MANILA, Philippines – After being in beta testing for two years, encrypted email provider ProtonMail announced Thursday, March 17, that it was leaving beta signups behind and launching publicly, bringing Android and iOS apps with it.

The company is launching its end-to-end encrypted email service in light of what it calls “an increasing trend towards more and more surveillance around the world.”

In a press release, the company said its service’s encryption “makes it practically impossible for governments, or even ProtonMail itself, to gain access to user messages, ensuring the highest level of security and privacy.”

A blog post by ProtonMail about the launch explained further, “Whether it is CISA in the US, the Investigatory Powers Bill in the UK, or even the recent FBI case against Apple, the forces working to undermine online privacy are growing.”

“We understand that governments have concerns when it comes to terrorism and encryption, but undermining our collective security by weakening cryptography is the wrong approach,” it added.

The ProtonMail group also said, “The best way to defend our right to privacy is to get the necessary tools out to the general public as quickly as possible, and put the decision into the hands of the people and not governments.”

Interested parties can sign up for ProtonMail at their website and can download iOS and Android versions of the email app. – Rappler.com