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 anuncios. Privacidad por defecto."],"People before profits":["Primero las personas, luego los beneficios"],"Security through transparency":["Seguridad con transparencia"],"The best Proton Mail ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } deals":["Las mejores ofertas de Proton Mail en el ${ BLACK_FRIDAY }"],"The world’s only community- supported email service":["El único servicio de correo electrónico del mundo respaldado por la comunidad"]},"specialoffer:limited":{"${ 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":["Cree múltiples direcciones"],"Hide-my-email aliases":["Seudónimos de hide-my-email"],"Quickly unsubscribe from newsletters":["Cancele suscripciones a boletines rápidamente"],"Use your own domain name":["Use su propio dominio"]},"specialoffer:logos":{"As featured in":["Tal como aparece en"]},"specialoffer:metadescription":{"Get an encrypted email that protects your privacy":["Obtenga un correo electrónico cifrado que protege su privacidad"]},"specialoffer:metatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Up to 40% off":["Oferta de Black Friday de Proton Mail: 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.":["Aproveche las rebajas de Black Friday y obtenga suscripciones de Proton Mail con hasta un 40 % de descuento. Encontrará las mejores ofertas en planes de correo electrónico seguro cifrado de extremo a extremo."]},"specialoffer:newmetatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday sale | Up to 40% off secure email":["Rebajas de Black Friday en Proton Mail | Hasta un 40 % de descuento en correo electrónico seguro"]},"specialoffer:note":{"* Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["*Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"*Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["*Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los primeros 2 años"],"30-day money-back guarantee":["Garantía de devolución de dinero de 30 días"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los primeros 2 años"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"You save ${ SAVE_SUM }":["Ahorre ${ SAVE_SUM }"]},"specialoffer:off":{"${ DISCOUNT } off":["-${ DISCOUNT }"],"${ PERCENT_OFF } off":["-${ PERCENT_OFF }"]},"specialoffer:testimonial":{"I love my ProtonMail":["Amo mi Proton Mail"],"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 mantenernos a salvo en el complicado universo 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":["Obtiene aquello por lo que paga. En el caso de la gran tecnología, cuando uno no paga nada, se acostumbra. Dejé de usar Gmail y cambié a @ProtonMail"]},"specialoffer:time":{"Days":["Días"],"Hours":["Horas"],"Min":["min"]},"specialoffer:title":{"And much more":["Y mucho más"],"Make your inbox yours":["Personalice su bandeja de entrada"],"Safe from trackers":["A salvo de rastreadores"],"Stay organized":["Mantenga el orden"],"Black Friday email deals":["Ofertas en correo electrónico del Black Friday"],"Don’t just take our word for it":["No confíe solo en nuestra palabra"],"Our story":["Nuestra historia"],"Transfer your data from Google in one click":["Transfiera sus datos de Google con un solo 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.":["Acceda a contenido bloqueado y navegue de forma privada. Incluye ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } países, conecta hasta 10 dispositivos, acceda a servicios de transmisión en todo el mundo, malware y bloqueador de anuncios, y más."],"Easily share your calendar with your family, friends or colleagues, and view external calendars.":["Comparta su calendario con familiares, amigos y compañeros fácilmente y consulte 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 seudónimos 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, seudónimos 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.":["Administre hasta 25 calendarios, apps móviles, protegido con cifrado de extremo a extremo, importación de calendario con 1 clic desde Google y más."]},"Status Banner":{"At the moment we are experiencing issues with the Proton VPN service":["En este momento, tenemos problemas con el servicio Proton VPN."],"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.":["Tenga en cuenta que, en este momento, estamos experimentando problemas con el servicio ${ issues[0] }."],"We are experiencing issues with one or more services at the moment.":["En este momento, tenemos problemas con uno o más servicios."]},"suggestions":{"Suggestions":["Sugerencias"]},"Support":{"Sub category":["Subacategoria","Subcategorías"]},"Support article":{"${ readingTime } min":["${ readingTime } minuto","${ readingTime } minutos"],"Category":["Categoría","Categorías"],"Didn’t find what you were looking for?":["¿No encontró lo que buscaba?"],"General contact":["Contacto general"],"Get help":["Obtener ayuda"],"Legal contact":["Contacto legal"],"Media contact":["Contacto para medios"],"Partnerships contact":["Contacto para colaboradores"],"Reading":["Lectura"]},"Support categories":{"Browse Proton product support":["Explore el soporte de productos de Proton"]},"Support category":{"There is no article in this category yet.":["Todavía no hay ningún artículo en esta categoría."]