all-in-one privacy solution":["Proton Unlimited es una solución de privacidad todo en uno"],"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 ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } de Proton Mail"],"The world’s only community- supported email service":["El único servicio de correo electrónico financiado la comunidad"]},"specialoffer:limited":{"${ 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 ${ SAVE_SUM }"]},"specialoffer:off":{"${ 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"],"Safe from trackers":["Evita los rastreadores"],"Stay organized":["Mantén el 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"],"Make your inbox yours":["Toma posesión de tu bandeja de entrada"],"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_VPN_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_VPN_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_VPN_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES } países. Conecta hasta 10 dispositivos, accede a servicios de streaming de todo el mundo, 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":{"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 ${ issues[0] } está dando problemas de funcionamiento."],"We are experiencing issues with one or more services at the moment.":["Uno o varios servicios están dando problemas de funcionamiento en estos momentos."]},"Status Banner":{"At the moment we are experiencing issues with the Proton VPN service":["Hay problemas con el servicio de Proton VPN en estos momentos"],"Learn more":["Más información"]},"steps":{"Step":["Paso"]},"suggestions":{"Suggestions":["Sugerencias"]},"Support":{"Sub category":["Subcategoría","Subcategorías"]},"Support article":{"${ 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 Form Platform option":{"VPN for Android TV":["VPN para Android TV"],"VPN for Apple TV":["VPN para Apple TV"],"VPN for Chromebook":["VPN para Chromebook"]},"Support troubleshooting":{"App version":["Versión de la aplicación"],"Browser":["Navegador"],"Check if this helps":["Comprueba a ver si te sirve"],"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":["Solo te separan unos clics de una asistencia más rápida"],"How can we help?":["¿Cómo podemos ayudarte?"],"No, contact support":["No, contactar con el equipo de asistencia"],"Please fill out one field after another":["Rellena un campo después de otro"],"Please make your selections":["Realiza tus selecciones"],"Proton account":["Cuenta de Proton"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Thank you for your feedback":["Gracias por tus comentarios"],"What can we help with?":["¿En qué 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"]},"Testimonial":{"Awards":["Premios"],"Customers":["Clientes"],"Featured":["Destacado"],"Go to testimonial source":["Ir a la fuente del testimonio"],"Open source of award":["Fuente disponible del premio"],"Open source of quote":["Fuente disponible del testimonio"],"Reviews":["Opiniones"],"Videos":["Vídeos"],"Watch on TikTok":["Ver en TikTok"],"Watch on YouTube":["Ver en YouTube"]},"TestimonialCategory":{"Awards":["Premios"],"Customers":["Clientes"],"Featured":["Destacado"],"Media":["Medios"],"Reviews":["Opiniones"],"Videos":["Vídeos"]},"Text":{"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."],"Your question may already have an answer in our knowledge base:":["Puede que haya respuesta a tu pregunta en nuestra base de conocimientos:"]},"Title":{"On this page":["En esta página"],"Related articles":["Artículos relacionados"],"Share ${ thisPage }":["Compartir ${ thisPage }"],"Switch to Proton Pass - Contact us":["Cambia a Proton Pass - Contáctanos"],"Thank you!":["¡Gracias!"],"this page":["esta página"]},"tooltip_vpn":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_VPN_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_VPN_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES } países, VPN de máxima velocidad, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } conexiones VPN, servicios de streaming en todo el mundo, bloqueadores de malware y anuncios, y mucho más."]},"vpn_servers":{"Get Proton VPN Plus":["Obtener Proton VPN Plus"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Action":{"Get Proton Wallet":["Obtener Proton Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Homepage hero product link title":{"Wallet":["Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Homepage product navigation bar":{"Wallet":["Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:menu item":{"Bitcoin guide":["Guía sobre Bitcoin"],"Proton Wallet news":["Novedades sobre Proton Wallet"],"Proton Wallet support":["Soporte para Proton Wallet"]},"wallet_signup_2024:Pricing":{"Includes everything in Proton Unlimited and":["Incluye todas las funciones en Proton Unlimited y"],"Limited availability":["Disponibilidad limitada"],"The easiest way to securely own, send, and receive Bitcoin":["La forma más fácil de retener, enviar y recibir Bitcoin con seguridad"]},"wallet_signup_2024:ProductRange":{"Discover Proton Wallet":["Descubre Proton Wallet"],"Store and transact Bitcoin privately with an encrypted self-custody wallet.":["Almacena Bitcoin y negocia de forma privada con una cartera de autocustodia cifrada."]},"wallet_signup_2024:wallet bitcoin":{"Learn about Bitcoin, the Internet's value network.":["Infórmate sobre Bitcoin, la red de valor de internet."]},"wallet_signup_2024:wallet overview":{"Ensure you're always in control of your Bitcoin.":["Asegúrate de tener siempre el control de tu Bitcoin."]},"wallet_signup_2024:wallet security":{"The encrypted, open-source wallet that puts you in control.":["La cartera cifrada de código abierto que te permite controlarlo todo."]}}},"base":"blog","cdn":{"enabledForAssets":true,"enabledForImages":true,"url":"https://pmecdn.protonweb.com/"},"unleashApi":"https://account.proton.me/api"};
window.frameworkContext = frameworkContext;
const context = frameworkContext.base === '' ? '' : `${frameworkContext.base}/`;
window.__toAssetUrl = (filename) => {
if (frameworkContext.cdn !== undefined && frameworkContext.cdn.enabledForAssets === true) {
return `${frameworkContext.cdn.url}${context}${filename}`;
} else {
return `/${context}${filename}`;
}
};
})();
Your online identity is hard to grasp: for some it’s the email address that you use for all your accounts, while for others it’s their Facebook profile or even a username on an online forum or multiplayer game world.
