all-in-one privacy solution":["Proton Unlimited es solución de privacidad más completa"],"Black Friday":["Black Friday"],"No ads. Privacy by default.":["Sin publicidad. La privacidad por bandera."],"People before profits":["Nos importan las personas, no los beneficios"],"Security through transparency":["Seguridad con transparencia"],"The best Proton Mail ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } deals":["Las mejores ofertas del ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } de Proton Mail"],"The world’s only community- supported email service":["El único servicio de correo electrónico con apoyo de la comunidad"]},"specialoffer:limited":{"${ hours } hour":["${ hours } hora","${ hours } horas"],"${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } and ${ secondsLeft } left":["Tiempo restante: ${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } y ${ secondsLeft }"],"${ minutes } minute":["${ minutes } minuto","${ minutes } minutos"],"${ seconds } second":["${ seconds } segundo","${ seconds } segundos"],"Limited time offer":["Oferta por tiempo limitado"]},"specialoffer:listitem":{"Create multiple addresses":["Crea varias direcciones"],"Hide-my-email aliases":["Alias de hide-my-email"],"Quickly unsubscribe from newsletters":["Date de baja rápidamente de boletines"],"Use your own domain name":["Usa tu propio nombre de dominio"]},"specialoffer:logos":{"As featured in":["Hablan de nosotros"]},"specialoffer:metadescription":{"Get an encrypted email that protects your privacy":["Apuesta por un servicio de correo electrónico cifrado que protege tu privacidad"]},"specialoffer:metatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Up to 40% off":["Rebajas de Black Friday de Proton: hasta un 40 % de descuento"]},"specialoffer:newmetadescription":{"Get up to 40% off Proton Mail subscriptions this Black Friday. Find great deals on our secure end-to-end encrypted email plans.":["Contrata Proton Mail con hasta un 40 % de descuento en las rebajas de Black Friday. Encontrarás nuestros planes de correo electrónico cifrado de extremo a extremo al mejor precio."]},"specialoffer:newmetatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday sale | Up to 40% off secure email":["Rebajas de Black Friday en Proton Mail | Correo electrónico seguro con hasta un 40 % de descuento"]},"specialoffer:note":{"* Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["* A un precio de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"*Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["*A un precio de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los 2 primeros años"],"30-day money-back guarantee":["Garantía de devolución de 30 días"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["A un precio de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los 2 primeros años"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["A un precio de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"You save ${ SAVE_SUM }":["Ahorras ${ SAVE_SUM }"]},"specialoffer:off":{"${ DISCOUNT } off":["−${ DISCOUNT }"],"${ PERCENT_OFF } off":["−${ PERCENT_OFF }"]},"specialoffer:testimonial":{"I love my ProtonMail":["Adoro ProtonMail"],"My favorite email service":["Mi servicio de correo electrónico favorito"],"Thanks Proton for keeping us all safe in the complicated internet universe.":["Gracias, Proton, por brindarnos protección en este mundo salvaje de Internet."],"You get what you pay for. In the case of big tech, if you pay nothing, you get used. I quit using Gmail and switched to @ProtonMail":["Dan justo lo que prometen. Si las grandes tecnológicas te ofrecen algo gratis, se aprovechan de ti, por eso dejé de usar Gmail y me pasé a @ProtonMail"]},"specialoffer:time":{"Days":["días"],"Hours":["horas"],"Min":["min"]},"specialoffer:title":{"And much more":["Y mucho más"],"Make your inbox yours":["Personaliza tu bandeja de entrada"],"Safe from trackers":["Evita los rastreadores"],"Stay organized":["Mantenlo todo en orden"],"Black Friday email deals":["Ofertas en correo electrónico del Black Friday"],"Don’t just take our word for it":["Lee testimonios de otras personas"],"Our story":["Nuestra historia"],"Transfer your data from Google in one click":["Transfiere tus datos de Google con un clic"]},"specialoffer:tooltip":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES }+ countries, connect up to 10 devices, access worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Accede a contenido bloqueado y navega con privacidad. Incluye ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } países. Conecta hasta 10 dispositivos, acceder a servicios de streaming de todo el mundo, dispón de la protección de bloqueadores de malware y anuncios, etc."],"Easily share your calendar with your family, friends or colleagues, and view external calendars.":["Comparte tu calendario con familiares, amigos y compañeros fácilmente y consulta calendarios externos."],"Includes support for 1 custom email domain, 10 email addresses, 10 hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Incluye compatibilidad con 1 dominio de correo electrónico personalizado, 10 direcciones de correo electrónico, 10 alias de hide-my-email, posibilidad de compartir calendario, etc."],"Includes support for 3 custom email domains, 15 email addresses, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Incluye compatibilidad con 3 dominios de correo electrónico personalizado, 15 direcciones de correo electrónico, alias ilimitados de hide-my-email, posibilidad de compartir calendario, etc."],"Manage up to 25 calendars, mobile apps, secured with end-to-end encryption, 1-click calendar import from Google, and more.":["Gestiona hasta 25 calendarios protegidos con cifrado de extremo a extremo y con opción, por ejemplo, de importar los de Google con un solo clic."]