How to connect Proton Mail

Proton Mail needs a small helper app called Proton Mail Bridge. Install it, copy one password, and Talanoa does the rest.

Time needed
About 10 minutes
What you need
A paid Proton Mail plan, and the Proton Mail Bridge app on this computer

Proton speaks a secret language 🔐

Proton Mail locks every email in a very strong safe. That’s great for privacy. But it also means normal email apps, Talanoa included, can’t read the safe on their own.

So Proton made a translator: a small free app called Proton Mail Bridge. It runs quietly on your computer, opens the safe for you, and passes your emails to Talanoa. Your emails never leave your computer in between.

You need a paid Proton plan. Proton only lets Bridge work with paid plans (like Mail Plus or Proton Unlimited). The free Proton plan can’t use it.

Step 1: Install Proton Mail Bridge

  1. Go to proton.me/mail/bridge and download Bridge for your computer.
  2. Install it and open it.
  3. Sign in with your Proton account, the same way you sign in on the Proton website.

Bridge now prepares your mailbox. Let it run. It needs to stay open (it can sit in the background) for Talanoa to get your emails.

Step 2: Copy the Bridge password

Bridge makes a special password that’s different from your Proton password. That’s the one Talanoa needs.

  1. In Bridge, click your account.
  2. Look for the mailbox details for email apps. You’ll see a username (usually your email address) and a password.
  3. Copy that password.

Step 3: Add your account in Talanoa

If this is your first time opening Talanoa: click Other email provider.

If you already have an account in Talanoa: click the + at the bottom of your accounts list, on the left side of the window, then click Custom Provider (SMTP/IMAP).

Then:

  1. Type your Full name.
  2. Type your Proton email address (it ends in @proton.me, @protonmail.com or @pm.me).
  3. Click Continue.

Talanoa says ProtonMail – Detected automatically, and shows a yellow note about Bridge. You already have it. Look at you, one step ahead.

Step 4: Paste the Bridge password

  1. In the Password box, paste the password you copied from Bridge. (Not your Proton password!)
  2. Click Test & Add Account.

And… that’s it! 🎉 Your Proton emails start showing up in Talanoa.

If Talanoa can’t connect

Bridge sometimes uses different settings than the usual ones. No problem, you can copy them by hand:

  1. Click Set all settings manually, under the Test & Add Account button.
  2. Talanoa shows two blocks: Incoming mail (IMAP) and Outgoing mail (SMTP). Don’t let the letters scare you.
  3. In Bridge, look at the mailbox details again. It shows the same kind of boxes: a server, a port, a security type, a username and a password, once for “IMAP” and once for “SMTP”.
  4. Copy each one into the matching box in Talanoa: Server, Port, Security, Username and Password.
  5. Click Test & Add Account.

It’s a bit like copying a recipe: same ingredients, same amounts, and it works.

Something went wrong?

“It worked yesterday, and now no emails arrive.” Bridge is probably closed. Open it again (and leave it running). Talanoa picks up where it left off.

“It says my password is wrong.” Make sure you used the password from Bridge, not your Proton password. If you signed out of Bridge and in again, the Bridge password may have changed: copy the new one.

“I already have one account and Talanoa asks me to upgrade.” The free version of Talanoa lets you use one account. To add more, you need Talanoa Pro.

Still stuck? Write to us at [email protected]. A real human will answer.

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