},"Support troubleshooting":{"--- Select ---":["--- Seleccionar ---"],"App version":["Versión de la app"],"Browser":["Navegador"],"Check if this helps":["Compruebe si le sirve"],"Choose a category for your question":["Elija la categoría de su pregunta"],"Did this solve your issue ?":["¿Resolvió su problema?"],"Faster assistance is just a few clicks away — please make your selections":["Obtenga ayuda más rápidamente con tan solo unos clics. Haga su selección."],"No, contact support":["No, contactar a soporte"],"Thank you for your feedback":["Gracias por sus comentarios"],"Troubleshooting":["Solución de problemas"],"What can we help with ?":["¿En qué podemos ayudar?"],"Yes":["Sí"]},"support_modal_search_query":{"Search query":["Consulta"]},"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, reporte el problema desde la app Bridge: Ayuda > Reportar 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":["Entrega de correo electrónico y spam"],"Encryption":["Cifrado"],"Login and password":["Inicio de sesión y contraseña"],"Merge aliases and accounts":["Combinar alias y cuentas"],"Migrate to Proton":["Migrar a Proton"],"Notifications":["Notificaciones"],"Other":["Otros"],"Plans and billing":["Planes y facturación"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Sign up":["Regístrese"],"Storage":["Almacenamiento"],"Users, addresses, and identities":["Usuarios, direcciones e identidades"]},"SupportForm:optionIntro":{"Select a topic":["Seleccione un tema"]},"swiss_baseed_feature":{"Swiss based":["Con sede en Suiza"]},"Testimonial":{"Awards":["Premios"],"Customers":["Clientes"],"Featured":["Destacados"],"Go to testimonial source":["Ir a la fuente testimonial"],"Reviews":["Reseñas"],"Videos":["Videos"]},"Text":{"Find the plan that's right for you":["Encuentre el plan adecuado para usted"],"If you need help, check out our ${ supportLink }.":["Si necesita ayuda, consulte 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 busca 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.":["Cree hasta 20 calendarios personalizados, compartibles y cifrados. Agregue hasta 5 calendarios de amigos, familiares, colegas 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.":["Acceda a contenido bloqueado y navegue en privado. Tendrá a su 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.":["Acceda a contenido bloqueado y navegue en privado. Tendrá a su 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":["Comparta hasta ${ versionHistoryNumber } versiones de cada archivo hasta durante ${ years } años"]},"vpn_features_link":{"View VPN plans":["Ver planes de VPN"]},"vpn_features_useCase":{"Access blocked content and browse privately":["Acceda a contenido bloqueado y navegue de forma privada"]}}},"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;
})();
Gmail uses standard encryption by default, so your messages aren’t private. We explain how to use enhanced encryption in Gmail and the best alternative if you’re looking for genuine privacy.
If you have a free email account from a big provider like Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo Mail, it’s no secret that your messages aren’t private. The only way to truly secure your emails is by using end-to-end encryption(new window). That way, only you and the recipient of your messages can read them.
Gmail doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption for any of its services. But you can enable stronger encryption to send more secure Gmail messages if you have an eligible paid Google account.
Email encryption is a process that encodes a message so that only the intended recipient of the message can read it. The email is encrypted (encoded) into an illegible string of characters called ciphertext(new window).
The only way to read it is to decrypt (decode) it into its original, readable format using a unique encryption key.
Gmail uses TLS (Transport Layer Security)(new window) to encrypt emails by default. That means your messages are secure while in transit, as long as the recipient’s email service supports TLS. But once they arrive, the privacy of your emails depends on what encryption the receiving server uses.
Gmail offers three ways to send more secure emails, although two of them require specific Google Workspace paid accounts:
Confidential mode limits options for accessing or sharing a message but doesn’t add stronger encryption. Confidential mode is available for all Gmail accounts.
Client-side encryption (CSE)(new window) uses S/MIME but allows you (or your organization’s administrator) to choose an external encryption key service to manage your encryption keys, so Google can’t access them. CSE can only be enabled if you have an eligible Google Workplace enterprise or education account.
Only confidential mode is available for free Gmail accounts, though it does little to make your messages more secure.
How to use Gmail confidential mode
Gmail says confidential mode is a way to protect sensitive emails from unauthorized or accidental sharing. With confidential mode, you can:
Set an expiration date for a message and revoke access to it later
Remove options to forward, copy, print, or download messages or attachments
Require that a verification code (password) be sent by SMS so the recipient has to enter the code to open it
To use confidential mode, click on the icon below in Gmail’s composer window:
Despite its name, confidential mode does little to enhance the security and privacy of your messages:
When you set an expiration date and messages “expire”, they’re still stored in your Sent folder, so they remain accessible to Google.
