Switzerland-based privacy-focused productivity app maker Proton has added document creation, editing and collaboration features to its secure cloud storage service, adding another milestone. The release of the new product, branded Docs in Proton Drive, follows the company's acquisition of secure note-taking app Standard Notes in April.
Proton launched its end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) cloud storage service, Proton Drive, in September 2022, initially with web support and expanding to mobile later that year.
The new collaborative document capabilities will be available within Proton Drive, further extending the company's trademark robust security and making it a key productivity tool for information workers and individuals alike.
Proton is pitching the Proton Drive-Docs combination as a secure, privacy-focused alternative to Google Drive and Docs, given that competitors to Google Drive and Docs lack Proton's flagship zero-knowledge architecture.
“This groundbreaking addition to Proton's privacy-focused product suite provides a powerful alternative to existing document editors like Google Docs, ensuring that privacy and security remain a top priority without compromising on critical features,” the company wrote in a blog post.
E2E encryption refers to a technical architecture in which the organisation providing the software doesn't hold the encryption keys and therefore has no access to user content. This allows Proton to make unreliable privacy pledges and clearly differentiates it from data-dependent business models such as Google.
“Docs offers the same level of encryption as Proton Drive, with all content protected by E2EE,” a company spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. “Not only file names and file paths, but also changes and keystrokes are encrypted.”
“Creating collaborative documents that maintain E2EE is extremely difficult and no one on the market is doing it. It requires key exchange and synchronized key information, as well as the ability to invite people to collaborate, revoke their permissions, and share documents privately,” the company said.
Proton says it will update its website in the coming weeks to provide more details about how Docs works behind the scenes. The company says it had already released enhanced sharing features for Proton Drive a few weeks ago in preparation for this release.
Proton says Docs in Proton Drive includes popular “must-have” features like full support for Markdown, rich text, code blocks and checklists, as well as compatibility with multiple file formats, including Microsoft .docx, and the ability to embed images in documents.
Collaboration features include the ability to add and reply (and resolve) comments, as well as the ability to see who is viewing a document in real time using a “collaboration cursor.” Invitations to collaborate on documents are also supported. Participants who do not have a Proton account will be asked to create a free account to gain access, helping to encourage additional sign-ups and growth.
In keeping with Proton's freemium ethos, the new Documents feature can be accessed for free through Proton Drive, which offers up to 5GB of free storage. Beyond this threshold, users who want to take advantage of the Documents feature will need to upgrade to a paid tier of Drive.
More features are in the works. Proton says its roadmap aims to improve user experience and productivity, starting with more powerful collaboration tools for teams. Given Proton's security pledge, the company is pitching Documents in Drive to businesses with high data protection compliance requirements, such as in industries like healthcare, media, finance, and legal. But individual users can also benefit.
The company confirmed that the document's code will be open-sourced “soon,” allowing for independent auditing and verification of its security claims.
Last month, Proton announced that in a further reassuring step for users, it would move to a non-profit foundation structure model, with the new foundation becoming the majority shareholder of the (for-profit) business. The company said the governance change was aimed at safeguarding its privacy mission in the long term by enabling Proton to be self-sustaining and independent of other commercial agendas.
Founded a decade ago as an end-to-end webmail service (ProtonMail), the app maker has grown in usage over the years by expanding its offering of a suite of privacy-focused, freemium productivity-focused apps, including a cloud storage service, a calendar app, a VPN and a password manager tool.
Proton currently has over 100 million combined user accounts and 500 employees supporting all of the company's technology.