Privacy app maker Proton has launched a new AI-enabled writing assistant that can help users compose emails with simple prompts, rewrite them and proofread them before sending.
With this release, Proton continues its trajectory of mimicking many of Google's products and features in the productivity tool space. Last month, Google introduced its own Gemini AI to Gmail to help users write and summarize emails, and now Proton is following suit with its own flavor.
In the case of Proton, a Swiss company known for its privacy-focused suite of apps including email, VPN, password manager, calendar, cloud storage, and documents, as expected, the company's new assistant is targeted at people concerned about sensitive data being leaked to third-party AI providers.
The new tool, called Proton Scribe, is built on Mistral 7B, an open-source language model from French AI startup Mistral. However, Proton said it will likely continue to refine the model to find one that best suits this use case. Additionally, the company said it will provide the tool under an open-source GPL-3.0 license, making it easier to perform third-party security and privacy audits.
Localization
Proton Scribe can be deployed entirely at the local device level, so user data never leaves the device, and Proton promises that its AI assistant will not learn from user data – an especially important feature for enterprise use cases where privacy is paramount.
The problem Proton is trying to solve here is real: Data privacy concerns have made companies reluctant to embrace the generative AI revolution, and this early version of the writing assistant could go some way to easing those concerns.
“Whether Proton develops AI tools or not, we recognized that our users will be using AI, which often has significant privacy implications,” Yen said. “Rather than forcing users to copy their sensitive communications to a third-party AI tool with poor privacy protections, it would be better for us to build privacy-first AI tools directly into ProtonMail.”
For the less security conscious, Proton Scribe can also be configured to run on Proton's servers, which will make it run faster depending on your own hardware.
If you want to run the tool locally, you'll be asked to download the model to your machine once, after which it will run on that device without interacting with an external server.
The company emphasizes that it does not keep any logs about users who choose to run Proton Scribe from its servers, nor does it share any data with third parties.
“Only the prompts entered by the user are sent to our servers and no data is retained after the email is drafted,” a company spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Proton Scribe setup Image credit: Proton
Once the tool is installed, users can enter a prompt, such as “Request samples from supplier,” and hit the generate button.
Proton Scribe: Send us an email Image credit: Proton
The Assistant will then output a template email based on the theme you specify, and you can edit the output email to fine-tune it.
All these privacy-focused provisions come with at least one notable trade-off: Because the tool doesn't use any local data, responses won't be particularly personalized or contextual — they'll likely be generic, Proton acknowledged to TechCrunch.
But the company said that because of this, it has added additional features called “Quick Actions” designed to make it easier for users to edit their drafts, such as changing the tone, proofreading or conciseness.
“We plan to continue improving Proton Scribe over time, adding context and more, all while protecting your privacy,” Proton said in a statement.
Proton Scribe: Editing options Image credit: Proton
Proton Scribe is limited to email for now, but the company says it may expand the tool to other products in the future “depending on demand.” One obvious integration is with the recently released collaborative document editing app.
Starting today, Proton's Writing Assistant will be available on Proton Mail on the web and desktop, but the company confirmed that it plans to expand the tool to mobile devices in the future. In terms of pricing, Proton Scribe is primarily aimed at business users, with users of the Mail Essentials, Mail Professional, or Proton Business Suite plans having to pay an additional $2.99 per month to access the Writing Assistant.
Additionally, users of Proton's older and limited-offer plans (such as Visionary and Lifetime) will get free access to Proton Scribe, and the company said it may expand the feature to other consumer plans in the future.