Privacy and scam protection, read at the source
Uneasy about AI? Here is what helps, and what it costs.
Cloned voices, polished phishing, chatbots that keep what you type, your address on sites you never joined. We compare the tools that deal with it, with prices read on each provider’s own page and the free settings worth switching on first.
Proton Pass
4.5Passwords and email aliases that limit the damage of a leak.
How the services rank
All three categories together, each with our editorial rating and the price its provider showed on the day we read it.
- 4.5
From €2.99/mo
Free version available
Visit Proton PassThis button can earn us a commission. You pay the same price.
- 4.3
From €3.99/mo
Free version available
Visit Proton DriveThis button can earn us a commission. You pay the same price.
- 4.4
From €9.99/mo
Free version available
- 4.4
From €3.99/mo
Free version available
- 4.1
From €1.39/mo
Free version available
Visit NordPassThis button can earn us a commission. You pay the same price.
- 4.1
From €2.49/mo
Visit Surfshark OneThis button can earn us a commission. You pay the same price.
Head to head
Two names, one choice
Each comparison sets out what the two services do with your data, what they protect against and what they cost once any intro price ends.
15 all comparisons
Prices read at the source
We take every price from the provider’s pricing page itself, note the day we read it and keep a saved copy as evidence. Each price is read again weekly, and none here is older than fourteen days.
Free options first
When a free setting or a free tool is enough, we say so: switching off chat training, Bitdefender’s Scamio, Malwarebytes Browser Guard. A paid plan has to add something on top.
No scare tactics
We explain how a scam or a data practice works and what you can do about it today. No countdowns, no red alerts, no worst-case stories to push a subscription.
Checked outside the US
Some privacy services only sell in the US and a few other countries. For each one we note where you can buy it and which currency it bills in, before you click.
Our verdicts
Our editorial verdict on each service, drawn from its own documentation, privacy policy and pricing page.
Proton Pass
Proton AG
“Proton Pass tackles both halves of a data leak: a unique password per account, and aliases that keep your real address out of breach lists. The vault is end-to-end encrypted and the free tier is generous. The catch: dark web monitoring and the 2FA authenticator are paid features.”Editorial team, via AISafeCheck
Lumo
Proton AG
“A sound first choice for anyone who wants AI help without handing over their conversations. The privacy terms are clear and strict: no training on chats, zero-access encryption, no ad profiling. It loses points because Proton publishes no retention period for chat history, and the free tier caps messages and history.”Editorial team, via AISafeCheck
Proton Mail
Proton AG
“A sensible pick if you want email that is never scanned for ads. Encryption covers every plan, the free one included, and the AI writing help stays off until you switch it on. The catch: the free tier's 1 GB and single address fill up fast.”Editorial team, via AISafeCheck
Proton Drive
Proton AG
“Proton Drive suits anyone who wants private documents out of reach of the company that stores them. Encryption happens on your own device, the storage code is open source and checked by independent experts, and Swiss law applies. The catch is room: 5 GB free fills up fast, so most people end up paying.”Editorial team, via AISafeCheck
Six steps for when AI makes you uneasy
Most of these cost nothing and take a few minutes. The first two follow the FTC’s advice on scams that use cloned voices.
Frequently asked questions
Answer first, explanation after.
Does ChatGPT use my conversations to train its models?
Yes, unless you opt out. OpenAI says ChatGPT improves by training further on the conversations people have with it, and it offers two ways out: the “do not train on my content” option in its privacy portal, or a Temporary Chat, which stays out of your history and out of training. Claude works the other way round: your chats are only used for training if you allow it.
How can you tell if a phone call is an AI voice clone?
You usually cannot rely on the voice itself, so check the story instead. The FTC notes that a short clip posted online can be enough to clone someone’s voice. Hang up and call the person back on a number you already know, or reach them through another relative. A request to pay by wire transfer, crypto or gift cards is a strong sign of a scam.
Is there a private alternative to ChatGPT?
Yes. Proton Lumo does not use your chats to train its models, and Proton runs those models on servers it controls without passing your data to third parties. Duck.ai is free, needs no account, and has agreements that stop the model providers from training on your prompts. Both have a free version, so you can see whether they cover what you now use ChatGPT for.
What should you never share with an AI chatbot?
Anything you would not want a stranger to read: passwords, ID and bank numbers, medical details, and files about customers or staff. Chats can be stored for a long time, and some are read by people. Google, for example, keeps Gemini chats that human reviewers have looked at for up to three years, even after you delete your activity.
How do I remove my personal information from the internet?
Start with the people-search sites and data brokers that list your name and address: most have an opt-out form, and in the EU and the UK you can invoke your right to erasure under the GDPR. Doing that site by site is slow, which is why removal services exist. Incogni also works for people in the EU and the UK; Optery’s checkout lists only the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Is there a free way to check if a message is a scam?
Yes. Bitdefender’s Scamio is a free chatbot that looks at a suspicious message or link and tells you whether it shows the signs of phishing, a fake shop or another trick. Malwarebytes Browser Guard is a free browser extension that blocks scam sites and ads. Paid security suites add protection that runs all the time on every device, not only when you remember to ask.
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