Proton, the Switzerland-based privacy-focused firm known for its end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) webmail and other apps, has acquired Standard Notes, a note-taking app founded in 2017. Standard Notes, which also applies E2EE, offers a robust privacy promise to its 300,000+ users.
The acquisition is seen as a strategic move by Proton to deepen its pro-privacy portfolio. Both companies share values such as the use of E2EE, a commitment to open-source technology, and a growth model that doesn’t rely on venture capital. E2EE is considered the gold standard of security technology, as service providers don’t hold encryption keys, making them technically unable to decrypt user data. This safeguards users’ content behind a “zero knowledge” architecture.
By adding Standard Notes to its portfolio of apps, Proton aims to deepen its reach with an engaged community of pro-privacy users, boosting the utility of its app ecosystem. The note-taking app fills an obvious gap in Proton’s current lineup, which includes email, calendar, cloud storage, and a VPN service.
The Standard Notes app will remain open source, freely available, and fully supported. Existing five-year subscriptions will continue to be honored. The app, available for both mobile and desktop, will remain an independent product, and both companies will open access to their products to each others’ users.
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