In the race for privacy, some plough to encrypting their electronic mail. Why? Because in that location are times when sending sensitive information needs a layer of encryption. But calculation encryption to mobile email can sometimes exist a bit complicated.

Until now.

Thank you to a company called ProtonMail, you lot can take reward of encryption on your Android device with very little hassle. A caveat to using the ProtonMail platform: This is a service…not a stand-alone app to be used with your current email accost. So y'all must sign up for a ProtonMail business relationship, install the Android app, and use your newly created ProtonMail email business relationship to ship your encrypted email.

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Getting a ProtonMail account

ProtonMail offers a free account, which gives you 500 MB of storage; if you need more storage, you can upgrade via donation. For a mere $l USD per yr, you go 5 GB of storage.

Getting your account is simple–only go to the ProtonMail signup page, enter a username, add together a login password and a decryption password, add a recovery e-mail accost, and click CREATE ACCOUNT. Tip: I highly recommend you not use the same countersign for login and decryption.

Once you click the CREATE Account button, ProtonMail will automatically generate your encryption keys. You will have to verify that you lot're non a robot (either past email or reCaptcha), and so you'll exist taken to your ProtonMail inbox.

Now y'all're gear up to move over to the Android app.

Installing the Android app

  1. Open up the Google Play Shop on your Android device.
  2. Search for protonmail.
  3. Locate and tap the entry past ProtonMail.
  4. Tap Install.
  5. Read the permissions listing.
  6. If the permissions listing is acceptable, tap Accept.
  7. Allow the installation to consummate.

You will find a launcher for the app in either your App Drawer, on your home screen, or in both spots. Tap the launcher to open ProtonMail.

Logging in

When ProtonMail opens, you will have to log in to your ProtonMail account. Tap the Sign In push and and so enter your ProtonMail username and the login password you created (not the decryption password). In one case you lot tap the Sign In button, you volition be asked to enter your decryption countersign (Figure A). Afterward entering your decryption password, tap Decrypt.

Walk through the welcome tour, and you will finally arrive at your ProtonMail inbox, where you can compose and read encrypted email.

Figure A

ProtonMail running on a Verizon-branded Droid Turbo.

Using ProtonMail

If y'all send mail service from your ProtonMail business relationship to another ProtonMail business relationship, it is automatically encrypted (the recipient will non have to enter a decryption key to read the email). If you transport email from your ProtonMail account to a tertiary-party account, y'all volition have to manually encrypt it.

Believe it or not, ProtonMail has fabricated this incredibly uncomplicated. From the chief window, tap the compose icon (pencil), enter the recipient email address, enter a subject field, type out your email, and and so tap the lock icon. You lot will then be asked to ascertain and confirm a message password (tap the right-pointing arrow, see Figure B) and and so tap Transport.

Figure B

Defining your message password.

When a third-political party email receives the encrypted cannonball, they click on a View Secure Message push in the email, which volition direct them to a ProtonMail webpage where they enter the encryption password for the email. In one case decrypted, they can read the e-mail.

You can likewise ship unencrypted mail from the ProtonMail app. To practise this, compose the email as normal, but don't tap the encryption button. Send away, and the email tin can exist read by the recipient without being redirected to the ProtonMail webpage.

Notation: The app does not log yous out of your business relationship when you close the app. Re-open the app, and y'all won't fifty-fifty have to re-enter your decryption password. At that place is no option for this in the settings either. The only thing you can practice is log out every fourth dimension you've finished using ProtonMail. When yous open up the app once again, however, y'all will have to log back into your account and then enter your decryption countersign. To log out, simply swipe correct (from the left edge of the screen), and tap Sign Out (Figure C).

This shouldn't be a big bargain to anyone serious about security. If efficiency is at the peak of your list, this could go a hassle.

Figure C

Signing out of ProtonMail.

Try ProtonMail today

If you're looking for 1 of the easiest means of getting encrypted email on your Android device, look no further than ProtonMail. It's unproblematic, free, open up source, and secure.