In this article we’ll give one possible interpretation of what makes up your online identity, as well as giving you the tools to protect it. After all, if it’s worth something to you, it’s probably worth something to online criminals, too.
There are a few ways to look at your online identity. One that likely springs to mind for most of us is a constructed identity. The most extreme versions of this are the avatars in online virtual worlds on platforms like Second Life or huge multiplayer games like World of Warcraft.
In all these cases, the environment you’re in lets you decide who you are, regardless of whether that has any relation to you in reality. You can be another gender, ethnicity, personality, whatever you’d like. You can even choose not to present as human.
Less extreme, and perhaps more relatable, is the identity you can construct for yourself on forums. Reddit is a good example, as it lets you create a unique username (known as a “handle”), which, if done right, should keep the “real” you shielded, meaning you can speak relatively anonymously on the platform.
You could even argue that most social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or even LinkedIn, let you create an idealized identity. On these sites, you can be whoever you want to be, up to a point. You can present yourself as more successful than you are, for instance, or even pretend to be less happy to get likes.
Internet persona vs. internet identity
However, in most of these cases, these identities are in some way or another constructed. There will always be a gap between you and your avatar in an online game, and you probably don’t like your job as much as you claim to on LinkedIn. This constructed image is what we’ll call a persona, and while it may be part of your personal identity, it’s not part of your digital one.
At Proton, we mean something a lot more tangible when we talk about your online identity — also known as a digital or internet identity. As more and more services move to the internet, your online identity will come to reveal as much as your “real” (offline) identity.
When you go to your local government to request a service of some kind, they’ll usually ask you to show a driver’s license, passport, or other official document to make sure that you are who you say you are. Slowly but surely, this is happening on the web as well. If you need something from the authorities, you’ll need to display your ID via webcam. Need to create an account to access a service? Enter your email.
In fact, pretty much anything you do online now requires you to submit your email address for it as a way to make sure you are who you say you are. In a way, you could claim that your email address is your online identity or at least serves as its anchor.
What’s an online identity worth?
To you, an online identity is invaluable. Your email address is your key to all kinds of services, from requesting government services to buying stuff online. However, it’s also worth money in other ways, namely to the corporations that run the internet.
Companies like Google, Meta, and others gather the data generated by users (such as the sites you visited, how long you visited them, what kind of content you liked or disliked, and even the type of device you use) and use it to target ads at them. This is the core of their business model — they make money by collecting and using your personal information.
An email address or username is one of the most valuable data points for this data harvesting. Though the email address itself isn’t particularly useful in most cases, since it acts as your online passport, it’s a convenient way to link all your data to you.
This data is also lucrative for cybercriminals who earn a living by cracking accounts and then selling the data they find or stealing credit card details and using them for their own ends.
Protecting your online identity
Your email address, and in some cases your username, is your online identity, or at least serves as the way to prove who you are for online services. If somebody gained access to it, they could ruin your online life — and probably your offline one, too. On top of that, Big Tech companies are using your online identity to make money without your consent or even knowledge.
This must change. Thankfully, there are several projects underway to mitigate the risk of losing control of our online identity and its associated information. One of our favorites is Solid(new window), a project by Tim Berners-Lee, one of the inventors of the internet and a member of Proton’s advisory board. You could use Solid to put your data in small pods, each of which could be accessed only with your express permission.
As powerful and interesting a tool as Solid’s pods would be, it remains a possible future solution. However, you can take control of your online identity today. One of the best ways to protect your online accounts — and with them, your internet identity — is to use a password manager.
Password managers are typically available as a browser extension or as an app on your device. They remember your passwords for you and generate strong, random passwords whenever you make a new account. In fact, you probably already have experience with password managers, as every major browser now has one built in.
However, these password managers usually work to ensnare you even further in Big Tech’s ecosystem — something we encountered when we examined how safe Google’s password manager is. Practices like this led a group of scientists who met at CERN to found Proton and combat the overreach of these tech behemoths by developing apps and services that help you keep your data safe from prying eyes.
Proton Pass
One of the best tools we have when it comes to defending your online identity is Proton Pass, a password manager that puts your privacy first and foremost.
While keeping your email address safe from attack is an important part of keeping your online identity safe, it would be even better if there was no way to create a profile of you at all. After all, if neither corporations or cybercriminals can find you, they can’t go after your data either.
Enter hide-my-email aliases. This handy tool will let you set up a decoy email address that you can use instead of your own when creating new online accounts. Any emails the service sends will still arrive in your “real” inbox, but they won’t be able to tie you to it. Using aliases means your accounts can’t be tied to a single email address, thwarting any effort to create a profile of you using it.
By using Proton’s services, and Proton Pass in particular, you’re setting up strong boundaries between the real you and the internet you, meaning Big Tech can’t track you nearly as easily. At the same time, you’re also strengthening your digital identity by making it more credible.
If this sounds good, why don’t you join our mission to make the internet a more private place and create a free Proton account today.