},"Status Banner":{"At the moment we are experiencing issues with the Proton VPN service":["Hay problemas con el servicio de Proton VPN en estos momentos"],"Learn more":["Más información"]},"Status banner":{"Learn more":["Más información"],"Please note that at the moment we are experiencing issues with the ${ issues[0] } service.":["Ten presente que, en estos momentos, el servicio de ${ issues[0] } está dando problemas de funcionamiento."],"We are experiencing issues with one or more services at the moment.":["Uno o varios servicios están dando problemas de funcionamiento en estos momentos."]},"suggestions":{"Suggestions":["Sugerencias"]},"Support":{"Sub category":["Subcategoría","Subcategorías"]},"Support article":{"${ readingTime } min":["${ readingTime } min","${ readingTime } min"],"Category":["Categoría","Categorías"],"Didn’t find what you were looking for?":["¿No has encontrado lo que buscabas?"],"General contact":["Contacto para consultas generales"],"Get help":["Obtener ayuda"],"Legal contact":["Contacto para cuestiones legales"],"Media contact":["Contacto para prensa y medios de comunicación"],"Partnerships contact":["Contacto para colaboraciones"],"Reading":["Lectura"]},"Support categories":{"Browse Proton product support":["Consulta la página de asistencia para productos de Proton"]},"Support category":{"There is no article in this category yet.":["No hay ningún artículo aún en esta categoría."]},"Support troubleshooting":{"--- Select ---":["--- Selecciona ---"],"App version":["Versión de la aplicación"],"Browser":["Navegador"],"Check if this helps":["Comprueba a ver si te sirve"],"Choose a category for your question":["Elige la categoría de tu consulta"],"Choose a product":["Elegir producto"],"Did this solve your issue ?":["¿Te ha resultado útil para resolver el problema?"],"Faster assistance is just a few clicks away — please make your selections":["Haz unos cuantos clics para obtener ayuda más rápidamente. Haz tu selección."],"No, contact support":["No, contactar con el equipo de asistencia"],"Proton account":["Cuenta de Proton"],"Proton Bridge":["Proton Bridge"],"Proton Calendar":["Proton Calendar"],"Proton Drive":["Proton Drive"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Proton Mail":["Proton Mail"],"Proton Pass":["Proton Pass"],"Proton VPN":["Proton VPN"],"Thank you for your feedback":["Gracias por tus comentarios"],"Troubleshooting":["Solución de problemas"],"What can we help with ?":["¿Cómo podemos ayudarte?"],"Yes":["Sí"]},"support_modal_search_query":{"Search query":["Consulta de búsqueda"]},"support_search_button":{"Search":["Buscar"]},"support_search_i_am_looking_for":{"I'm looking for":["Busco"]},"SupportForm":{"For a faster resolution, please report the issue from the Bridge app: Help > Report a problem.":["Para una resolución más rápida, informa del problema desde la aplicación Bridge: Ayuda > Notificar un problema."],"Information":["Información"]},"SupportForm:option":{"Account Security":["Seguridad de la cuenta"],"Contacts":["Contactos"],"Custom email domain":["Dominio de correo electrónico personalizado"],"Email delivery and Spam":["Envío de correos electrónico y spam"],"Encryption":["Cifrado"],"Login and password":["Inicio de sesión y contraseña"],"Merge aliases and accounts":["Fusionar seudónimos y cuentas"],"Migrate to Proton":["Migrar a Proton"],"Notifications":["Notificaciones"],"Other":["Otro"],"Plans and billing":["Planes y facturación"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Sign up":["Regístrate"],"Storage":["Almacenamiento"],"Users, addresses, and identities":["Usuarios, direcciones e identidades"]},"SupportForm:optionIntro":{"Select a topic":["Selecciona un tema"]},"swiss_baseed_feature":{"Swiss based":["Con sede en Suiza"]},"Testimonial":{"Awards":["Premios"],"Customers":["Clientes"],"Featured":["Destacado"],"Go to testimonial source":["Ir a la fuente del testimonio"],"Reviews":["Opiniones"],"Videos":["Vídeos"]},"Text":{"Find the plan that's right for you":["Encuentra el plan más adecuado para tus necesidades"],"If you need help, check out our ${ supportLink }.":["Si necesitas ayuda, consulta nuestra ${ supportLink }."],"The page you’re looking for might have been removed, or it could be an\nold link.":["Es posible que la página que buscas haya sido eliminada o que sea un\nenlace antiguo."]},"Title":{"On this page":["En esta página"],"Related articles":["Artículos relacionados"],"Share ${ thisPage }":["Compartir ${ thisPage }"],"Thank you!":["¡Gracias!"],"this page":["esta página"]},"Tooltip":{"More information":["Más información"]},"tooltip_calendar":{"Create up to 20 custom & shareable encrypted calendars. On top of that, add up to 5 calendars from friends, family, colleagues, and organizations.":["Crea hasta 20 calendarios personalizados y cifrados que puedes compartir con otras personas, y añade además hasta 5 calendarios de amigos, familiares, compañeros y organizaciones."]