{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Proton Mail Is Hiding These 10 Settings That Boost Privacy and Storage",
  "summary": "From doubling free storage to password-protecting emails sent outside Proton, these ten Proton Mail settings quietly improve both privacy and convenience.",
  "content": "Encrypted email has always been Proton Mail's calling card, but tucked inside the app are a handful of settings most people never bother to open, from a way to double free storage to a trick for locking down mail sent to non-Proton inboxes. Here are ten features worth switching on.\n\nDoubling Free Storage Without Paying\nProton Mail's free tier caps out at 500 MB of storage, which large attachments can chew through in no time. A Plus subscription bumps that to 15 GB for $4 a month, matching what most Google accounts offer, but there is a free workaround too. Accounts that finish Proton's onboarding checklist within 18 days of signing up earn an automatic 1 GB, effectively doubling the default allowance. Open the mailbox, find the \"Get more storage\" prompt in the left sidebar, and work through every listed action. Completing the full checklist adds the extra 500 MB permanently, with no payment involved.\n\nReserving an Email Address for a Child\nCommon names get scooped up fast on any mail platform, and simple firstname.lastname combinations may already be gone by the time a child is old enough to want their own inbox. Proton lets a parent claim a username in advance and hold onto it for up to 15 years before it has to be activated. Setting one aside costs just $1, which goes toward the Proton Foundation, and generates a voucher that can be saved and handed over once the child is ready to use it. By then, a clean, private address will already be waiting for them.\n\nMigrating Old Accounts With Easy Switch\nMoving away from another provider, or simply pulling scattered accounts into one place, is handled through Proton's Easy Switch tool. It connects to Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook and any other service that supports IMAP access, importing mail, contacts and calendars without forcing an immediate cutover. Once linked, the external address can send and receive mail from inside Proton, and anything it exchanges with another Proton user is automatically end-to-end encrypted. Copies stay in the original inbox the whole time, so nothing needs to be abandoned mid-transition. The option sits under Settings, then Import via Easy Switch; pick the provider and follow the prompts.\n\nAdjusting the Undo Send Window\nA typo that slips past, a forgotten attachment or a message fired off to the wrong person happens to nearly everyone, and Proton builds in a short buffer to catch it. Delayed sending holds outgoing mail for up to 20 seconds before it actually leaves the outbox, giving a brief chance to pull it back. The default delay sits at 10 seconds, but it can be dialed down to 5 or 0 seconds, or extended to the full 20. The control lives under Settings, then Messages and composing, inside the Composing section, where a dropdown labeled Undo send sets the timing.\n\nUsing Aliases to Filter Incoming Mail\nKeeping a primary address private, or sorting mail from newsletters and sign-up forms away from everything else, is easier with an alias. Proton supports unlimited plus addressing, so adding a plus sign and a word after the username, such as username+shopping@proton.me, creates a working address that still lands in the main inbox and can be filtered automatically. For something that hides the real username entirely, Proton can also generate a randomized alias; free accounts get up to 10 of these, while paid plans allow unlimited. They're created from the shield icon on the web app, under Hide-my-email aliases, by selecting New alias.\n\nPassword-Protecting Mail to Non-Proton Recipients\nMessages between two Proton accounts are end-to-end encrypted automatically, but that protection doesn't reach someone on Gmail or another provider unless a password is added manually. Composing a message and clicking the padlock icon in the toolbar opens the option to set a password and a hint, along with an optional expiration date; the password itself has to be shared with the recipient separately, since it isn't included in the email. The first reply to a password-protected message also stays encrypted, though a reply to that reply needs encryption switched back on by hand.\n\nSetting Expiration Timers on Messages\nBeyond passwords, Proton can make a message vanish from an inbox entirely after a set period, so nothing lingers indefinitely in a sent folder or a recipient's account. The feature works on mail exchanged between Proton users and on password-protected messages sent outside the service; paid accounts also get the ability to make incoming mail self-destruct, on top of the automatic deletion that already happens in trash. Setting it up means clicking the hourglass icon on a message, choosing a date and time, checking the box if the recipient is outside Proton and the message is password-protected, then confirming with Set.