Proton has introduced Meet, a new video conferencing service designed with end-to-end encryption. This service aims to provide a privacy-focused alternative to services like Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Users do not need a Proton account to use Meet, and meetings shorter than 1 hour with up to 50 participants are free. For longer meetings, a paid plan starting at $7.99 per month is required.

Proton explains that Meet was developed in response to the demand for EU-based conferencing options that facilitate compliance with GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act. The service also addresses concerns related to the complexities introduced by the US Cloud Act.

Encryption Architecture in Proton Meet

Proton Meet uses Messaging Layer Security (MLS), an open-source end-to-end encryption protocol designed for real-time group communication that has been independently reviewed. All media and chat are encrypted on the client side; this means that Proton cannot access or process any unencrypted data from the conversations.

The service is built on WebRTC with Selective Forwarding Units that manage media transmission for participants. Each meeting link contains an ID and password stored locally on the client; participant authentication is carried out through Proton's Secure Remote Password Protocol, which it has used in its other services for the past decade.

MLS creates a cryptographic group with a shared session key that changes whenever a participant joins or leaves. New participants cannot read previous messages, and those who leave cannot access future messages. Participant names are end-to-end encrypted, and email addresses and IP addresses are not shared among participants. Proton states that it does not record who attended a meeting.

In the event of a server breach, Proton indicates that the stored databases only contain meeting IDs and that call traffic cannot be read or modified.

Practical Security Considerations, Features, and Integrations

A clear security vulnerability is the meeting link itself. If the link is shared with someone who should not have it, that person can join the meeting. Proton recommends locking the meeting when all expected participants are present, removing unrecognized participants, or rotating the link.

Meet operates by creating a shareable conference link that requires no setup for participants. The service integrates with Proton Calendar, allowing scheduled meetings to be added to Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. Proton has not provided a timeline for additional features or capacity tiers beyond the existing free and professional plans.