Proton Mail Login: Sign In, Sign Up and Account Recovery

The Proton Mail login is a single form at account.proton.me. You type your email or username, press Continue and then add your secret, plus a second code if you enabled it. The same sign-in unlocks each Proton service.

This guide covers the form, the app options, the Proton Mail sign up, lost logins and the Bridge that serves desktop mail clients. All facts come from Proton's own login page, pricing page and help center, read in November 2026. We did not register an account, and we are not affiliated with Proton. BillionVerify is an email verification service.

Key facts (checked November 2026):

• Per Proton's sign-in help, a Proton address may sign in with the username alone, while an outside address needs the full address.
• According to Proton's signup help, a single free account opens all Proton services, whichever app creates it.
• Per Proton's guide to lost passwords, Proton keeps no passwords, so it cannot restore a lost secret for you.
• According to Proton's guide to IMAP, SMTP and POP3, the Bridge connects desktop mail clients, requires a paid plan, and POP3 is not offered.
• Per Proton's pricing page, the free plan gives 1 GB of storage and a single encrypted address, while Mail Plus starts at $3.99 a month with annual billing.
• BillionVerify's account gives 20 free credits on each day you use it, with no card needed, for checking addresses before a campaign.

The Proton Mail Login Form

The form is short. It has a field for the email or username, a "Forgot email?" link, a "Keep me signed in" box that Proton recommends for trusted devices, a Continue button, and two links below: "Create account" for new users and "Trouble signing in?".

Screenshot: the Proton Mail login page at account.proton.me, opened with the Mail product selected.

This Proton Mail login asks only for the name at first. The next step follows after you press Continue.

Which Name Do You Type?

Proton's help center gives three rules. If your address ends in a Proton domain, you may type only the username, for example eric.norbert, or the whole address. If you opened the account with an outside address, you must type the full address, and the bare username will fail. And an older address may end in protonmail.ch instead of protonmail.com or proton.me, so check the ending or try the username alone.

Lost the name? Proton can send a reminder to your backup phone or backup email. Proton offers a reminder request for that.

Where Else You Can Log In

The web form is a door among several. Proton offers the Proton Mail app for iOS and Android, the Proton Mail desktop app, and Proton Mail Bridge for desktop mail programs. Free users get the desktop app as a 14-day trial, per the pricing page, and paid plans include it.

The Proton Mail app signs in with the same credentials. Proton also describes a QR code login that moves a session between devices, which helps when a reset route needs an open session.

Proton Mail Sign Up

New users begin a sign up at the "Create account" link, or at the signup address that Proton names in its help center. The page opens with a plan choice, and the free plan sits first in the row.

Screenshot: the plan step of the Proton Mail sign up, shown with prices in US dollars.

The free plan lists up to 1 GB of mail space and a single email address. Per Proton's help article on extra storage, a new free mailbox starts with 500 MB and grows to 1 GB when you finish a three-task checklist within 18 days. Paid plans cost more and add addresses, storage and features, which our Proton Mail pricing guide lays out in full.

Which Address Ending Do You Get?

A Proton address can carry any of four endings. The default for new accounts is proton.me. You can pick protonmail.com instead at signup. The short ending pm.me is for paid plans, and protonmail.ch is the original domain that older accounts still use. A free account owns a lone email address, and a paid plan can add more.

Proton Mail Sign Up Problems

Proton's signup troubleshooting page names the usual causes. A weak connection, a VPN or proxy and a browser extension can all break the page. Proton says it does not block VPN addresses, but VPNs can interfere with the connection. Switching to another browser, or creating the account inside an app, often solves it.

Some sign ups hit a human check. If the CAPTCHA fails, choose email or SMS verification instead, and contact support if no method shows at all. Payment errors on a paid plan have their own guides.

When the Proton Mail Login Fails

Proton's guide to Proton Mail login problems lists the fixes in a sensible order. Try them separately and test after each.

