Can Proton Calendar really compete with Google Calendar?

It’s been a few months since I gave up Google Calendar to switch to a privacy-friendly solution: Proton Calendar. Unfortunately, the modifier did not go smoothly. Here is a little feedback after almost a year in service.

For over a year now, I have been trying to do without Google services. The first step I first moved my mailbox to Proton Mail, A Swiss encrypted service that competes with Gmail. Once Migration complete My suitcases are put down, it’s time to deal with another service: Google Calendar.

The task is not exactly easy. Google’s calendar service can be found anywhere on the Internet. Anyone with a Gmail address can access Google Calendar in just a few clicks. As a result, the service has established itself in the business world and among individuals. I have to say that Google Tool has it all, with efficient sharing features, multiple settings and a simple interface.

I decided I could no longer feed Google with the bits of my personal life, however I dropped the Google Calendar … Proton calendar. Yes, in addition to providing email solution, Proton also offers cloud calendar service (as well as remote storage service like Google Drive, we’ll be back soon). I was very happy to see an ecosystem competing with Google (but re-encrypted from the end), so I shifted my life to a proton calendar for several months. As I say right now, things are not going well with Proton Mail.

Proton Calendar does not have the iOS app

The biggest problem with Proton Calendar today is that it does not have an app for iOS. On the iPhone on the iPad, you should decide to link to the website to discuss its appointments. You can attach the site to your home screen for easy access (the interface adapts well), but ergonomics are not the best. Additionally, if you no longer have a link, you can no longer view your calendar. Clearly not the best situation. According to Proton group reportsAn application must come ” At the end of the year “Meanwhile, it’s hard to recommend Proton Calendar to iOS users. It’s a strange situation when we learn that Apple puts privacy at the center of its philosophy.

On Android, on the other hand, There is an application Open to anyone with a Proton account. Being an Android user, I was able to switch without much problems. Unfortunately, if there is an existing qualification in the Android application, it is currently very low (like the Proton Mail App). It comes into view of the current month with your events designed by a small blue dot. There is no way to change a weekly view, or change the color of the day to day or its different calendars.

Since it is the most basic application of my diary, the solution is most relevant to me. It is not acceptable to provide calendar service in the cloud without decent mobile apps in 2021.

Valid for basic use

Fortunately, the web version of Proton Calendar is slightly better than mobile applications. It is possible to view a day / week / month, switch quickly from one month to another, or show and cover your different calendars. The interface can not be simple and in a click or two you can create an event, add description or location and invite potential participants. In short, this is a very classic online agenda.

Unfortunately, the free version of Proton Calendar only allows you to create a calendar. There is no question of splitting your personal and professional life if you don’t pay. You will not be able to share your calendar with anyone else. Like Protonmail, the service only really makes sense when you have a subscription. Proton Plus allows you to create 20 calendars for 5 euros per month (including Proton Mail benefits).

However, the beat really hurts, the synchronization of the external calendars. Proton Calendar offers the option to subscribe to public calendars or Google Calendars, but synchronization is much slower. Most recently added events may take several hours to display in the proton interface. If you want to add Google Calendar shared with your family or friends to Proton Calendar you have to be patient as it takes a long time to show events. In the list of minor flaws, we will also notice the absence of a search function within the tool.

To answer the question raised by this article, no, Proton Calendar is not yet ready to compete with Google Calendar. The lack of certain features and especially the lack of an iOS app makes it a tool that we can politely recommend to anyone who wants to free themselves from Google. Like me, the basic use of your diary and if you are on Android, you may be satisfied with the proton offer, but in the current situation it is difficult to recommend this solution to the public. Too bad, however, we can hope that all of these youth flaws will be rectified soon because service is efficient and its integration into the Proton ecosystem is a plus.

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