The popular privacy-focused company Proton is expanding its product line with Docs in Proton Drive. This web-based productivity app joins other services, such as Proton Mail, Proton Pass, Proton VPN, Calendar, and others. The Docs feature is a fully featured text editor with shared editing capabilities, end-to-end encryption, and other security protections. You can access Proton Docs from the Proton Drive experience.

Google Docs is one of the world's most popular online word processing tools. It has adequate features to compose, edit, and share your content. But how does it compare to Proton’s online word processor?

6 Private documents with end-to-end encryption

Google Docs are less than private

The cool thing about the Proton world is that virtually everything is encrypted and safe from snoopers. The encryption includes your keyboard strokes and mouse movements. So, only you and those you share your created documents with can see the content. Even Proton staff members can’t see what you’ve typed. Proton provides end-to-end encryption by default. It keeps your data secure without hindering your productivity.

Google Docs tracks everything (whether they admit it or not) and scans your documents for targeted ads. It’s also worth noting that it scans your email. Proton does not allow AI training to scrape your content to fuel modules like Perplexity, ChatGPT, Copilot, Google Gemini, and others.

5 Zero-access storage architecture

Even Proton can’t access your content

Proton's zero-access architecture means that no one can access your documents and content, and company staffers aren’t even allowed to see them, similar to your keystrokes and mouse movements. This company takes security seriously, and all of its products are secure. In addition to protecting your content from prying eyes, it protects you from data breaches and other threats. If you want peace of mind, know your documents aren’t being scanned or accessible by nefarious actors. In addition, you can auto-save your photos from your phone (iPhone or Android) to Proton Drive, and if you have sensitive pictures, you might want to store them in the encrypted drive to ensure they are protected.

4 Cross-platform support

Access created documents across devices

Since Proton Docs works on the web, you can create and share them across Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, and Mac. This provides a wide range of support for various devices, including phones and tablets. If you work in a mixed-OS environment, everyone will have access to Proton Docs. In addition, there are individual Proton Mail, Calendar, Drive, and Pass apps for desktops for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Linux. So, accessing docs and other services in the secure ecosystem is straightforward, whether you want to use the web or app.

3 Easy to use

A straightforward and responsive interface that anyone can work with

When you open Docs, you see a large white sheet on which you can quickly start typing. The interface is straightforward, which is what you would expect. You will have no trouble navigating the secure word processor if you've used Google Docs or Word.

It has the basic features you need when creating documents. Google Docs has more options, and Microsoft Word is a powerhouse compared to Google Docs and Proton. Still, the editor has functions like headers, bullet points, font changes, highlighting, revision history, inserting links, tables, images, and other tools. It also has editing functions, so someone you share a document with can make comments and highlights.

However, unlike Google Docs, your documents can’t be edited offline unless you download them. What's cool is that you can download the document as DOCX, TXT, MD, HTML, and (perhaps the most useful) PDF. However, once you download the document, it is no longer encrypted and secure, so you might want to keep it on the server.

Also, because all Proton products are private (zero-access), editing help tools like Grammarly are not usable. Also worth noting is Docs in Proton Drive. It is just that — a word processing app with no bells and whistles.

It doesn’t include spreadsheets, forms, or presentations like Google Docs. So, it can only be compared to the Google Docs word processor. I also find it annoying that you can’t change the document's name by clicking it in the upper left corner like Google Docs. Instead, you get a menu of options. That’s fine because it's where the word count, renaming, version history, and download features reside. I guess that may seem like a minor thing, but I find it particularly irksome. Or, perhaps I am just too used to Google.

2 Privacy-focused ecosystem

Secure integration with other Proton products

Proton Docs is part of a much larger privacy-focused ecosystem, including its email, VPN, and Drive. Like Google, you can access other apps and services by clicking the icon in the top left corner with the Proton logo. From Proton Drive, you can access other Proton services, including Mail, Calendar, VPN, Pass, and Wallet. You can easily move between apps, and when you access them or create a new document, Proton is also nice enough to open everything in a new tab, so it’s easier to manage everything.

1 Secure file sharing

Have peace of mind while sharing files

When you share a document, the service requires you to enter the contact’s name and access permissions (you can set it to edit or view), and a link is sent. The person you sent it to will receive an option to open the documents on Proton Drive. So, when you share a doc, it stays on Proton’s secure servers. The person you’re sharing it with will need a Proton account, which might cause a hiccup in the sharing process with some users the first time through.

There are free and paid tiers; however, the contact only requires a free account to open it on Proton Drive. A free account provides the user with 5GB of storage, 1GB of email storage, one email address, limited VPN access, two vaults for Proton Pass, and three wallets. You can create three folders in Mail with a free account. All of which became so annoying that I got a Proton Unlimited subscription.

You can share the document while it’s open or from your list of files in Proton Drive. To share from Drive, click the three-dot button in the document’s thumbnail and select Share. Or, click Share in the top right corner of the screen while the document is open. The sharing process is seamless and secure if each person has a Proton account.

Switching from Google Docs to Proton

If you want more privacy while writing documents on the web, Proton Docs provides a much more secure experience than Google’s service. However, it is worth noting some drawbacks of Proton Docs. While Google Docs has more features and functionality for creating documents (at the time of this writing), Proton is quickly catching up. The main focus is on using it for secure document creation and sharing. If you want an online word processing service and care about encryption and privacy, you want to use Docs on Proton Drive. The company will undoubtedly add new features and capabilities moving forward.

Using Proton is for those times when you need extra layers of security for your documents. The service has four tiers, including the free options, which give you enough to create and share documents securely. So, the good news is you can open your documents with a free account if you don't want to go all in with an ultimate subscription.