Wonder what happens to your encrypted data in case of an emergency? Proton now lets you plan ahead

• Proton has released Emergency Access, a feature that lets users pick some trusted contacts to access their accounts on their behalf
• Emergency Access works across Proton VPN, Proton Mail, Proton Pass, and Proton Drive
• This has been a highly requested feature among the Proton community, said the provider

Ensuring that no third party can ever access your files, passwords, or online activities is certainly crucial to safeguard your privacy and security, but it can complicate the recovery of important information in case of an emergency. Until now – if you're a Proton subscriber, at least.

Proton has just released Emergency Access, a feature that lets paid users designate up to five trusted contacts to access their accounts on their behalf. Users have full control over when and how trusted contacts grant access.

One of the most requested features from the Proton community, explains the provider, Emergency Access works across Proton VPN, Proton Mail, Proton Pass, and Proton Drive.

"Like all of Proton's products and features, emergency access has been engineered with privacy and security in mind and offers users an effective tool to add an extra layer of assurance and peace of mind to their Proton account without compromising end-to-end encryption," said Senior Product Accounts Manager at Proton, Daniel Rivera Jäggi.

Starting from today, August 28, Proton's Emergency Access is available via the web browser for all paid users – no matter the plan.

How to use Proton's Emergency Access

Taking advantage of Proton's Emergency Access couldn't be easier.

All you need to do is head to your Proton Account dashboard via the web browser and select Recovery, and then click on Add emergency contact.

To pick a trusted contact, you'll have to add their email address. This must be associated with a Proton account, either free or paid.

You can then fully customize how trusted contacts will enter your encrypted data by picking your desired wait time for them to grant access. You can also revoke or modify their emergency access contacts and settings at any time.

Your chosen trusted accounts will receive an email notification informing them they've been picked as an emergency contact.

For all the details, you should head to Proton's support page here.

Remember, you'll have to upgrade to a paid Proton plan to be able to use the Emergency Access feature.

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