Google Drive vs Proton Drive: Your Keys or Google's Features
Published October 20, 2026· By Juan Martinez
Google can read your files and reset your password; Proton can do neither. What leaving Google Drive gains you, and what it costs in editing, storage and price.
Google Drive vs Proton Drive is the comparison most people make when they first ask whether their files should sit somewhere Google cannot read them. Google Drive comes with every Google account and shares its storage with Gmail and Google Photos. Proton Drive is the file storage service of Proton AG, a Swiss company, and is built so that Proton does not hold the keys to your files.
That one difference runs through everything else. Because Google holds the keys, it can analyze your files, review them under its policies and hand them over under a legal order. It can also reset a forgotten password without losing anything and run Docs, Sheets and Slides on its own servers. Leaving Google Drive for Proton Drive removes the first list and changes the second. Google also sells 2 TB for less than Proton does.
Proton Drive is rated 7.7 and Google Drive 5.2. Google Drive is ahead in three categories out of five: Features & Sync (8.0 against 7.5), Usability & Platforms (8.5 against 7.5) and Price & Value (8.0 against 6.5). Proton Drive is ahead in the two categories with the most weight, Encryption & Key Custody (8.5 against 2.5) and Trust & Transparency (7.5 against 3.0).
| Google Drive | Proton Drive | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 5.2 | 7.7 |
| Who Holds the Keys | Provider holds the keys | You hold the keys |
| Also Encrypted | Nothing beyond server-side protection | File names only |
| If You Lose the Password | Provider can reset access | Recovery key you keep |
| Client Code | Closed | Open source |
| Security Audit | None found | Company-paid audit (Securitum, 2022) |
| Collaborative Editing | On the provider's server | End-to-end encrypted |
| Price for 2 TB | $99.99 (Google AI Plus, US price) | $179.88 (Proton Duo, up to 2 users, bundled with other Proton services) |
| Jurisdiction | United States | Switzerland |
Want to compare every field side by side? Open the full comparison table.
Who holds the keys
Google encrypts files on the way to its servers and on its disks with AES-256. That is encryption at rest: it protects your files if someone steals a disk from a Google data center. The keys sit in Google’s own key management service, and Google’s 2021 encryption whitepaper says each piece of stored data “can only be decrypted by authorized Google services and employees”. That is key custody with the provider. Google sells storage it cannot decrypt only to organizations on some paid Google Workspace editions; a personal Google account, with or without a paid plan, has no setting that moves the keys to you.
In Proton Drive the keys are generated on your device and reach Proton only in encrypted form. File contents, file and folder names and thumbnail previews are encrypted on your device before upload. Proton calls this end-to-end and zero-access encryption, and its marketing calls the result “zero-knowledge” storage; that is Proton’s own description, not the finding of an outside review of the whole design.
Proton still sees part of the metadata: when each file and folder was created and modified, who has which permissions, which username uploaded each file and the size of the encrypted file. Google sees more. File and folder titles, descriptions, owners, search indexes and activity logs are encrypted on Google’s disks under Google’s keys, so Google can read your file names, your folder structure, who you share with and when you open what.
The Proton web app gets its encryption code from Proton’s servers every time the page loads, so a browser user trusts that Proton serves the published code on each visit. The Proton desktop and phone apps change only when you install an update. With Google Drive the question does not arise, because decryption happens on Google’s servers whichever app you use.
What Google does with what it can read
Google’s privacy policy says it collects “docs and spreadsheets you create” and other content you upload, and that “automated systems” analyze your content to provide features and to detect “spam, malware, and illegal content”. The same policy says Google does not show you personalized ads based on your Drive content. The Drive terms add that Google “may review content to determine whether it is illegal or violates our Program Policies” and may remove it; under those policies a violation can also limit or end your access to Google products. The article Why Not Just Use Google Drive? explains what this trade-off means for a personal account.
