# Proton introduces emergency access **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/proton-introduces-emergency-access/30575 **Category:** General **Tags:** article, website **Created:** 2025-08-28T14:02:36Z **Posts:** 59 ## Post 1 by @CyberOtter — 2025-08-28T14:02:36Z > **[Introducing Emergency Access for your Proton Account | Proton](https://proton.me/blog/emergency-access)** > > When something unexpected happens, make sure your loved ones can get the critical data they need with Emergency Access for your Proton Account. > With Emergency Access, you can choose up to five trusted contacts who can gain access to your account either immediately or after a custom wait time you set in advance, ranging from days to months. Your trusted contacts will also need to have a Proton Account to gain access. > > You remain in control: If a trusted contact requests access to your account, during the wait time, you can approve it immediately or deny the request. If you do nothing, the request will automatically be approved after the designated waiting time. You can revoke access or modify your emergency contacts anytime. Once granted, your trusted contacts will be able to securely access your Proton data, including emails, passwords, and files. > > To designate emergency contacts, you’ll need to have a paid Proton plan (all paid plans qualify). --- ## Post 2 by @PurpleDime — 2025-08-29T18:09:34Z I think this is a fantastic idea, but like 1Password’s Emergency access feature, it has some major flaws. **1. YOUR TRUSTEES NEED TO HAVE A PROTON ACCOUNT** IMO, this is stupid. That is not realistic to real-world situations when you’re in the thick of real tragedies. The people you trust the most are not necessarily going to have a Proton account. Even if you manage to convince your loved ones to create a Proton address for this purpose, if they are not privacy conscious, there’s a good chance they won’t use their account. I created Proton addresses for some of my family members years ago, and they don’t use them. If they got an email at their Proton address, it would take them a long time to notice, if they notice at all. **The people I trust shouldn’t have to have a Proton account to access my data.** **2. NO SUPPORT FOR MULTI-SUBS OVERCOMPLICATES THE PROCESS** The fact that Proton doesn’t support multiple subscriptions under one Proton account overcomplicates the emergency access process. For those who don’t know, if you are a paying subscriber to a single Proton product (Proton Mail Plus), Proton will not allow you to pay for another Proton service (Proton Pass Plus) under the same account. Your only choices are either to upgrade to Proton Unlimited, which is more expensive, or create a 2nd Proton account for Proton Pass Plus, and end up with a subpar user experience. Because of this very problem, I pay for 3 Proton subscriptions in 3 separate accounts, and it’s very frustrating. That means that because I have 3ish paid Proton accounts, I have to create 3 emergency access protocols, which is stupid and makes things more complicated for my loved ones. **To me, it’s obvious that Proton does this out of greed. They are deliberately punishing people who don’t want to pay for Proton Unlimited or can’t afford it. I have asked them about it, and they have no plans to allow bundled subscriptions under the same account. It is a marketing decision. To me, it smacks of enshittification and a dark pattern.** --- ## Post 3 by @ph00lt0 — 2025-08-29T18:25:20Z Uhm no. The reason the other person needs a Proton account is that they need a secret stored to be able to unlock your account and data. Paying 3 subscriptions doesnt make any sense jusr get unlimited… it is just to keep things simple. My biggest complain would that they have too many pricing options. --- ## Post 4 by @PurpleDime — 2025-08-29T18:42:36Z > [@ph00lt0](#): > > The reason the other person needs a Proton account is that they need a secret stored to be able to unlock your account and data. And that can’t be implemented without the trustees needing a Proton account? I’m doubtful of that. 1Password has the same policy, and I think it’s stupid. Why would my trustee need a 1Password account, if they already have a password manager and are happy with it? And even if they don’t, there should be a way to make emergency access secure without the trustee needing an account. > [@ph00lt0](#): > > Paying 3 subscriptions doesnt make any sense jusr get unlimited… it is just to keep things simple. That statement is incredibly dismissive and inconsiderate. There are people who simply cannot afford Proton Unlimited. It’s as simple as that. I can’t afford it. It’s way too