What are the concerns about Proton Mail's plan?

Some users are worried that releasing these abandoned email addresses could lead to a "privacy landmine," with misdirected emails suddenly flowing to new owners of the addresses.

Home / Technology / Proton Mail to Unleash Millions of Coveted Email Addresses

Proton Mail to Unleash Millions of Coveted Email Addresses

Q: What is Proton Mail planning to do with old email addresses?

Proton Mail is considering releasing millions of old, deactivated email addresses that were improperly registered in the company's early days.

Q: How many registered accounts does Proton Mail have?

As of April 2023, Proton Mail had 100 million registered accounts, though this does not reflect the number of active users.

15 Nov

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Summary

Proton Mail may release millions of deactivated email addresses
Many of these addresses were registered using automated scripts in Proton's early days
Proton has 100 million registered accounts as of April 2023

Proton Mail to Unleash Millions of Coveted Email Addresses

As of November 15, 2025, Proton Mail, the Switzerland-based privacy-centric email service, is considering releasing millions of old, deactivated email addresses that were improperly registered in the company's early days.

According to Proton, in the past, many user accounts were created using automated scripts before the company had proper anti-abuse systems in place. These accounts were then usually deactivated for violating Proton's terms of service, but the email addresses remained technically in use, preventing new users from claiming them.

With Proton's user base growing in recent years, the company says instances of people not getting their preferred username have been increasing. Many of the addresses registered early on would have been extremely common and desirable, such as [email protected]. As of April 2023, Proton had 100 million registered accounts, though this does not reflect the number of active users.