Proton Drive, the cloud storage arm of the privacy-centric brand Proton, known for ProtonMail and Proton VPN, has recently expanded its offerings by introducing a native macOS app. This move allows users to synchronize files seamlessly across a wide range of operating systems, enhancing the overall user experience and cementing Proton Drive as a key player in the cloud storage market.
Proton, which initiated Proton Drive in September 2022, takes pride in its commitment to user privacy. This service reflects that ethos, providing encrypted file storage that has swiftly garnered attention. While Proton Drive was accessible through its web application, making it platform-independent, and had apps for Windows, Android, and iOS, it lacked a native application for macOS — until now.
The launch of the macOS app is a crucial development for Proton Drive. Beta testing insights revealed that users were uploading more data via the macOS app compared to its iOS counterpart and the web platform. This highlights the desktop application's critical role in the ecosystem of cloud storage services. Recognizing the proclivity for storing larger files and backups on computers rather than mobile devices, Proton has made the macOS client accessible to all of its users, including those utilizing the free tier.
Proton's macOS support eliminates the need for Mac users to rely solely on the web interface for uploading or retrieving files from the cloud. This strategic expansion is a clear indicator of Proton's ambition to compete with established cloud storage providers like Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive.
A notable challenge for Proton Drive remains its offering of only 1 GB of free storage in conjunction with ProtonMail, which pales in comparison to Google Drive's 15 GB free storage. Despite this, Proton's premium plans are competitively priced at $4 per month for 200GB. Proton assures that all files stored on its drives are encrypted pre-upload, which means not even the company has access to the data without the user's authorization.
Additional advantages of Proton Drive include offline access support, with the capability to automatically synchronize changes once the internet connection is reestablished, and real-time file syncing for convenient file transfers between devices. The integration of macOS support marks a significant stride for Proton Drive in achieving multi-platform support, a crucial milestone for rivaling giants like Google Drive.