expensive for me. Moreover, even if some people can afford it, they don’t want or need it. It’s a common and popular recommendation in the privacy community to compartmentalize your data, and not use the same service for everything. Some people would rather use Mullvad as their VPN provider. Also, some of Proton’s products do not stand strongly on their own, like Proton Drive. --- ## Post 5 by @Catalyst2422 — 2025-08-29T21:30:59Z > [@PurpleDime](#): > > Because of this very problem, I pay for 3 Proton subscriptions in 3 separate accounts, and it’s very frustrating. Out of interest. What 3 services are you using that are cheaper combined than Proton Unlimited? --- ## Post 6 by @anonymous378 — 2025-08-29T22:08:32Z You could do SL premium (3/month), Pass+ (2.99/month), and Drive+ (200GB 3.99/month) for $9.98/month. Just saved you 12 cents. :joy: Seriously though, the real savings is that its much easier to just make a new account with the same service each year, if each service is tied to a separate account. This means you can take advantage of the Black Friday deals every year. That’s a ~20%+ saving every year vs 1 year of black Friday savings with an unlimited account. This is mostly because Proton cares more about “new” customers then existing customers. --- ## Post 7 by @Stiffly2505 — 2025-08-30T09:07:04Z > [@PurpleDime](#): > > And that can’t be implemented without the trustees needing a Proton account? Technically it can be, but it’d be probably rather complicated, with them holding onto a file or something similar, and also re-acquiring those files when keys are rotated (don’t know if that’s a thing Proton does, but it’d make sense after revoking a trustee for example). You see, your trustees already have your keys regardless of whether they have access, and Proton’s server side is the one limiting access. This way if proton turned evil (or got a subpoena or whatever) they still couldn’t access your data, at most just allow your trustees to access it bypassing your authorization or time limit. Time-limited encryption that eventually runs out is not possible and will not be possible as far as we know, so this is the best implementation one can make. --- ## Post 8 by @ph00lt0 — 2025-08-30T09:32:44Z > [@anonymous378](#): > > This is mostly because Proton cares more about “new” customers then existing customers. Like any normal business. --- ## Post 9 by @PurpleDime — 2025-08-30T09:38:45Z > [@Catalyst2422](#): > > Out of interest. What 3 services are you using that are cheaper combined than Proton Unlimited? Proton Mail Plus, Proton Pass Plus, and Standard Notes which has yet to be implemented into the Proton suite, hence the _“3ish”._ > [@anonymous378](#): > > You could do SL premium (3/month), Pass+ (2.99/month), and Drive+ (200GB 3.99/month) for $9.98/month. Just saved you 12 cents. :joy: That doesn’t sound like a good deal. I don’t need nor want to pay for Proton Drive Plus. I also don’t understand what’s funny about it. You are completely missing my point, which is that we should be allowed to have multiple Proton subscriptions under the same account. There is no good reason to prevent it. Proton, which is a very successful company, is doing it out of greed. **In both scenarios, the one where I upgrade to Proton Unlimited, and the one where I create and pay for multiple Proton accounts, Proton gets my money. They get my money**. So why not let us have 2 subscriptions under the same account if it’s all we need? GREED is the only answer I can think of. > [@anonymous378](#): > > Seriously though, the real savings is that its much easier to just make a new account with the same service each year, if each service is tied to a separate account. That is stupid. It would mean abandoning every account you create every year and losing data. Also, people don’t know this, but transferring data from one Proton account to another is not a smooth process at all. Some data can’t even be transferred, which means having to abandon it or go through a long, tedious manual process. > [@Stiffly2505](#): > > Technically it can be, but it’d be probably rather complicated A potential compromise I thought of is one where your trustee wouldn’t need a Proton account to verify themselves. They could verify themself with any non-Proton account, like a Gmail address, however, upon verification, they would need to create a Proton account to access the data. That being said, this could easily be too complicated for some trustees. It puts a lot of pressure on them to remember their new Proton account details, and if they don’t have a password manager, they could easily make mistakes. **Never forget that the people you leave behind could be seniors (your parents) if you’re single and/or childless. This is an important factor to consider.