},"tooltip_vpn":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES }+ countries, highest VPN speed, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } VPN connections, worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Accede a contenido bloqueado y navega en privado. Tendrás a tu disposición más de ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } países, VPN de máxima velocidad, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } conexiones VPN, servicios de streaming en todo el mundo, bloqueadores de malware y de anuncios, y mucho más."],"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES }+ countries, highest VPN speed, 10 VPN connections, worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Accede a contenido bloqueado y navega en privado. Tendrás a tu disposición más de ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } países, VPN de máxima velocidad, 10 conexiones VPN, servicios de streaming en todo el mundo, bloqueadores de malware y de anuncios, y mucho más."]},"version_history_label":{"Version history":["Historial de versiones"]},"version_history_tooltip":{"Store up to ${ versionHistoryNumber } versions of each file for up to ${ years } years":["Almacena hasta ${ versionHistoryNumber } versiones de cada archivo durante ${ years } años como máximo"]},"vpn_features_link":{"View VPN plans":["Ver planes de VPN"]},"vpn_features_useCase":{"Access blocked content and browse privately":["Accede a contenido bloqueado y navega con privacidad"]}}},"unleashApi":"https://account.proton.me/api"};
// We need to import data (the framework context) from the server
// This Astro feature with define:vars works well but creates an inline script
// So we can't directly import the initFramework helper, we have to store the context
window.frameworkContext = frameworkContext;
})();
Big Tech passkey implementations are a trap | Proton
We recently announced that Proton Pass now supports passkeys for everyone across all devices.
Universal compatibility is a unique approach to implementing passkeys, unfortunately. Even though passkeys were developed by the FIDO Alliance(new window) and the World Wide Web Consortium(new window) to replace passwords and are meant to provide “faster, easier, and more secure sign-ins to websites and apps across a user’s devices”, their rollout hasn’t lived up to these lofty ideals.
Instead, the first organizations to offer passkeys, Apple and Google, prioritized using the technology to lock people into their walled gardens rather than provide a secure solution to everyone. This closed approach diminishes the value of passkeys for everyone and makes it less likely that they’ll be universally adopted, which is critical if they’re to ever replace passwords.
At Proton, we believe online privacy and security should be accessible to everyone. If we want to achieve a better internet for all, everyone must be able to take advantage of the latest security advancements.
This article looks at passkeys’ initial promise, how Big Tech has tried to hijack them to serve their own purposes, and how we can ensure passkeys fulfill their potential for everyone.
The internet needs better account security
Passkeys were developed because, as far back as 2013, companies realized they must provide users with a better solution for account security than passwords. To be effective, you must have a unique, strong password for each online account. Since most people have upwards of 100 accounts, this essentially means you must use a password manager to maintain basic account security.
Also, passwords fail to provide the security they promise. As the FIDO Alliance(new window) points out, passwords are at the root of 80% of data breaches. Attackers can convince people to share passwords with social engineering attacks, easily harvest them from data breach records, or reuse them indefinitely (or at least until the account owner makes a new password).
Passkeys’ initial promise
Passkeys were created in 2016, and they represent a major step towards reducing our reliance on passwords. Passkeys are based on WebAuthn, an open standard that security keys like Yubikey use.
The idea behind passkeys was to create a solution that removes the burden from users and mitigates some of the worst aspects of passwords. Passkeys themselves are a pair of cryptographic keys, one of which resides on your device. This key can be discovered by apps or browsers, allowing for simple and secure logins, and is synced between devices using the cloud and end-to-end encryption. The result is a phishing-resistant, nearly effortless, secure login.
However, for passkeys to be a true account security solution, they must become universal. Like many online features, passkeys benefit from a network effect. The more sites and services that use passkeys, the better and easier a solution they are for users (with the added benefit of making everyone’s data more secure). Unfortunately, Big Tech has treated passkeys as an opportunity to advance their commercial interests rather than as a tool to provide universal security.
Big Tech embraces passkeys to maintain their walled gardens
Apple was the first major company to roll out the passkeys in 2022. In fact, it was Apple that first popularized the name “passkey”.
