Program Bridge makes ProtonMail work in mail clients with imap and smtp support

ProtonMail has released the Bridge app, with which the secure mail service supports imap and smtp. Now users of programs such as Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail can add ProtonMail accounts to their favorite mail program.

The mail service has now released the application for Windows and macOS and the variant for Linux should follow soon. Bridge, according to Proton, works as a local mail server that contacts ProtonMail servers with end-to-end encryption. Bridge uses imap and smtp protocols to ensure that regular mail programs can display the mail.

With Bridge it is possible to add multiple ProtonMail accounts to a mail client and users can also search their own mails. The company warns that if the system Bridge runs on has malware, attackers can view emails. This is possible, because Bridge decrypts the mails on the system to make them readable in mail programs.

Proton started a test of Bridge last year. ProtonMail presents itself as a safe and free alternative to regular webmail services such as Yahoo Mail and Gmail. ProtonMail’s basic service is free, but the company hopes users will get the paid version to support the service and keep it running. The paid accounts are Proton’s only source of income, which, unlike other mail services, says it does not want to earn from advertisements.