Switzerland-based encrypted email service provider ProtonMail has recently made waves with the acquisition of SimpleLogin, an email alias generation tool designed to prevent email address leaks and shield user info from malicious actors.
A free open-source solution available as a browser extension, mobile app and web app, SimpleLogin allows users to create anonymous email addresses any time they sign up for new digital services. Doing so not only eliminates the need for users to disclose real emails during the sign-up process, but also prevents potential leaks from exposing that info to spammers, hackers and others across the web.
The addition of SimpleLogin to the Proton family complements ProtonMail’s secure email service, offering consumers and businesses an extra layer of email protection in an often unpredictable digital climate.
The ProtonMail-SimpleLogin announcement comes on the heels of over three years of significant SimpleLogin growth in the burgeoning email alias sector. Since the company’s 2019 launch, the number of SimpleLogin users has grown to more than 100,000 globally, with over two million unique email aliases generated during that time.
Once source lists SimpleLogin’s monthly growth in the double digits. If true, this acquisition may deliver remarkable results to ProtonMail well down the road.
Following the acquisition, Proton CEO Andy Yen publicly acknowledged the existing service overlap between ProtonMail, with about 25% of SimpleLogin users already active across the ProtonMail platform.
According to Yen, “We have been following SimpleLogin closely for a long time as many ProtonMail users utilize it to prevent their ProtonMail addresses from being leaked to spammers. He goes on to say, “SimpleLogin is a complementary service to ProtonMail. ProtonMail protects your data privacy with encryption, while SimpleLogin prevents malicious actors from discovering your actual email address by hiding your email.”
This shared user base and complementary nature of the two online services – as well as Proton’s goal to integrate SimpleLogin functionality – promises to make access to both brands and their respective email protection solutions a bit easier for individuals and businesses alike. Despite the insistence on keeping SimpleLogin a separate service, Yen says the new online service venture will become an advantage for each platform.
The SimpleLogin team will continue building new features and adding functionality,” says Yen, “but now with the benefit of Proton’s infrastructure and security engineering capabilities.”
With shared company values and similar beginnings as crowdfunded privacy projects, many see the ProtonMail-SimpleLogin collaboration as a natural fit, one that will only enhance email privacy and data protection for years to come.
The growing demand for email security and email alias services like ProtonMail and SimpleLogin demonstrates growing concerns about online privacy, particularly among the many consumers, small businesses and online brands facing new and more dangerous privacy threats every day.
While this recent acquisition may represent a step in the right direction, it also highlights a burgeoning awareness of privacy threats and the need to safeguard your personal information against hackers, spammers and cybercriminals aiming to do you harm.
If you need help keeping your email, phone number, address, and other personal records out of the wrong hands, my team is here to help. Contact an Internet Privacy expert today to learn more.
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