why it’s worth inviting the people you email most to join Proton and connect their Gmail accounts.
Not on Proton Mail yet? Create a free account. This feature is rolling out gradually. If you don’t see it in your Proton Mail settings yet, it’s on its way.
Set it up easily
- Open in your Proton Mail settings.Import via Easy Switch - Connect your Gmail account.
Find out how to move from Gmail to Proton Mail. Connecting your Gmail does not give Google access to your Proton Mail inbox, so your privacy remains fully intact and protected.
An easier transition towards ditching Big Tech
For privacy and ethical reasons, it is better to ditch Big Tech entirely. Using Gmail from within Proton Mail does not solve some of the longstanding privacy issues with Gmail. Google is still reading every email received by your Gmail account, including any sensitive personal communications you might receive there. Once your important accounts are updated and Gmail is only getting your spam, you can disconnect Gmail from Proton Mail entirely for a cleaner inbox experience and delete your Google account.
Not on Proton Mail yet? Create a free account. In addition to Gmail, you can import your emails from Outlook, Yahoo and Apple Mail, using Easy Switch or our import tool, making it easier to consolidate your digital life in one place.
By using Gmail from within Proton Mail, you can gradually transition away. Every account you update to use your Proton Mail address instead of Gmail is one less source of data for Google’s gigantic data harvesting machine.