1. Check the password. Click the eye icon to reveal it. Entries are case-sensitive, so Caps Lock matters, and pasted text can carry a hidden space.
2. Check which account it belongs to. With several accounts, you may be typing the secret of the wrong profile.
3. Clear the cache and cookies, then restart the browser.
4. Test without extensions. Open a private window, and if that works, switch extensions off in turn. Proton names a spoofing extension that must leave the authorization headers alone.
5. Switch browser or device, or use an app.
6. Enable JavaScript, session storage and cookies, which the web form needs.
7. Type the secret by hand. Some managers fail on Proton, especially with two-password mode.
8. Check the clock. A wrong time on the phone breaks two-factor codes.

If your authenticator app or security key is gone, use the backup code that Proton gave you when you enabled the second factor, or another backup route.

Lost Password and Account Recovery

A lost login is the single problem Proton cannot fix for you. Its guide says Proton does not keep passwords, hence it cannot reset it on request. Without a prepared method, you risk losing the account and its data for good.

The guide separates two jobs. A reset lets you set a new secret without the old value. Data restore decrypts the data again so that you can read it. Most methods do only half of that, and that difference matters.

Screenshot: the table of recovery methods in Proton's support pages.

The Available Methods

The recovery phrase covers both jobs, and Proton calls it the most convenient route. It comes in the Recovery Kit offered while you create the account. The other methods need a partner: a reset by email or phone must go with a data method, or you will lose what was in the account before the reset. A data method without a reset gets you nowhere, because you cannot get in.

Proton's minimum advice is the recovery phrase plus a method for each job. Set them in the account settings under Recovery, where a safety review tool shows whether you have enough.

If You Are Locked Out

Work through this order. First look for an open session on another device and use the signed-in reset there. Next try the twelve-word phrase. Last, combine a reset method with a data method. After a recovery, some methods can be used only once, so renew them in the same settings area.

Members of a Proton business organization cannot use these methods, and an administrator resets their access. A reset also turns two-password mode back into single-password mode, and you can switch it on again later.

Two-Factor Sign-In and What to Do When It Breaks

Two-factor authentication asks for a second proof next to the password: something you know and something you hold. Proton offers it on every service and app, for free and paid users alike. You can use an authenticator app or a physical U2F or FIDO2 security key, and you may link several devices, even both kinds at once.

The risk is losing the device. Proton's help center lists four ways back in, from the easiest to the hardest:

1. Use another linked device. Any of your second-factor devices works, so a spare phone or a key in a drawer saves the day. Once in, remove the lost device so nobody else can use it.
2. Enter a backup code. Proton hands out several single-use codes when you set up the second factor. Any of them replaces the code from the app.
3. Use a backup route while you are signed in. In the account settings, choose Account and password, scroll to the two-factor box and click the link for lost access. You verify yourself with the twelve-word phrase or with a code sent to the backup email or phone. This turns the second factor off only, so your secret and data stay as they are.
4. Request a recovery code while signed out. Log in with the right name and secret, pick "I don't have my 2FA device" and then "I don't have my back-up code". Proton sends a code through the backup route you saved.

After you are back in, set the second factor up again with a new device. A phone with a wrong clock is a common cause of codes that never match, so check the time before you suspect the account.

Proton Mail App, Desktop App and Bridge

Three more ways in exist besides the web form. Proton's help center says the web app, the desktop app and the Bridge all give the same mail and calendar features and protections, and that your mail stays in sync between them. Pick whichever is most convenient.

The Proton Mail App on Your Phone

The Proton Mail app is available for iOS and Android, and it signs in with the same name and secret as the web form. Proton's homepage shows a rating of 4.5 or more for its apps, which is a claim we did not check. A new free user is asked to install the Proton Mail app as one of three tasks that unlock the full gigabyte, so you meet it early. Download it from the store, log in and the mailbox is there.

The Proton Mail Desktop App

The Proton Mail desktop app gives the mail and calendar experience in a window of its own. Per Proton's guide, anyone on a paid or trial plan can use it, and a free user gets a 14-day trial. It runs on Windows 10, macOS 12 and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or newer, and Linux builds come as DEB, RPM and Snap. Linux was still marked beta on that page, so check the status before you rely on it.

If you already have a login, the easiest download is inside the web app: open the quick settings with the gear icon and click the button for the Proton Mail apps. On a shared computer, sign out when you finish, and clear the app data from the menu, or use the uninstaller to remove every trace. The Proton Mail desktop app also puts contacts in a side panel.

