Manual method
- Download Proton’s official Mail Export Tool for your operating system and extract it.
- Launch the tool and sign in in its own prompt, including the normal additional authentication if requested.
- Choose the backup operation, select a private destination and let it finish.
- Retain EML messages with their JSON metadata. Open sample EML files locally and check that attachments are present.
What you get: The Export Tool is available to free and paid Proton users and saves decrypted mail. It does not export Drive, Calendar or Pass. Proton says a running export cannot be paused and resumed; keep a stable connection and protect the resulting files with encryption. Provider instructions. Supporting reference 1. Supporting reference 2.
Size and waiting time
Planning example: 3 GB; light/heavy scenarios: 0.1–50 GB. These are estimates, not a measured population average or fixed limits. About 15,000 messages averaging 200 KB with attachments. The export is decrypted mail, so secure storage matters.
Preparation: Proton estimates minutes to hours depending on mailbox size and connection. An interrupted export may require restarting.
Network transfer of 3 GB: about 57 min at 10 Mbps, 11 min at 50 Mbps, or 6 min at 100 Mbps. This assumes 70% sustained throughput and excludes preparation, manual work and extraction. These are download estimates; online backup takes additional time at your upload speed. Transfer calculations and large-file examples.
Store and check your archive
An encrypted external SSD or hard drive is a good main archive for this collection. Allow roughly 9 GB of working space for the example, including an original, an extracted working copy and room to check it. Very compressed packages can need more. A USB key is useful for a spare copy, but should not be the only one. An encrypted online copy protects against losing the local devices.
Keep the original in proton_mail/YYYY-MM-DD/original/. Record the account alias, selected scope, date range and missing items. Open old and recent records and sample attachments offline, then compare file sizes or checksums after copying. Keep the source account until you have checked the result. Storage and recovery instructions.
Sources and review
Public documentation was reviewed on 27 October 2026. No signed-in export or restoration was performed. Account options and availability can change; follow the current provider instructions.