Proton has been on a roll lately, be it the acquisition of Standard Notes, or making their VPN more accessible for users on Android. They have taken 2024 as a year to keep on pushing refinements to existing services, while also introducing new ones.
Continuing their streak, they have now brought forward a long-requested feature of having a secure document editor on Proton Drive, making it a viable alternative to the likes of Google Drive or Microsoft's OneDrive.
They simply call it “Docs in Proton Drive”, but, I see it called “Proton Docs” by many as it grows in popularity, maybe that would push Proton to offer a fully-fledged office suite under a novel name like “Proton Create”? 🤔
Anyway, that was me being a tad bit *delulu* 😆. Join me as I take you through what Docs has to offer.
Docs in Proton Drive: Worth the Wait?
Pitched as a “unique solution in a market where most popular products neglect privacy”, Docs is an end-to-end encrypted document editor for Proton Drive that aims to be both secure and user-friendly.
With this, users can create new documents, edit existing ones, and even collaborate with others by taking advantage of collaborative features such as:
- Adding comments
- Replying to comments
- Seeing who else is viewing the document in real-time (with collaborative cursors)
- Inviting new collaborators.
As for how the editing experience is, there is support for rich text editing, which enables users to create/edit documents in a way they are already familiar with.
There are many advanced formatting tools at their disposal, and extensive file compatibility with support for Microsoft's DOCX file format to make interoperability a breeze.
During the launch, Anant Vijay Singh, Product Lead for Proton Drive, added that:
Docs in Proton Drive makes it effortless to stay secure and private. Users don’t have to lift a finger or worry about complicated security measures—Proton’s got it all covered.
Proton also pointed out that all user data is stored on servers that they own and manage, with them handling maintenance, avoiding the need to outsourcing such responsibilities to third-party providers.
Did I mention that it is available for everyone with a Proton account?
Yes, there's no need to sign up for a paid account to get access to Docs on Proton Drive, which is a great move that opens up access to such an important feature for a cloud storage service.
Of course, Docs by Proton will be another nice addition to have along with Cryptpad for users looking for privacy-focused online document editors.
Get Docs in Proton Drive
At the risk of stating the obvious, you can get started with the new document editor by signing up or logging into Proton Drive and opening an existing document, or creating a new one.
Of course, if you want to utilize other services coupled with it, go with Proton Mail (partner link) to replace Gmail and Google Docs.
If you are eager to learn more about this, then the announcement blog is the next place you should be heading to.
💬 Better late than never, right? Are you going to try it out? If you do, let me know below!
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