Proton, the Swiss company that specializes in making privacy-enabled productivity apps, has achieved a new milestone by adding document creation, editing, and collaboration capabilities to its secure cloud storage offering. Documents in Proton DriveThe launch of the new product comes after the company acquired the secure note-taking app Standard Notes in April.
Proton has launched Proton Drive, its end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) cloud storage service, in September 2022starting with web support and expanding to mobile later that same year.
New collaborative document features are now available within Proton Drive, extending the company’s brand of robust security into another key productivity tool for both information workers and individuals alike.
Proton is promoting the Docs suite in Proton Drive as a secure, privacy-focused alternative to Google Drive and Docs, as the latter’s competing products lack Proton’s industry-leading zero-knowledge architecture.
“This premium addition to Proton’s privacy-focused product suite provides a powerful alternative to existing document editors like Google Docs, ensuring that privacy and security are paramount — without compromising on vital features,” the company wrote in a statement. Blog post.
E2E encryption refers to a technical architecture where the entity providing the software cannot access user content because it does not have the encryption keys. This allows Proton to make a trustless privacy pledge that provides a clear distinction from data-driven business models, such as Google’s.
“Docs offers the same level of encryption as Proton Drive, which means everything is protected with E2EE,” a company spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. “Even changes and keystrokes are encrypted, as are file names and file paths.”
“Creating collaborative documents that retain E2EE has been extremely challenging, and something we haven’t seen anyone else do in the market. This includes key exchange and synchronization of key information, as well as the ability to invite people to collaborate, revoke those permissions, and share documents privately,” the company said.
Proton says it will update Her website In the next few weeks, we’ll talk more about how Docs works behind the scenes. The company notes that it has already launched an improved version Sharing features on Proton Drive A few weeks ago in anticipation of this launch.
According to Proton, Docs in Proton Drive includes common and “core” features, such as full support for Markdown, rich text, code blocks, and checklists. It also confirmed compatibility with multiple file types, including Microsoft .docx, and the ability to embed images in documents.
Collaboration features include the ability to add and respond to (and resolve) comments, and see who is viewing a document in real time using “collaboration indicators.” Invitations to collaborate on documents are also supported; participants who don’t have a Proton account will be prompted to create a free account to gain access, which could help drive additional signups and growth.
In keeping with Proton’s Freemium philosophy, the new Documents features are accessible for free through Proton Drive, which offers up to 5GB of free storage. After that limit, users who want to take advantage of Documents’ capabilities will need to upgrade to a paid tier of Drive.
More features are in development. Proton says its roadmap aims to improve user experience and productivity, starting with more powerful collaboration tools for teams. Given Proton’s commitment to security, it’s rolling out Docs in Drive to businesses with high data protection compliance requirements, such as those in industries like healthcare, media, finance, and law. However, individual users can benefit too.
The company confirmed that the code for the documents will be open source “soon,” allowing for independent auditing and verification of its security claims.
In another reassuring move for users, Proton announced last month that it was moving to a non-profit structure model, with the new foundation becoming the major shareholder in the (for-profit) business. It said the governance change was designed to protect its pro-privacy mission in the long term by enabling it to be self-sufficient and independent of other commercial agendas.
The app maker, which was founded a decade ago as an E2EE email service (ProtonMail), has grown usage over the years by expanding to offer a suite of free, privacy-focused, productivity-focused apps, including a cloud storage service, along with a calendar app, a VPN and a password manager.
Proton now has over 100 million user accounts, with 500 employees keeping all its technology up and running.