Terms of service

By using the proton.me website and making use of a Proton Account (the “Account”) and all its related features, including Proton Mail, Proton Contacts, Proton Calendar, and Proton Drive (the “Services”), you agree to be bound by the following terms of service (the “Terms”). These Terms cover all present and future features provided by your Account. The Services are operated by Proton AG (the “Company”). 

If you agree to these Terms on behalf of a company or another legal entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind such entity, its affiliates, and all users who access the Services through your Account to these Terms. In the absence of such an authority, you are not authorized to use the Services.

Users of the Services

The Services are provided exclusively to individuals who are at least 13 years of age, or to minors who have obtained parental or legal guardian consent to open and maintain an Account.

The Services are provided exclusively to persons. Accounts registered by “bots” or automated methods are not authorized and will be terminated.

Each user is solely responsible for all actions performed through the Services.

Authorized use of the Services

You agree not to use the Services for any illegal or prohibited activities. You also agree not to disrupt the Company’s networks and servers in your use of the Services.

Spam, which is the practice of sending irrelevant or unsolicited messages or content over the internet, typically to a large number of recipients, notably for the purposes of advertising, phishing, or spreading malware or viruses, is prohibited. Moreover, you agree not to use the Services to send junk mail, bulk emails, or mailing list emails that contain persons that have not specifically agreed to be included on that list. You agree not to use the Services to store or share content that violates the law or the rights of a third party.

Having multiple free accounts is not considered an acceptable use of our service (e.g. bulk signups, a large number of free accounts created by a single organization or individual). Abusive registrations of aliases for third-party services is also not acceptable. Free accounts must also only be created and maintained by their effective users (e.g. it is not acceptable to create accounts in anyone else’s name and later transfer credentials to that third party).

Any Account found to be committing the abovementioned activities will be immediately suspended.

The Company may also terminate Accounts which are being used for illegal activities that are not listed in the present section, particularly in response to orders from the competent authorities informing of such illegal activity.

Although it is not current practice, the Company reserves the right to suspend or delete free Accounts that have been inactive for a consecutive period of three months or more.

Limited warranties and liability

The Company does not make any warranty about the reliability of the Services or guarantee the security of user data, despite best efforts. The Service is provided “as is” and you agree not to hold the Company responsible nor to seek indemnification for any damages that may arise as a result of the loss of use, data, or profits connected to the performance of the Service or failure in such performance.

Furthermore, you will not hold the Company liable or seek indemnification if confidential material is unintentionally released as the result of a security failure or vulnerability in the performance of the Services.

Due to the encrypted nature of the Services, you acknowledge that the Company has no ability or obligation to recover your data if you misplace your decryption password.

Service level agreement (SLA)

For users of Professional Accounts, the Company aims to provide Service availability of 99.95% or better. If downtime in any month exceeds 0.05% of that month, the Company will credit the user’s Account. Service credits are applied at the user’s request and will apply toward the balance due at the end of the next billing cycle (either monthly or yearly).

 The Company calculates service credits in the following way:

  •  If the monthly uptime is less than 99.95% but equal to or greater than 99.0%, the service credit is equal to 10% of the Service’s monthly cost;
  • If the monthly uptime is less than 99.0%, the service credit is equal to 30% of the Service’s cost.

Some performance issues are excluded from downtime calculations, such as:

  • Issues caused by factors outside of the Company’s reasonable control;
  • Issues that resulted from any actions or inaction by a user or a third party;
  • Issues that resulted from the user’s equipment and/or third-party equipment (not within the primary control of the Company). For the avoidance of any doubt, the Company does not provide any internet or network services and any performance issues related to that type of services shall be deemed not in the primary control of the Company;
  • Issues that arise from the Company’s suspension or termination of rights to use the Service in accordance with the Terms;
  • Downtime caused by reasonable scheduled maintenance that is announced in advance.

Indemnification

You agree that the Company, and any parents, subsidiaries, officers, employees, or third-party contractors cannot be held responsible for any third-party claim, demand, or damages, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Services.

Privacy

Our Privacy Policy explains the way we handle and protect your personal data and privacy in relation to your Account, your use of the Services, and your browsing of the proton.me website. By agreeing to the present Terms and to be able to use the Services, you also agree to our Privacy Policy.

If, in the provision of the Services, the Company processes, on the user’s behalf (where the user acts as a Data Controller), any personal data that is subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the company’s data processing agreement shall apply.

Intellectual property

All trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names, and other proprietary designations of PROTON (the “PROTON Trademarks”) displayed on this website are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Company, and numerous of the PROTON Trademarks are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and with multiple trademark offices around the world. See, e.g., U.S. Reg. Nos. 4,751,245, 4,754,889; CH Reg. No. 662,183; EU Reg. No. 17,893,097. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any of the Proton Trademarks without our prior written permission in each instance. All goodwill generated from the use of the Proton Trademarks will inure to the Company’s exclusive benefit.

Terms of payment

Due to their nature, the paid Services provided by the Company are generally non-refundable and any refunds or credits given will be at the sole discretion of the Company. Paid Accounts which are terminated due to a violation of these Terms will incur the loss of all payments and credits and are not eligible for refund.

If the Company chooses to issue a refund for any reason, the Company is only obligated to refund in the original currency of payment. If you request a credit balance to be converted between different currencies which the Company supports, the Company has discretion over the exchange rate applied.

Subscriptions are paid on a monthly or yearly basis, depending on your selection. After the initial term, the subscription is renewed automatically for the same duration until canceled by you. Credit balances are automatically deducted accordingly. You are responsible for keeping card information in relation with your Account up to date.

If you fail to fulfill your obligation of payment as a user of a paid Account, we may suspend your Account or delete it after an extended period of default.

If you rely on dispute or chargeback mechanisms of third-party payment processors and the result of that mechanism causes the Company to be liable for an amount exceeding the price paid for the service (e.g. dispute fee), you authorize the Company to charge that amount on your Account.

Modification to the terms of service

Within the limits of applicable law, the Company reserves the right to review and change these Terms at any time. As long as you are using the Services, you are responsible for regularly reviewing these Terms. Continued use of the Services after such changes are performed shall constitute your consent to them.

Applicable law and language

These Terms shall be governed in all respects by the substantive laws of Switzerland. Any controversy, claim, or dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the competent courts of the Canton of Geneva. In case of discrepancy between the English version of these Terms and any translated version, the English version shall prevail.