Proton, the Swiss firm behind a spread of privacy-focused online services, has formally introduced its end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) cloud storage service to cell.
Based in 2014, Proton was initially all about an encrypted Gmail various called Proton Mail, however within the intervening years the corporate has launched its own VPN and sought to duplicate numerous Google companies with a privateness twist, together with a calendar which it launched on the internet again in 2020 earlier than bringing it to mobile this year.
Proton additionally launched a cloud storage service to the combination on the internet back in September after an prolonged beta interval, and now it’s rolling out on Android and iOS.
Proton Drive for cell. Picture Credit: Proton
Zero-knowledge
What’s notably notable about Proton Drive is that it’s a zero-knowledge encrypted cloud storage and file-sharing service, that means that no one outdoors of the sender or recipient can intercept any knowledge anyplace within the course of. This positions Proton Drive favorably in an area that features well-established incumbents reminiscent of Google Drive, Microsoft’s OneDrive and Dropbox. The latter of these recently announced plans to convey E2EE to its personal cloud storage service, however that’s probably nonetheless a great distance off, plus it is going to solely be supplied as a perk to enterprise subscribers.
There are inherent challenges in introducing end-to-end encryption into cloud storage companies, notably throughout a number of platforms (together with the net), which fits a way towards explaining why most firms working within the house don’t supply E2EE. For starters, it requires constructing totally new frameworks for dealing with the passing of knowledge between level A and level B with out risking exposing any of the information to the middleman service supplier. It additionally requires extra reminiscence and computing energy, and E2EE is usually dearer because it’s tougher to compress knowledge, which in flip results in higher infrastructure and storage prices.
It’s price noting that there are different E2EE cloud storage companies on the market reminiscent of Tresorit, which was acquired by Swiss Post final yr, however Proton Drive is hoping to go a number of steps additional by way of its privateness promise.
Bundling
Proton Drive, like most of Proton’s companies, ships with a primary free model that offers customers 1GB of cloud storage. Customers can improve to 500GB of encrypted storage through the $9.99 month-to-month Proton Limitless plan, which additionally ushers in premium incarnations of its sister merchandise, together with Proton Mail, Calendar and VPN. There’s a separate standalone Proton Drive subscription that’s accessible for $3.99 per thirty days, which has a 200GB storage restrict.
All this has been a part of Proton’s roadmap for some time: some folks may be pleased to pay for a privacy-focused electronic mail service, however many extra folks shall be prepared to decide to a month-to-month subscription if it features a bunch of value-added companies.
Yup, bundling probably works.
Along with storage, Proton Drive additionally helps folder and file-sharing even with non-Proton Drive customers by way of safe hyperlinks, with the sender in a position to stipulate expiration dates and password necessities, whereas they’ll additionally manually revoke entry at any time.
Proton Drive: File-sharing. Picture Credit: Proton
Over and above this bundling of complementary companies, Proton is pushing the truth that it operates and owns all its personal infrastructure, slightly than counting on third-party infrastructure from the large cloud firms. Proton’s knowledge is saved in Switzerland and Germany.
“This permits Proton Drive’s storage infrastructure to be utterly impartial of U.S. tech giants,” Proton co-founder and CEO Andy Yen defined to .
Yen additionally highlighted the extent to which it has gone with its encryption efforts, together with “developments” it has made in E2EE within the browser, with no actual higher restrict on file-sizes.
“What actually units Proton Drive aside is the rigorous degree of encryption — true end-to-end encryption of not simply information and folder, but additionally filenames, extensions and most different file metadata, and knowledge verification through digital signatures,” Yen added. “[And] the usage of our personal independently operated cloud infrastructure.”
Proton has additionally made every of its apps open source, a course of it started some seven years in the past, starting with its email service. This mainly signifies that any third-party can examine its code and that it does what it says on the field.
“The open supply nature of our software program permits for impartial verification of the encryption,” Yen stated.
It’s price noting right here that plans are afoot for a Proton Drive desktop app, with an early model of the Home windows app anticipated to floor for beta testers earlier than the tip of 2022. The MacOS app, in the meantime, will probably rear its head a while within the first half of 2023.
Proton Drive quietly rolled out for all Android users over the weekend, and it’s accessible for iOS users as of as we speak.
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