Trusted contacts can now help unlock your Proton account in emergencies

Proton has announced Emergency Access, a new feature for Proton users that will come in handy if you get locked out of your digital life. The feature is designed for worst-case scenarios, like a serious illness or death, that prevent you from accessing your own accounts. It allows people you trust, like family members, to securely access your information and manage your digital affairs when you cannot.

Here's how to use it: First, you choose up to five trusted contacts who have Proton accounts. To set one up, you log in to your account, navigate to the "Recovery" section, and select "Add emergency contact".

After entering their Proton email address, you decide on a wait time. This is the period your contact must wait before gaining access if you do not respond to their request. It can be set to grant access immediately or after a set time, ranging from days to months.

Once a contact requests access, you receive a notification. You can then approve the request right away or deny it. If you take no action during the set wait time, access is automatically granted. You can also revoke access at any time from your dashboard. Even though your trusted contacts can get to your Proton data, the company promises the entire process remains end-to-end encrypted.

Proton says that it doesn't use account inactivity to decide whether to grant access, a method that can create security vulnerabilities. The company also makes access available for a user's entire account, so your contact will not have to get information from separate Proton apps, including Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, and Proton VPN.

Emergency Access is not available on the free Proton plan. You have to be on a paid plan like Proton Unlimited to use the feature.

In case you missed it, the company recently launched its answer to apps like Authy and Google Authenticator, called Proton Authenticator. The application generates two-factor authentication codes to help secure your online accounts. It is available across iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux, and it supports syncing codes and encrypted backups across your devices.