Proton Pass offers an encrypted password manager that’s easy to use
World Backup Day is here once again and with that it’s time to get your external hard drives or NAS units and start backing up all those important documents and family photos. You shouldn’t just use a random external drive but also to a cloud service that can protect your precious memories. I’m currently keen on using Ente for photo backup as they focus on storage and privacy.
While people think about backing up documents and photos, something most people don’t think about is backing up those lists of passwords you might have lying under your keyboard or in a note on your desktop. Maybe you use the same password for every website (shame, shame). Well, this is the time to correct all of that and do something that not only will give you less clutter in your life but also a more secure way to be digitally organized. Using a password manager, like Proton Pass, is a great way to get started.
About Proton Pass
Proton Pass is an encrypted password manager and a wonderful solution for cleaning up your password system. You can download Proton Pass for free at Proton.me and sign up for a free account. Proton Pass is pretty much fully functional with very few limits on the free account but I would suggest going to the paid tier to take advantage of other Proton services like Proton VPN, Proton Drive, Calendar, and Wallet.
In case you aren’t familiar with them, Proton was founded in 2014 by a group of scientists who met at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research).
- Andy Yen (CEO) – A physicist and former researcher at CERN.
- Jason Stockman – A software developer and co-founder.
- Wei Sun – A scientist and co-founder.
The company initially launched Proton Mail, an end-to-end encrypted email service, after a successful crowdfunding campaign. Since then, Proton AG has expanded its offerings to include Proton VPN, Proton Drive, Proton Calendar, and Proton Pass, all focused on privacy and security.
Proton Pass was introduced as a beta version on April 20, 2023, initially available to select Proton customers. The full public launch occurred on June 28, 2023, making the password manager accessible to all users. In just a short time Proton Pass has grown substantially and Proton keeps improving on the product.
User Impressions
Proton is one of the better solutions I’ve seen when it comes to security. I have been doing this for a long time and I have found only three services that I truly feel safe with, ProtonPass, 1Password, and Dashlane. All three have their ups and downs but when it comes to an ecosystem you can trust and get the most out of you can’t beat Proton.
There are three different plans a user can choose from:
Proton Free ($0.00 / month):
- Unlimited logins, notes, and devices
- Browser, mobile and desktop apps
- Password generator
- 10 hide-my-email aliases
- Alerts for weak and reused passwords
- Passkeys supported on all devices
- Easy password import
Pass Plus ($4.99 / month):
Everything in Free, plus –
- Unlimited hide-my-email aliases
- Built-in 2FA authenticator
- Secure vault sharing
- Secure link sharing
- Unlimited credit cards
- Dark Web Monitoring
- File attachments (coming soon)
- Advanced account protection
- Your custom domain for aliases
- Additional mailboxes for aliases
- Initiate a new email from your alias
Pass Family ($6.99 / month):
Get everything in Pass Plus for up to 6 users, plus –
- 6 Pass Plus accounts
- Admin panel for your family
When you log in, you’ll notice that Proton Pass has the following categories for records — Login, Alias, Note, Password, Card, and Identity. The record type I use the most is Login, however, I do take advantage of Notes and Cards as well. Proton has an impressive future roadmap that includes additional categories like Software Licenses, features such as File Attachments, and additional areas for secure data.
Proton purchased SimpleLogin in November 2024 to add the Alias feature to their services. SimpleLogin is a service that gives you an alias for websites you don’t wish to have your main email. They built SimpleLogin into Proton Pass and this gives you an extra layer of security. With this feature, you can simply flip the toggle to turn off that alias and no longer get bombarded with junk emails from that random sign-up of whatever it might be that you really didn’t need from the internet.
Final Thoughts
I personally use World Backup Day as a reminder to make sure all my devices from my MacBook Pro, Mac Studio, iPad Pro, and iPhone Pro Max are all backed up and my files are secure in both a good cloud drive and my NAS Network attached storage unit.
I also take this time to go over my passwords to ensure I am not using the same password for anything and that none of my passwords have been found in a data breach somewhere over the year. I make changes to old passwords by updating them manually and back up my passwords to a secure vault after exporting them in case I need to import them in case of a complete disaster.
As someone who used to do computer security and repair, I take my security a bit more seriously than the average person. This is not to saythat you should not be backing up up your digital files every year. I choose World Backup day as a good reminder to make sure my digital life is organized so it’s one less thing I have to worry about over the next year.
You can find Proton Pass and the list of the other great Proton apps available on their website.