While there are no options to forward, copy, print, or download a message, anyone can easily screenshot it.
If you want to send a verification code by SMS, you must give Google the recipient’s phone number.
Messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted, so Google can still access them.
How to send an encrypted email in Gmail (S/MIME or CSE)
You can use S/MIME to encrypt your emails in Gmail, but it’s only available with certain paid Google Workspace enterprise or education accounts. S/MIME allows you to encrypt emails with user-specific keys so that only the intended recipients can decrypt them.
While Gmail’s implementation of S/MIME offers stronger encryption, it has several drawbacks:
Messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted, so Google can still access your emails.
S/MIME isn’t available by default. You need to get an eligible paid account and have an administrator enable it.
It only works if the recipient of the email also has S/MIME enabled. There’s no way to send a private email to anyone using a regular Gmail account or any other provider without S/MIME support.
Unlike PGP(new window), S/MIME has a centralized system of certificate authorities that could be compromised, though this may only matter to you if you’re at high risk of surveillance.
If you have an eligible Google Workplace enterprise or education account, you can also set up client-side encryption (CSE)(new window). CSE lets you choose an external service to manage your encryption keys, so Google won’t have access to them. But you still rely on a third party to generate and store your keys (unless you’re ready to build a custom key service(new window)).
If you want to be sure no one but you and the intended recipient of your email can read it, you need to use end-to-end encryption, like PGP(new window).
Easy way to send an encrypted email
You can enable PGP end-to-end encryption in Gmail using a third-party plugin, like open-source Mailvelope(new window). However, Mailvelope requires some setting up, and you can’t use it on your mobile device.
The easiest way to send a truly secure email is to use Proton Mail, which offers the following and more out of the box:
End-to-end encryption(new window): Any message you send to someone on Proton Mail is end-to-end encrypted by default. No one except you and your intended recipient(s) can read them.
Password-protected Emails: Easily send an end-to-end encrypted email to anyone who isn’t on Proton Mail without any technical knowledge.
Open-source transparency: All Proton apps are open source and independently audited, so anyone can verify that they’re secure.
Proton Easy Switch: Transfer and encrypt all your emails and contacts from Gmail to Proton Mail in a few clicks — a simple and secure way to test how encrypted email can work for you.
If you’d like to support our vision, sign up for a paid plan. Together, we can build a better internet where privacy is the default.
Gmail encrypted email FAQs
Does Gmail automatically encrypt my emails?
By default, Gmail uses TLS/SSL(new window) to secure your emails while they’re being sent from A to B. However, this encryption only works if your recipient’s email service supports TLS. And once they arrive, the privacy and security of your messages depend on what encryption the receiving server uses to store them.
To send a more secure email, you can enable S/MIME or client-side encryption but only if you have an eligible paid Google Workspace account. If you want to send truly private message with end-to-end encryption(new window), switch to a private email service like Proton Mail.
Is confidential mode in Gmail secure?
No, Gmail’s confidential mode isn’t secure. While it allows you to set an expiration date for an email and to restrict options to forward, copy, print, or download it, anyone can easily screenshot the message. In addition, messages sent in confidential mode aren’t end-to-end encrypted, so Google can still access them.
What is PGP encryption, and how do I set it up in Gmail?
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy)(new window) is an encryption method that’s widely used to secure emails with end-to-end encryption. To use PGP in the Gmail web app, you can install a desktop browser extension, like Mailvelope. But the easiest way to send a PGP-encrypted email is to switch to a private email service, like Proton Mail. With Proton Mail, you can send end-to-end encrypted emails from any device.
Does the person I send an encrypted email to have to install the same encryption tool or extension to decrypt my email?
Typically, if you send an encrypted email to someone, they’ll need to have the same encryption enabled on their device to decrypt it. For example, if you send an email encrypted with S/MIME in Gmail (see how to send an encrypted email above), your recipient will need to have S/MIME enabled. However, if you’re on Proton Mail, you can use a Password-protected Email to send an end-to-end encrypted message to any email address.
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
You likely know you should store and manage your passwords safely. However, even
if you are using a password manager, there’s a chance the one you’re using isn’t
as secure as it could be. In this article we go over the threats some password
managers
We all have sensitive personal information we’d all rather not share, whether
it’s documents, photographs, or even private video. This article covers how to
handle sensitive information or records, and what you can do to keep private
information priv
Social engineering is a common hacking tactic involving psychological
manipulation used in cybersecurity attacks to access or steal confidential
information.
They then use this information to commit fraud, gain unauthorized access to
systems, or, in