However, Apple focused primarily on optimizing passkeys to work solely with its products rather than making them an interoperable, easy-to-use feature (as one might expect of a tool developed in collaboration with dozens of other organizations and companies). For example, if you create a passkey on your iPhone, it easily syncs to Mac devices but is incredibly difficult to use on a Windows device. In fact, if you try to use a passkey from an Apple device on an Android (for example, if you have a Mac and an Android), you must use a QR code — there is no automatic sync. This unfortunately set a precedent that every other major rollout of passkeys has followed.
In an attempt to catch up to Apple, Google announced passkey support in 2023, but its implementation is inconvenient. For example, if you use Google Chrome as your browser on a Mac, it uses the Apple Keychain feature to store your passkeys. This means you can’t sync your passkeys to your Chrome profile on other devices. Similarly, Android only recently added support for third-party passkey providers (in Android OS version 14). In addition to a poor user experience, Google passkeys are also limited by Google’s attempt to lock you into its platform. For example, if you create a passkey with Chrome on your laptop, you can’t use it in the Firefox browser on your smartphone. And if you like Chrome but want to use a third-party password manager to store your passkeys, Google forces you through a lengthy process to opt out of Google Password Manager.
And both Apple and Google prevent you from exporting your passkeys, meaning you’ll need to create them all over again if you want to switch to another password manager. They also both use closed-source passkey implementations, making it harder for independent experts to verify their security.
After seeing Big Tech’s rollout, several password managers also rushed their release of passkeys, resulting in a similarly clunky user experience. Some password managers only support passkeys via their web extension, making it difficult for anyone trying to log in to the same app with a passkey on their mobile phone. Most password managers that support passkeys only offer them with a paid plan, meaning Google Password Manager and Apple Keychain were the only viable free passkey providers until Proton Pass added them.
Passkeys should be like HTTPS
Account security is facing a similar inflection point as secure connections did in the early 2010s — the problem has been identified, a simple solution exists, and it’s simply a question of enforcing that solution everywhere. With HTTPS, organizations like EFF (with HTTPS Everywhere(new window)) and Let’s Encrypt(new window) (which simplified obtaining a TLS cert) led the drive in allowing people and websites to create secure, encrypted connections. Now, all major browsers enforce HTTPS connections by default, and the vast majority of websites support TLS. It has made the internet immeasurably safer.
While passkeys are certainly more technically difficult to implement correctly than HTTPS, they promise an even more sweeping effect on internet security — if we force Big Tech companies to adhere to their original, universal intent.
Passkeys could make nearly every account secure against attacks that cause such havoc today. There’s no such thing as a “weak” passkey, so attackers will no longer be able to brute force their way into accounts. And passkeys can’t suffer mass exposure like passwords because apps and websites only store the public key — the private key remains safely stored on your device. If everyone used passkeys, much of the harmful effects of data breaches would disappear.
Both Apple and Google have made it so that if you make a passkey, you need to stick within their apps and devices to use it. This severely limits their potential and sacrifices their utility just so Big Tech can add a moat to its walled garden.
Proton prioritizes universal security
We’ve tried to stay true to the intention behind passkeys. With Proton Pass, passkeys:
Are easy to use, no matter your device or platform
Can be quickly shared or exported
Use an open-source implementation
Are available to everyone with our Free plan
Even though it’s unlikely the internet will be passwordless anytime soon (or indeed ever), we still believe passkeys should be as easy to use as possible in as many places and for as many people as possible. If you want to use passkeys to improve your account security and speed up your logins, you can sign up for Proton Pass for free today.
And if you believe in our mission and want to help us build a better internet where privacy is the default, you can sign up for a paid plan to get access to even more premium features.
Secure, seamless communication is the foundation of every business. As more
organizations secure their data with Proton, we’ve dramatically expanded our
ecosystem with new products and services, from our password manager to Dark Web
Monitoring for cr
On the subject of cybersecurity, one term that often comes up is brute force
attack. A brute force attack is any attack that doesn’t rely on finesse, but
instead uses raw computing power to crack security or even the underlying
encryption.
In this a
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has become notorious as
the legal justification allowing federal agencies like the NSA, CIA, and FBI to
perform warrantless wiretaps, which sweep up the data of hundreds of thousands
of US citi
In response to the growing number of data breaches, Proton Mail offers a feature
to paid subscribers called Dark Web Monitoring. Our system checks if your
credentials or other data have been leaked to illegal marketplaces and alerts
you if so. Often
Your email address is your online identity, and you share it whenever you create
a new account for an online service. While this offers convenience, it also
leaves your identity exposed if hackers manage to breach the services you use.
Data breaches
Our mission at Proton is to help usher in an internet that protects your privacy
by default, secures your data, and gives you the freedom of choice.
Today we’re taking another step in this direction with the launch of our open
source password manage