** --- ## Post 10 by @ph00lt0 — 2025-08-30T09:42:25Z Really stop bullshitting and complaining pfff. Standard Notes is still its own company so that definitely won’t fly. Why would a non profit be greedy?? If anything this is a sensible business model. Seniors can use a proton account and if they don’t have a password manager perhaps you should help them to get one. --- ## Post 11 by @PurpleDime — 2025-08-30T09:56:52Z > [@ph00lt0](#): > > ![](https://forum-cdn.privacyguides.net/user_avatar/discuss.privacyguides.net/anonymous378/48/6_2.png) anonymous378: > > > This is mostly because Proton cares more about “new” customers then existing customers. > > Like any normal business. I don’t think that’s necessarily true. As I’ve explained in my comment on a different post, [**Proton relies heavily on the privacy community to attract new customers inside and outside their current user base**](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/introducing-proton-authenticator-secure-2fa-your-way/29612/87). > [@ph00lt0](#): > > Really stop bullshitting and complaining pfff. How exactly am I BSing? > [@ph00lt0](#): > > Standard Notes is still its own company so that definitely won’t fly. I don’t get your point. Is Standard Notes not a Proton product, despite it not being integrated? Am I not paying for 2 other Proton products that I can’t manage under the same account? > [@ph00lt0](#): > > Why would a non profit be greedy?? Because non-profits have never been shown to be corrupted in the history of humanity? Right. Proton is still a business. The Mozilla Foundation is also a non-profit and we still criticize many of their decisions. I really don’t understand your aggression. > [@ph00lt0](#): > > If anything this is a sensible business model. **Explain to me why it’s a bad idea to not allow users to pay for multiple Proton services under one account.** As I pointed out, in both scenarios, Proton is getting my money. > [@ph00lt0](#): > > Seniors can use a proton account and if they don’t have a password manager perhaps you should help them to get one. You do realize that some people don’t live in the same city or country as their parents, or whoever their trustee might be, right? Also, suppose your trustee creates a free Proton account, just for the purpose of being your trustee. They don’t use their account, and it remains inactive for over a year, which means Proton will automatically delete it. They miss the warnings, the account is gone, years go by, and something happens to you. Now what? --- ## Post 12 by @anonymous378 — 2025-08-30T17:08:06Z @ph00lt0 Sure but it also incentivizes breaking the TOS and avoiding the package they are obviously trying to get people to buy. > [@PurpleDime](#): > > It would mean abandoning every account you create every year and losing data You could easily transfer the data each time. > [@PurpleDime](#): > > Some data can’t even be transferred, which means having to abandon it or go through a long, tedious manual process. Incorrect. This is the type of assumption made when you have not tried but want to argue anyway. > [@ph00lt0](#): > > Really stop bullshitting and complaining pfff :100: --- ## Post 13 by @investigatorcloset — 2025-08-30T17:23:39Z I do think the utility is limited if your contacts are not established in the privacy/proton ecosystem, regardless there are plenty of other recovery methods. Proton has also (per the reddit thread) not ruled out expanding this option beyond Proton in the future if they can find a workable method. --- ## Post 14 by @PurpleDime — 2025-08-30T19:59:41Z > [@anonymous378](#): > > Incorrect. This is the type of assumption made when you have not tried but want to argue anyway. It’s not an assumption. I’ve investigated it and asked about it. Aliases cannot be transferred from one Proton account to another. If I upgraded to Proton Unlimited, which I have no desire to, and cannot afford, I would not be able to automatically transfer all my aliases from my Proton Pass account. The rest of my Proton data can be transferred, but not my aliases. > [@anonymous378](#): > > ![](https://forum-cdn.privacyguides.net/user_avatar/discuss.privacyguides.net/ph00lt0/48/6697_2.png) ph00lt0: > > > Really stop bullshitting and complaining pfff > > :100: I’m still waiting for an explanation of how _exactly_ I am BSing. > [@investigatorcloset](#): > > I do think the utility is limited if your contacts are not established in the privacy/proton ecosystem, regardless there are plenty of other recovery methods. Thank you. --- ## Post 15 by @anonymous378 — 2025-08-31T00:03:22Z > [@PurpleDime](#): > > I would not be able to automatically transfer all my aliases from my Proton Pass account What are you talking about? You just login to your SL account and switch which mailbox it forwards the emails too. You can even change which proton account (unlink old account and then link new one) is associated with your SL account, which means you can easily connect a new pass sub to your old alias’ > **[How to connect an existing SimpleLogin account to a Proton Account | Proton](https://proton.me/support/link-simplelogin-account-proton-account)** > > SimpleLogin is part of the Proton encrypted ecosystem. Find out how to link your existing SimpleLogin account to your Proton Account. --- ## Post 16 by @redoomed1 — 2025-09-02T01:59:30Z 25 posts were split to a new topic: [Proton Pass and SimpleLogin are separate services](/t/proton-pass-and-simplelogin-are-separate-services/30706) --- ## Post 17 by @CarefulMouse — 2025-08-31T15:45:55Z I think it should have been if either participant is a paid subscription. For example, if a parent has a free account and I have a paid - the parent should be allowed to give me emergency access despite their account being free. This also solves the billing problem, since this feature is often used after the owner is incapacitated. Proton’s current suggested solution is to just make sure a credit card is added so the credit card can be auto-charged after death as “usually isn’t cancelled immediately”, but this is at minimum an odd solution. In some jurisdictions this could even be considered fraudulent behavior by the estate as the contractual agreement between bank and cardholder does terminate on cardholders’ expiration. u/Proton\_Team: > EDIT: Whoever gets emergency access can continue paying for your account if they wish to do so. If that person takes too long to renew the payment method, your account may be downgraded. You can also avoid this problem by leaving a credit card on file as that usually isn’t cancelled immediately Discover: > **Stop all use of the credit card(s).** Credit cards are no longer valid when the sole primary cardmember has passed away. No one should use the card, even the executor of the estate, even if it’s for what seems like a legitimate purpose (like paying for funeral costs). > [What Happens to Credit Card Debt When You Die? | Discover](https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/card-smarts/what-happens-credit-card-debt-die/) --- ## Post 18 by @PurpleDime — 2025-08-31T16:21:03Z > [@CarefulMouse](#): > > I think it should have been if either participant is a paid subscription. For example, if a parent has a free account and I have a paid - the parent should be allowed to give me emergency access despite their account being free. This is a better solution, but it still requires the trustee to be on Proton, which, IMO, is an unnecessary obstacle. It seems to me that you’re better off writing your Proton credentials down in a secret physical document and tell your trustees where and how to access that document if anything happens to you. You could potentially give it to a lawyer. That, or have practice drills one or twice a year with your trustees, which should also prevent free Proton accounts from expiring. It’s still tricky if your trustees don’t live in the same city or country as you. --- ## Post 19 by @CarefulMouse — 2025-08-31T18:07:31Z > [@PurpleDime](#): > > Some parents want their children to have immediate access to their accounts if anything happens to them, which is why they already have the login details, and know to transfer all their parents money to their bank account long before declaring their death. Using the emergency access feature for this sounds like an incredibly ill-advised thing to do. There are already legal processes that bypass the probate process (declaring beneficiaries). Where the same beneficiary process largely bypasses claims from creditors. Doing this could be an incredibly costly move for the estate and open family members up to lawsuits from those same creditors. Having accessing to a loved ones email/pw manager can be great for learning who to contact on death. I can understand accessing Proton to export beloved and cherished photos in drive, or heartfelt emails between family that need to be remembered, but in my opinion: If a loved one dies, you should not use their PW manager to access financial accounts beyond downloading the most recent statement. Edit: If this is something parents (US) would like to do then a joint bank account would achieve the same result. --- ## Post 22 by @CarefulMouse — 2025-08-31T20:03:10Z Using a password manager’s