- Proton raised a record $1.27 million, awarding 10 lifetime accounts
- Grants awarded to 10 digital rights groups chosen by the community
- Proton further supports a private and open Internet with free tools
Proton’s 2025 Lifetime Account charity fundraiser generated $1.27 million for digital rights organizations.
The news comes just days after the Trump administration decided to withdraw support for 66 internet freedom organizations and continues to bolster the company’s reputation as one of the best VPN and secure messaging providers.
The campaign offered 10 exclusive Proton Lifetime accounts and attracted over 100,000 ticket purchases from over 50,000 participants. The Proton Foundation added an additional $200,000 to its reserves, bringing the total contribution well beyond the $1.2 million milestone and allowing a larger, record-breaking pool of funds to be allocated to grant recipients.
Since 2018, Proton has donated more than $5 million in grants to aligned organizations.
The pooled money will now be distributed among ten beneficiaries selected by the community. Part of it will also strengthen past grant recipients who continue to advocate for privacy, free speech, and an open internet.
Beyond subsidies, Proton provides all of its apps for free – including to help people living in places where privacy is at risk – supports open source tools that protect online freedom and plays a leading role in the fight against surveillance and censorship.
Funding frontline online rights defenders
The ten organizations chosen by the Proton community for Fundraising 2025 cover the entire spectrum of digital rights work.
European Digital Rights (EDRi) and the Digital Society (Digitale Gesellschaft) are leading the human rights effort, using litigation and political campaigns to protect freedom of expression and privacy across Europe.
On the technical side, the NLnet Foundation focuses on open source security and resilient Internet infrastructure, improving encryption standards and strengthening the network layers that keep the web functional and resistant to attacks.
Witness Org, Lighthouse Reports, The Insider and Transparency International are investigative journalism and transparency organizations that rely on secure communications to uncover abuse, corruption and state surveillance.
The Center for Humane Technology and the Open Markets Institute conduct research on ethical technologies and the public interest, promoting responsible product design, algorithmic accountability, and competition policies.
Finally, Hack Club runs civic education programs for young people, equipping the next generation with the knowledge and skills to protect their digital rights.
Proton’s multi-front approach to a private and open Internet
While fundraising is a major driver of Proton’s efforts to keep the Internet open and secure, the company also offers a suite of privacy-focused open source tools at no cost to anyone.
Proton VPN Free offers unlimited data and a strict no-logging policy, giving users on restrictive diets reliable, uncensored access to the internet.
Proton Mail provides end-to-end encrypted emails, while Proton Drive provides up to 5GB of encrypted cloud storage for free, ensuring that personal files remain private even on shared devices. Proton Pass allows users to store passwords and other credentials securely with end-to-end encryption.
During elections and periods of political censorship, Proton has even deployed free VPN servers so people can access uncensored information, allowing more open participation in democratic processes.
Proton not only creates tools, but also pushes for legal and regulatory changes. He co-founded advocacy coalitions such as the Coalition for Competitive Digital Markets and the Coalition for Application Fairness, which work to curb the dominance of big tech. The company even took direct legal action to defend its competitiveness, joining a lawsuit against Apple for anticompetitive practices.
All of these actions combine to reinforce Proton’s core mission: safeguarding a free, private, and open Internet for all.
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