Gmail → Proton Mail

Move your email to end-to-end encryption. Swiss jurisdiction. Your inbox, unreadable to anyone but you.

About 1 hour Weekend project
1

Create your Proton Mail account

10 minutes

Go to proton.me and click "Create a free account". Choose your username — this becomes your @proton.me address. Pick a strong password. Select the Free plan (you can upgrade later). Complete the CAPTCHA verification.

What you should see

You see the Proton Mail inbox with a welcome message from the Proton team.

2

Import your Gmail using Easy Switch

30 minutes

In Proton Mail, go to Settings → All settings → Import via Easy Switch. Click "Import from Google". Sign in to your Google account when prompted. Check all the boxes: Mail, Contacts, and Calendar. Click Start Import. For large mailboxes, this may take a few hours — you can close the tab and come back later.

What you should see

A progress bar shows the import status. When complete, your Gmail folders appear as labels in Proton Mail.

3

Import your contacts

10 minutes

If Easy Switch handled contacts already, check your Proton contacts list. Otherwise: open Gmail, click the Google Apps grid (top right), select Contacts, then Export as vCard. In Proton Mail, go to Contacts → Import and upload the vCard file.

What you should see

Search for a few contacts by name in Proton Mail — they appear with correct email addresses and phone numbers.

4

Set up forwarding from Gmail

5 minutes

In Gmail, go to Settings → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Click "Add a forwarding address" and enter your new Proton Mail address. Switch to Proton Mail to find the confirmation email, click the link, then return to Gmail settings and select "Forward a copy of incoming mail to" your Proton address. Keep Gmail's copy in the inbox.

What you should see

Send yourself a test email to your Gmail address. It arrives in both Gmail and Proton Mail.

5

Update your linked services

Ongoing — start with the critical ones

Start with the accounts that matter most: banking, government services, and work accounts. Log in to each service, find account settings, and update your email to your new Proton Mail address. Verify each change. Then work through shopping sites, social media, and subscriptions over the following weeks.

What you should see

Confirmation emails from updated services arrive in Proton Mail, not just Gmail.

Troubleshooting

Import seems stuck or is taking forever
Large Gmail accounts (10GB+) can take several hours. Let it run overnight. If it fails, retry with a stable connection. Import in smaller date ranges if needed.
Cannot find the forwarding verification email
Check Proton Mail's spam folder. Gmail sends the verification from a noreply address that Proton may filter. Mark it as not spam.
Search does not find emails I know are there
Proton Mail cannot search encrypted message bodies — only subject lines, sender, and recipient. Use the web app for the broadest search. Organise important mail into folders.
Running out of Proton Mail storage
The free plan includes 1GB of email storage. Delete large emails you no longer need, or upgrade to Mail Plus (from €3.99/month) for 15GB.
Some services will not accept my Proton Mail address
Rare, but some services only accept major providers. Keep Gmail active for these specific accounts. Set forwarding so you never miss messages.

What to do next