On AI, Google says that when Gemini works with your Drive files it uses them to answer your prompts and does not use them to train Gemini or other generative AI models. The exception is data you share with the Gemini app for Personal Intelligence, or through screen actions such as screenshots, which “may be used for model training and improvement”. A separate setting, smart features in Google Workspace, decides whether Drive uses your files and activity for personalized search and file suggestions.
Proton has no key to file contents, names and thumbnails, which are encrypted on your device. What it does collect differs too. Google’s privacy policy describes collecting IP addresses, crash reports and “system activity” whenever a Google service contacts its servers, and the policy describes no setting that stops it, so the telemetry is always on. Proton Drive sends anonymous usage statistics by default, which Proton says contain no personal information and are deleted after 30 days, and you can switch them off with the “Collect usage diagnostics” toggle. Proton keeps IP addresses only temporarily against abuse, according to its privacy policy.
Government requests and who owns each
Google Drive is run by Google LLC of Mountain View, California, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., whose shares trade on Nasdaq. Its terms are governed by California law unless your local law requires otherwise, and in the EU consumer services are provided by affiliates that include Google Ireland Limited. Because Google holds the keys, a valid order can reach the contents of your files, not only your account details.
Google publishes its request figures every six months in a transparency report that covers all Google products together. From July to December 2025 Google received 304,915 requests covering 748,475 accounts and disclosed some information in 84% of them. US national security requests are reported only in ranges: in the same period, requests under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for account content affected between 211,000 and 211,499 accounts.
Proton AG is a Swiss company whose primary shareholder is the non-profit Proton Foundation in Geneva, and Proton states it has no venture capital investors. It discloses user data only on a binding order from Swiss authorities, and for Drive that data excludes file contents, names and thumbnails. Proton says it owns its server hardware in Switzerland and Germany but does not say which of the two holds Drive files.
Who has checked each service
Neither publishes its server code, so what runs on either company’s servers cannot be inspected from outside. The difference is in the apps and the audits.
Google Drive’s apps are closed source, and Google publishes no security audit of Drive’s encryption. Google Workspace services, Drive among them, hold an ISO/IEC 27001 certificate that applies to business customers and is available on request rather than published, and Google’s whitepaper says access to its keys is audited every year by an unnamed third party with no published report. Both checks are arranged by Google, and neither says who can read a personal account’s files.
Proton Drive’s apps are open source: the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS apps under GPL-3.0, the Drive SDK under MIT, and the web app on Proton’s main GitHub account. Securitum, a Polish security firm, published three audits: the web app in 2021, which found five issues (two low severity, three informational), and the Android and iOS apps in 2022, which Proton reports had no outstanding vulnerabilities. Proton arranged all three itself, and none covers the Windows or macOS apps.
Neither service has a known data breach. Google’s record includes a data-loss bug instead: in November 2023 versions 84.0.0.0 to 84.0.4.0 of Drive for desktop lost files that had not yet synced for what Google called a small subset of users, and Google said its recovery tool might not work for everyone.
If you forget the password
This is where Google holding the keys works for you. Google’s account recovery asks questions to confirm the account is yours and then lets you set a new password, with no limit on the number of attempts. Your files are still there afterwards.
Proton does not store your password and cannot reset access to your files. Recovery has two parts: getting back into the account, and decrypting the data in it. A 12-word recovery phrase covers both. Recovery by email or SMS resets only the password; without a separate data recovery method (a recovery file, a backup stored in your browser, or trusted contacts who confirm your request), every file uploaded before the reset stays locked. If you set up nothing and forget the password, nobody can recover the files. Moving to Proton Drive means saving the recovery phrase before you upload anything you cannot afford to lose.
Editing and sharing with other people
Collaborative editing is what Google Drive is built around. In Docs, Sheets and Slides several people edit the same file at once, and the editing happens on Google’s servers, so Google can read these documents. A Google Doc holds up to 1.02 million characters and a spreadsheet up to 20 million cells.