emergency access feature to access and transfer money out of a financial account when you do not have the legal authority to do so does not strike me as wise. If the individual dies you could lose many legal protections. In the case of death it’s not just about “trusting siblings” - there could be creditors who now can make a claim against that amount. If parents want to achieve the end goal you describe there are thoughtful ways to go about that that don’t involve fraud, such as the aforementioned joint account or POD. **My point is that while this feature is great to gain access to important information. Those with emergency access should be very thoughtful about using the access to masquerade as the account holder.** --- ## Post 23 by @anon42475305 — 2025-08-31T20:09:13Z Discussion of the legal logistics of the death of a family member is not only off-topic but also a fairly pointless discussion to have since the details are extremely jurisdiction specific. Please remain focused on the topic as outlined in the initial post. --- ## Post 24 by @CarefulMouse — 2025-08-31T20:18:40Z > Discussion of the legal logistics of the death of a family member is not only off-topic but also a fairly pointless discussion to have since the details are extremely jurisdiction specific. > Please remain focused on the topic as outlined in the initial post. Sorry to say, but it very on-topic given the context of the feature, but much of the preceding content appeared to fairly off-topic. I’m confused by your decision here as I felt I was pushing the thread back on-topic with actual discussion of the feature itself. I attempted to DM this first before posting ITT, but does not appear you accept DM as an admin. Edit: I now see my post was restored. Thx --- ## Post 26 by @PurpleDime — 2025-08-31T21:16:39Z > [@CarefulMouse](#): > > Using a password manager’s emergency access feature to access and transfer money out of a financial account when you do not have the legal authority to do so does not strike me as wise. I never said that anyone should do that. I specifically said that in the scenarios that I described, the children already have legal and authorized access to their parent’s bank account while they are alive and well. Meaning that the parents intentionally planned for this. They shared their bank account credentials with their children, had a serious conversation with them, and told them: _If anything happens to me, access my account and do this._ They did not wait for tragedy to happen to grant their children emergency access. > [@CarefulMouse](#): > > If parents want to achieve the end goal you describe there are thoughtful ways to go about that that don’t involve fraud Who said anything about fraud? Adult children can have power of attorney on their parents’ account even when they are alive and well, if the parent has authorized it. That means the children are named on their parents account and have their own profile on their parent’s bank account when they log in from their own devices. While their parents are alive and well, they can physically go to the bank, speak to the teller and tell them, _I want to take $300 from my mom’s account_. The teller will see that they have authorization and let them do exactly that. I have quite a few friends who are in this very situation. > [@CarefulMouse](#): > > My point is that while this feature is great to gain access to important information. Those with emergency access should be very thoughtful about using the access to masquerade as the account holder. Of course. I don’t deny that it can be risky and trust can be abused. But there are families for whom what I described works, and it is not illegal. The suggestion I am making is obviously not for everybody. I also know children who took advantage of their parents trust. --- ## Post 31 by @Avoca — 2025-08-31T23:34:46Z I have Proton Unlimited and love it. I find it difficult to comprehend why someone would go through multiple subscriptions rather than just pay the paltry extra for a single account, particularly when you get the full suite of apps. Can I suggest that, rather than criticising Proton for being “greedy”, you just ‘suck it up’ and enjoy their brilliant, full suite, service. Problem solved! Afterall, they are entitled to make a quid… --- ## Post 32 by @unseen — 2025-08-31T23:52:26Z > [@Avoca](#): > > I find it difficult to comprehend why someone would go through multiple subscriptions rather than just pay the paltry extra for a single account, particularly when you get the full suite of apps. He uses 3 products: Proton Mail, Proton Pass, and Standard Notes. Here are the pricing per year: Proton Mail Plus: $47.88 Proton Pass Plus: $35.88 Standard Notes: $90 The total amount he currently pays per year: $173.76 Your suggestion: Proton Unlimited: $119.88 Standard Notes: $90 The total amount: $209.88 The answer is to save $209.88 - $173.76 = $36.12 per year. He does not have the need to use all the features in the Unlimited plan. And the Unlimited plan does not include Standard Note, which is something he wants to use. --- ## Post 33 by @Avoca — 2025-08-31T23:58:15Z Fair point. But I fail to see why a Standard Notes subscription is being brought into the equation. I have other paid services I use too, but they don’t factor in this discussion, IMHO. --- ## Post 34 by @unseen — 2025-09-01T00:01:00Z > [@Avoca](#): > > But I fail to see why a Standard Notes subscription is being brought into the equation. It’s because Standard Notes is also a Proton product. Proton owns Standard Notes, it’s listed under the ‘Products’ section on their homepage ([https://proton.me/](https://proton.me/)) --- ## Post 35 by @Avoca — 2025-09-01T00:06:37Z Ok, but again, that has nothing to do with multiple Proton subs vs. an Unlimited sub. If he had an Unlimited sub he would have access to Proton Docs via Proton Drive. I have never used Standard Notes beyond the original trial, but surely in this case, the relative merits on Proton Docs vs. Standard Notes and the perceived need for multiple secure note taking apps. would be more beneficial. --- ## Post 56 by @TheManWithNoPlan — 2025-09-02T01:44:59Z For me, it’s extra attack surface. I don’t know how big of a concern it is with respect to how it’s implemented, however I have high hopes for Proton to continue down the road of approaching an alternative to all of Google services. I would think that the more things are added over time, the more difficult it will be to keep things secure and unbreakable, the same way code that has more and more features becomes harder to think about. Sometimes multiple rewrites are important not just to simplify things but to eliminate points of failure, or ways that it can crash. It seems that some people like it and want it, though I couldn’t read all of the back and forth, and some people don’t. I’d rather see Proton producing other things such as end to end encrypted push notification services. I don’t know how they would break into that market but it was stated as one of their goals. I think maybe I just don’t know how it’s implemented and if it’s a separate process that runs on it’s own and gives password access or if is integrated into services and needs to be accounted for every time they add a new product, if it can serve as a back door to decryption by legal order now or in the future. To quote Andy Yen, “One day, we will be hacked” --- ## Post 57 by @anon39279085 — 2025-09-02T11:02:19Z Maybe read how it is implemented before making assumptions? People I get missing things, we are humans, but being outright lazy to the point of spreading misinformation is crazy. --- ## Post 58 by @ph00lt0 — 2025-09-02T21:36:04Z > [@TheManWithNoPlan](#): > > To quote Andy Yen, “One day, we will be hacked” No company, no network no nothing is robust enough to never be hacked. Anyone who claims to be you should probably avoid doing business with. The game is not to not get hacked but to make sure you layer your security in such way that the impact stays limited. --- ## Post 59 by @lumino — 2025-09-03T14:21:42Z A heated discussion between Proton cult followers versus those that openly “dare” to think for themselves and be critic of some of their weird choices Very off-topic. But to the point, I read the news when they launched the emergency access, and I’m afraid I won’t use it. It doesn’t help me since none on my close family have a Proton account. And even if they open one just for this, they might just forget about it many years from now when the time comes, so the end result would be the same. Not only because Proton disables “inactive” free accounts but also because that since they won’t use it, many years down the road they might not even remember or have the credentials to access it. I’m not concerned about my wife since I share a password manager with her and she has access to all my credentials (i know that’s not normal but we have built such a strong relationship that allows for this). However, if we both die together (or within a short time frame) I do need to make sure that my kids or my siblings have access to my passwords (and the encryption keys of some of my sensitive data). Unfortunately, the way Proton decided to implement emergency access doesn’t solve that for me. I’m curious as how are other people handling this? Maybe some ideas might help.