\n\nStripping Metadata From Sent Photos\nA photo carries more than the image itself; location coordinates, timestamps and device details are often embedded invisibly and can reveal more than intended if the file ends up in the wrong place. Proton offers to strip that metadata before an image goes out, so a photo can be attached and sent without those hidden details tagging along. The option appears automatically as a \"Remove metadata\" prompt the moment an image is added to a draft, and applying it takes a single click.\n\nTurning On Message Content Search\nBecause of Proton's encryption, the default search only matches names, dates, addresses and subject lines rather than the actual text inside a message. Enabling full content search builds a searchable index locally, inside the browser, keeping it inaccessible to anyone without physical access to the device it was built on. It's switched on from the search bar at the top of the web inbox, using the Enable option next to Search message content, then confirming with another click on Enable. Building the index takes up some storage and a little time, but afterward it updates automatically as long as the browser stays open.\n\nActivating a Shorter @pm.me Address\nEvery Proton address ends in @proton.me by default, unless a custom domain has been connected, but paid subscribers can also switch on a shorter alternative that ends in @pm.me. Both versions land in the same inbox and can both be used to send mail, with the shorter one being easier to read aloud over the phone or print on a card. Turning it on means going to Settings, then Identity and addresses. It's a paid-only feature to activate: downgrading to the free plan still lets mail arrive at the @pm.me address, it just can't be used to send anything anymore.\n\nWhat this means for you\nThese settings mostly save money, protect personal data and cut down on email clutter, without needing to upgrade to a paid plan.\n\n• Free storage can double: Completing the onboarding checklist within 18 days of signup adds 500 MB to the default 500 MB, giving new users 1 GB at no cost. Anyone who signed up recently should check the \"Get more storage\" prompt before that window closes.\n• Fewer wrong-recipient mishaps: The Undo Send window can be pushed from the default 10 seconds to a full 20. Anyone who frequently attaches the wrong file or spots a typo right after hitting send should raise this timer under Settings.\n• Non-Proton contacts stay protected too: Adding a password to mail sent to a Gmail or Outlook address keeps it private even though it isn't automatically encrypted. The password has to be shared separately, so plan to send it by call or text rather than in the same email.\n• Photos won't leak location data: Choosing \"Remove metadata\" when attaching an image strips location and timestamp details before the photo is sent. This matters for anyone emailing pictures they don't want traced to a place or time.\n• Kids can get a clean address early: Reserving a username for $1 locks it in for up to 15 years, avoiding a scramble for an available name later. Parents of young children can do this now instead of waiting.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. How much free storage does Proton Mail give by default?\n500 MB, which can be raised to 1 GB by completing the onboarding checklist within 18 days of signing up.\n\n2. How much does the Plus plan cost and how much storage does it include?\n$4 a month for 15 GB of storage.\n\n3. How long can a reserved child's username stay unactivated?\nUp to 15 years, after a $1 payment toward the Proton Foundation to reserve it.\n\n4. Which services does Easy Switch support?\nGmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook and any other provider that allows IMAP access.\n\n5. How long can the Undo Send delay be set to?\nAnywhere from 0 to 20 seconds, with 10 seconds as the default.\n\n6. How many random aliases can a free user create?\nUp to 10; paid subscribers get unlimited aliases.\n\n7. Does a password-protected email stay encrypted when the recipient replies?\nThe first reply stays encrypted, but a reply to that reply needs encryption re-enabled manually.\n\n8. Who can make incoming emails self-destruct?\nOnly paid account holders can set received emails to auto-delete, in addition to the automatic deletion that already happens in trash.\n\n9. What happens to a @pm.me address if the account is downgraded to free?\nIt can still receive messages but can no longer be used to send them.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/guides/proton-mail-men-chhipe-ye-10-phicharsa-praivesi-barhaenge-aura-storeja-bhi-bachaenge-28336",
  "category": "Guides",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-05",
  "tags": [
    "Proton Mail",
    "Email Privacy",
    "Encryption",
    "Email Tips",
    "Free Storage",
    "Email Alias"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}