Proton Drive has its own document and spreadsheet editor with end-to-end encryption and live cursors, and collaborators can join through a link without a Proton account. We could not confirm that Proton Drive has an editor for presentations, so if you work in Slides, check before moving.
Sharing works differently too. A Google Drive file shared with named people or through an “Anyone with the link” link is served from Google’s servers, and Google can read it like any other file; expiry dates for shared access are available only on eligible work and school accounts. A Proton public link keeps part of its secret in a section of the address that is never sent to Proton, so Proton knows the link exists but cannot open the file. You can add a password and an expiry date, and the recipient needs no Proton account to open, download or edit through the link. Someone you invite by email who is not on Proton has to create a free Proton account first. The free Proton plan allows up to three links with edit rights.
Sync, versions and apps
Both have desktop sync apps for Windows and macOS and none for Linux; Proton offers a command-line tool there instead. Google Drive for desktop can stream files, keeping them in the cloud and using almost no disk space, or mirror them as full copies. Both have apps for Android and iPhone and a web interface. Google limits a single file to 5 TB; Proton says it sets no limit on file size. Google’s account supports two-factor authentication with Google prompts, passkeys and hardware security keys.
File versioning favours Proton on paid plans. Proton’s paid plans keep up to 200 versions of each file for up to 10 years; its free plan keeps up to 10 versions for 7 days. Google Drive may delete an earlier version of a non-Google file after 30 days or once there are 100 newer versions, unless you mark it Keep forever; Docs, Sheets and Slides keep their own version history. Deleted files stay in Google’s Trash for 30 days.
Price and storage
Both list prices in US dollars and in decimal GB and TB, so they compare directly. Google’s figures are its US prices; Google prices its plans by country.
The free tier favours Google: up to 15 GB per Google account, shared across Gmail, Drive and Google Photos. Google has tested giving some new accounts created without a phone number 5 GB instead, restoring 15 GB once a number is added. Proton’s free plan starts at 2 GB of Drive storage and grows to 5 GB after a few setup tasks.
For small amounts, Google’s Basic plan gives 100 GB for $19.99 a year or $1.99 a month. Proton’s smallest paid plan, Drive Plus, gives 200 GB for $47.88 a year or $4.99 a month.
At 2 TB the gap is wider. Google AI Plus costs $99.99 a year for 2 TB. Proton’s 2 TB plan is Proton Duo at $179.88 a year, for up to two people and bundled with the rest of Proton’s paid services. Google AI Pro gives 5 TB for $199.99 a year; Proton’s largest personal plan, Proton Family, gives 3 TB for up to six people for $287.88 a year. Every paid Google plan can share its storage with up to five other people. For one person who needs more than 200 GB, Proton’s options are all bundles, starting with Proton Unlimited at 500 GB for $119.88 a year.
The terms around the price favour Proton. Its paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee; Google’s storage plans are non-refundable in most countries. Google also says that if you stay over your storage quota for two years or longer, it may delete all of your content.
What we didn’t compare, and why
Search inside your files. Google keeps search indexes of your Drive and offers personalized search through its smart features. We have no verified information on search in Proton Drive, so we do not compare it.
Speed and reliability of sync. We have no transfer-speed or reliability tests for either service, so no winner is named. If you sync large libraries, try Proton’s free plan with a copy of your files before you move everything.
Which one to pick
Stay with Google Drive, and read the full Google Drive review, if you edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations with other people every day, need more than 2 TB at the lowest price, or are more afraid of losing access than of being read. You accept that Google holds the keys, that its systems analyze your files and that a legal order can reach their contents. Turn on two-factor authentication or a passkey for the Google account.
Move to Proton Drive, and read the full Proton Drive review, if you want file contents and names that Proton cannot read, open-source apps with published audits, and a Swiss company whose primary shareholder is a nonprofit. You pay more per terabyte, give up the 15 GB free allowance, check whether you need presentations, accept that Proton still sees timestamps and permissions, and take on the job of keeping your recovery phrase. Save it before you upload anything you cannot afford to lose.