ProtonMail Developer Launches Free, Encrypted Password Manager

The developer of the end-to-end encrypted ProtonMail is expanding into password managers with Proton Pass(Opens in a new window), a free service that emerges from beta today.

Proton AG says this is “one of the most highly demanded services” from its users, but it’ll have to compete in a crowded market for free password managers. To stand out, Proton AG’s password manager recently passed a security audit from Cure53, although details about the audit won’t arrive for at least several weeks.

The company is also storing all data from the password manager in its own servers in Switzerland. “So your data is both fully encrypted and protected by some of the world’s strongest data privacy laws,” Proton AG says. (In contrast, LassPass failed to encrypt the website URLs with each encrypted password in customer vaults.)

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Like ProtonMail, the password manager offers end-to-end encryption, specifically across all login fields, including the user name, web address, and passwords. This means not even Proton AG can view your stored login information. 

The other interesting feature is called “hide-my-email alias,” which is similar to what Apple offers. When registering for a new account on a website, Proton Pass can instead submit a randomly generated secondary email address to help protect your privacy. 

“Not only does this prevent the third party from identifying who you are, but it filters out trackers and other marketing tools before forwarding the messages to your main inbox,” the company says in a blog post(Opens in a new window). 

(Credit: Proton Pass)

The free Proton Pass also offers logins for an unlimited number of devices. But you’ll only be able to use “hide-my-email alias” 10 times. For unlimited access to the “hide-my email alias” function, you’ll need to subscribe to Proton Pass Plus at $3.99 a month. If you subscribe before the end of July, however, you can get Proton Pass Plus for $1 per month indefinitely.

“This is a forever discount, so if you get the promotion, you’ll keep this price forever, even after Proton Pass Plus returns to its regular price of $3.99/month,” the company says.

Other perks for Proton Pass include a build-in two-factor authenticator, the ability to organize your info across multiple vaults, and an upcoming autofill function for credit card information.   

For now, Proton Pass is available as a browser extension on desktops and as a mobile app for Android and iOS. Stay tuned for our review.