Proton’s New Bundled Subscription Plan Offers Privacy for the Whole Family

Proton, the Swiss-based privacy company behind Proton Mail and Proton VPN, launched an all-inclusive online privacy solution for families on Tuesday. Proton Family bundles all of Proton's services into a single subscription plan that covers up to six users. In addition to Proton's flagship service, Proton Mail, the bundle includes access to Proton VPN (one of CNET's top VPN picks), Proton Drive and Proton Calendar. Proton's latest service, a password manager called Proton Pass, will be available with the Proton Family plan once it exits beta.

Proton Family starts at $20 per month and includes premium access to Proton's services, along with 3TB of shared storage space and an additional 20GB of bonus storage space per year, Proton said in a press release. The idea behind Proton Family is to ensure youngsters can safely go online while minimizing exposure to the often intrusive practices of Big Tech. Stressing online privacy to children and others who may not necessarily understand all of the potential risks that lurk online is more important than ever -- especially at a time when apps designed for children are collecting alarming amounts of data.

"A family plan has been among our most sought-after services, and I am delighted to announce its launch today. As a parent, I am eager to teach my children the proper ways to approach email, cloud storage, and internet security from the beginning," David Dudok de Wit, Proton's product lead said. "I know I am not alone in this. The Proton Family plan takes us one step closer to our mission of making privacy the default for everyone."

Proton offers a version of each of its services for free (including Proton VPN, which is the only truly free VPN CNET recommends), but full access to all of Proton's premium features requires a paid subscription. Proton has built a solid reputation with its suite of online privacy tools, and $20 a month for all of those tools together for up to six users with Proton Family is an excellent deal -- especially once Proton Pass is made available to subscribers. As a comparison, if you purchase individual subscriptions to the Proton services available now, you'll pay $5 per month for Proton Mail, $5 per month for Proton Drive and $10 per month for Proton VPN. That adds up to $20 per user, which is the same price you'll pay for the entire Family plan, which will also include the password manager once it releases.

You can purchase Proton Family directly or upgrade your current subscription to any of Proton's services to Proton Family. Once you've signed up, you can start inviting family members to join your Proton Family plan. If you want a bundled subscription to all of Proton's services for yourself only, you can opt for the Proton Unlimited plan, which includes up to 500 GB total storage across the services for $12 per month or $120 per year.

For more on privacy, check out CNET's tips for creating better passwords, six tips for keeping your personal data private and what to know about VPN trackers.