We’ve been focused on making end-to-end encrypted cloud storage faster, smoother, and more consistent everywhere you use it. To get there, we rebuilt Proton Drive around a stronger technical foundation: a single, shared engine that unifies all our cloud storage apps across platforms and powers all uploading, downloading, encryption, and more.
These behind-the-scenes developments have an enormous impact that you can see and feel today. It means better, more consistent performance and vastly improved speeds. And it enables us to power more Drive integrations with every other Proton app: You’ll start seeing deeper integrations with the rest of the Proton ecosystem and support for more clients — and yes, including Linux.
Here’s what’s changed for you:
Quicker uploads and downloads
Moving files in and out of Proton Drive is now much snappier across platforms, with uploads up to 3x faster. This means common actions, like Android photo backup and macOS file sync, complete more quickly, letting you get on with your day. And you can access your files with less waiting, whenever you need, even on the go: Downloads are up to 2x faster.
A faster, smoother app experience
Your files and photos now load faster in Proton Drive. And because photos often hold the memories that matter most, such as family moments, travels, milestones, and everyday life, we’ve made the Photos experience smoother too. Enjoy accelerated timeline scrolling and swifter loading of albums and photos, even in large batches.
A stronger foundation for Drive and beyond
This transformation of Drive was made possible by combining knowledge from our Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Web teams into a single, better engine: the Drive SDK (software development kit).
An SDK is a package of building blocks of code that developers can use to create applications for different operating systems (like macOS, Linux, or Android). Switching to the Proton Drive SDK was like swapping out a car engine for a jet engine. It gives us the power to create faster Drive apps and makes it much easier to develop new features and integrations for every platform.
With the SDK we were able to improve the cryptographic model that protects your data in Proton Drive, ensuring your new files will be end-to-end encrypted up to 4x faster while slashing battery drain and heat on iOS and Android. We’re always looking to make things better, but one thing hasn’t changed: No one but you and the people you share with can access your data, not even us. See the Proton Drive cryptography update for more details.
The SDK is bringing Proton Drive closer to the rest of your Proton apps and, over time, will make it easier for external tools to use Proton Drive for secure file storage and sharing. For example, Proton Drive integration in Lumo (our privacy-first AI assistant(new window)) is powered by the SDK. It lets you use your documents productively in Lumo while keeping them protected by Proton Drive’s end-to-end encryption.
For developers and the wider privacy community, a preview of the SDK is available on GitHub(new window), making it easier to understand and build on the shared engine that powers all Proton Drive.
What’s next
Our work on the SDK continues. As it continues to power new features, Proton Drive will become harmonized across platforms, more deeply integrated across the Proton ecosystem, and easier for the community to build on — all while keeping your files end-to-end encrypted. We’re also now actively building one of the community’s most-requested features: the Proton Drive client for Linux, built from the ground up to leverage the SDK.
Whether you’re new to Proton Drive or have been with us from the beginning, now is a great time to try it, share your feedback on UserVoice(new window), Reddit(new window), or X(new window), and help shape what comes next.
Not on Drive yet? Create a free Proton Drive account and get 5 GB of free storage.
Many of these improvements were made possible by the Proton community: Your testing, feedback, and support help us build a better private cloud for everyone. Thank you!
