If you want a desktop ping the moment new mail lands in Proton Mail — without leaving a tab open all day — it helps to know exactly what Proton’s web app does and doesn’t do. Here’s the honest picture, and where a toolbar extension fits.
How Proton Mail’s web notifications work
Per Proton’s own support documentation, the Proton Mail web app shows a desktop notification when a new message arrives while Proton Mail is open in a browser tab and you’re signed in. In other words, the web app’s new-mail notifications are tied to having Proton Mail open in the browser.
What Proton offers when a tab isn’t open
Proton points to a few alternatives for when you’re not sitting in the web app:
- The Proton Mail mobile apps (iOS/Android), which deliver real push notifications.
- Email notifications to an alternate address — Proton sends these if you have unread mail and haven’t signed in to your account for around 24 hours, roughly once a day.
- The native Proton Mail desktop app, a separate application you keep running.
So if you live in the browser and close the tab, the web app isn’t designed to keep notifying you there — that’s the gap a toolbar extension is meant to fill.
Is there an official Proton Mail browser extension?
No — not for Mail. Proton’s Mail clients are the web app, the mobile and desktop apps, and Proton Mail Bridge (IMAP/SMTP for desktop email clients, on paid plans). Proton Pass and Proton VPN do ship official browser extensions, but those aren’t for Mail. A Proton Mail browser extension has been requested for years on Proton’s feedback forum and hasn’t shipped.
How Mail Checker fills the gap
Mail Checker lives in your browser toolbar. It signs in to your account directly with Proton’s SRP login (no tab required), polls for new mail in the background on an interval you choose, and:
- shows an unread-count badge on the toolbar icon;
- shows desktop notifications for new mail — without a Proton Mail tab open;
- lets you read, reply and compose from the popup;
- handles several Proton Mail accounts at once, each with its own settings.
Is it safe?
It signs in with Proton’s SRP protocol, so your password never leaves your device. Its browser host access is limited to *.proton.me and it talks only to Proton’s servers — the only exceptions are hCaptcha during Proton’s human-verification step and a small licence check for Pro subscriptions. There is no analytics and no telemetry. The Data & Encryption section on the main page lists exactly what is stored and where.
In short
- Proton Mail’s web notifications work while a tab is open; Proton’s other options are its mobile apps, email notifications, and the desktop app.
- There’s no official Proton Mail browser extension.
- Mail Checker adds a toolbar unread badge and new-mail notifications without a tab open — plus read, reply and compose — across multiple accounts.