Proton Mail Bridge for Outlook, Thunderbird and Apple Mail

Proton Mail Bridge is a small app that sits between your mail program and Proton. It decrypts mail as it arrives and encrypts it as it leaves, so a program that speaks IMAP and SMTP can work with a Proton mailbox. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, not on phones, and it needs a paid plan. For background on this kind of software, read what an email client is in our glossary.

Screenshot: Proton's guide to installing Proton Mail Bridge.

Proton's installation guide has three steps. Download the app, add your account and press Sign in, then configure the mail program with the wizard. By default Proton Mail Bridge runs in combined addresses mode, so mail for all your addresses lands in a shared mailbox. Split mode adds each address to the program on its own. Signing out in Bridge stops new mail, and a change of secret signs you out there as well.

Proton Mail Bridge takes in as many paid accounts as you like, each with its own settings. POP3 is not available at all, but Bridge can download everything into your program so that you can export it from there. Business plans have a separate SMTP submission feature for sending from devices and applications.

Addresses and Aliases Under a Shared Login

A single login can own several addresses, which matters if you collect them. A paid plan adds extra addresses on any Proton domain or on a custom domain. The short pm.me address works next to the main address once you switch it on, and it cannot be switched off again.

Two other kinds do not count as extra addresses. A hide-my-email alias is a random throwaway address that forwards to your mailbox, and you can disable or delete it any time. The free plan and Mail Plus allow ten such aliases, and Proton Unlimited allows unlimited ones. A plus alias adds a plus sign and a word to your name, such as [email protected], and all mail arrives in the normal inbox. Proton's guide to addresses and aliases explains when to use which.

Emailing Proton Mail Users? Verify Before You Send

You may collect a Proton address in a form, or write to Proton users in a campaign. The facts above give three cautions for your list. A single account can answer to four endings, so two rows may be a single person. A throwaway alias can be disabled whenever its owner wants, so an address that worked at signup can stop working later. And a plus alias reaches an inbox that also gets the plain address.

Bounces can land a sender on blacklists, so check lists before a send.

BillionVerify's email verifier works on single entries, and bulk email verification handles whole lists. What to know:

• valid and invalid results cost 1 credit each, and unknown results are free
• a free re-check is available within 24 hours
• catch-all entries get their own label and are not counted as valid
• the free allowance is 20 credits per day of use, up to 600 a month, and credits never expire
• our servers are in France (EU), and a DPA can be signed
• you can use a REST API, an MCP server or one of 25+ integrations

We make no claim about how Proton's servers answer checks. If you also collect mobile numbers, our phone number validator shows whether a number fits its country. If a message claims to come from Proton, our reverse email lookup shows what is known about the sender. For the Proton service itself, our Proton Mail review covers safety and ownership.

FAQs

How do I log in to Proton Mail?

Go to account.proton.me, enter your email or username, continue, and add your secret. A second code follows if the second factor is on.

Can I use Proton Mail without a phone number?

A Proton account can use a backup email instead of a phone, and Proton lists several other backup methods. Some sign-ups ask for a human check, where email verification replaces the SMS code.

Why does Proton say my username is wrong?

Only Proton addresses may use the bare username, while an outside email must be typed in full. Older accounts might end in protonmail.ch, so check the ending first.

Is there a Proton Mail desktop app?

Yes. The Proton Mail desktop app covers three systems, with a trial for free users and full use for subscribers. It differs from Proton Mail Bridge.

Does Proton Mail work with Outlook?

It works through Proton Mail Bridge, which runs on your computer and talks to Outlook over IMAP and SMTP. A subscription is required.

Can I reset my Proton login without a recovery method?

No. Proton stores none, so a reset by support is impossible. Open sessions on other devices still allow a signed-in reset.

Which endings can a Proton address have?

New accounts get proton.me, with protonmail.com as a choice at signup. The pm.me ending is reserved for subscribers, and protonmail.ch for early accounts.

Is the Proton Mail sign up free?

Yes, if you choose the free plan on the plan step and finish the form. That account holds one address and 1 GB, and it opens every Proton service.

Is there a Proton Mail app for iPhone?

Yes, the Proton Mail app exists for iOS and Android. It takes the same credentials as the browser form.

Watch: Bulk Email Verification: How to Verify an Email List From a File

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