Edward Snowden's revelations have been a before and after in the world of communications. Although we were not completely oblivious to the possible espionage of our governments, from that moment protect privacy both in browsing and in emails that has become a priority. The Tor browser has gone from anonymity to become one of the browsers most used by users who are concerned about their security.
Users' concern for the security of their communications was one of the triggers of the founders of Proton Technologies, an email encryption service that until now was only available through a browser. But the guys at ProtonMail aware of the concern of users have been working in recent months to develop an application for both iOS and Android. Both applications are now available for download through the respective application stores.
First of all, we must bear in mind that the ProtonMail application is not a mail application that offers us security in our communications, but rather It is a mail application to manage our secure account of its ProtonMail service. When opening the application, the first step we have to do, if we are users of this service, is to add our account data. If we are not, the application gives us the possibility to create a new account in this service.
The messages sent through this application include a PGP encryption and operates under the "zero access" policy, that is, there is no way to access the emails that are sent between accounts of the same service, since the emails are stored encrypted on the servers. From the app we can send emails safely by password protecting emails and adding a deadline by which it will be destroyed whether it has been read or not. If the message is password protected, the recipient of the email will receive an email with a link to open it but must know the password. Clicking on the link will open a secure ProtonMail page to access it and from which we can respond.
In terms of operation, ProtonMail is an email application very similar to those already available for iPhone, including gestures to manage emails in a faster and easier way. ProtonMail's encrypted mail service is free, but accepts donations from users in order to maintain the service. ProtonMail requires at least iOS 8 and is only in English. It is compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
