What ProtonMail checks
Proton offers several verification methods and picks which ones to show: a captcha, an e-mail, or an SMS code. When only SMS is offered, the code goes to a mobile range. Proton keeps a hash of the number to limit abuse and refuses ranges it has seen on too many accounts.
- Verification only. Unless you add the number as a recovery method, Proton does not use it afterwards.
- Recovery. A recovery phone makes the number a key to the mailbox. Use the recovery phrase and an authenticator instead.
- Mobile ranges. Fixed lines are not offered a code.
Which line and country to pick
Take a mobile line from a range with a clean history — Germany, Switzerland or the Netherlands. You will use it once; a monthly line is plenty, and you can release it afterwards.
Verify, then forget the number. After signup, set two-factor with an authenticator app and save the recovery phrase. Leave the recovery phone empty. The line can then lapse without any effect on the mailbox.
Step by step
- Pick the line. Choose a mobile line in Germany or another recommended country. The exact price, activation included, is shown before you pay.
- Pay in crypto. Send any of 8 cryptocurrencies to a one-time deposit address. The line is live about a minute after the payment confirms; no e-mail, no document.
- Enter the number in ProtonMail. Type the number where ProtonMail asks for it and request the code.
- Read the code in the panel. The SMS lands in your inbox with the code extracted and copyable. Developers get it on a webhook.
- Lock the account. Set Authenticator app; recovery phrase so the account does not depend on the number alone.
If ProtonMail refuses the number. It is the range, not the line. Ask for a swap — free within 7 days — and you get a number from a different carrier block, with the remaining period carried over.
Keeping the account
- No recovery phone. That is the whole point of having done this with a rented line.
- Recovery phrase + authenticator cover account recovery without a number.
- Release the line once the account is set up, or keep it for other services.
What a number for ProtonMail costs
Prices per month for the countries we recommend for ProtonMail, plus a one-time $10.00 activation per number. Quarterly billing takes 10% off, yearly 25%. Calls, SMS, voicemail and the API are included; you pay in crypto at the live rate.
| Country | Line | Per month | Due today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany +49 | Mobile | $12.90 | $22.90 |
| Switzerland +41 | Mobile | $19.40 | $29.40 |
| Netherlands +31 | Mobile | $12.90 | $22.90 |
Any of the other 44 countries works too; these three are the ones we see refused least by ProtonMail.
Questions
Does Proton Mail require a phone number?
Only when its human-verification step offers SMS as the way to pass. Then a code goes to a mobile number; our lines receive it.
Does Proton store my phone number?
Proton says it keeps a hash to prevent abuse, not the number itself, unless you add it as a recovery method. Do not.
Can I use a landline for Proton verification?
No. The SMS option expects a mobile range.
What if the number is refused?
The range has been used on too many Proton accounts. Ask for a swap — free within 7 days — or try the e-mail verification path if Proton offers it.
Do I need to keep paying for the line?
Not for Proton, provided you never set the number as recovery. Keep it if you use it for other services.
Written from what actually lands on our lines, and updated when ProtonMail changes its checks. If something here is out of date, tell us — we fix pages faster than we fix code.