Proton Launches Lumo: A Privacy-Focused AI Assistant Redefining User Data Security

Proton, the company behind the encrypted email service Proton Mail, has launched a new privacy-focused AI assistant named Lumo.

This advanced chatbot is designed to analyze documents, generate code, compose emails, and perform various other tasks, while ensuring that data is stored locally on users’ devices.

To protect user information, Proton employs zero-access encryption. Users are provided with a key that allows them to access their data, effectively preventing any third-party access, including from Proton itself.

The company asserts that this solution guarantees that Proton will not share user information with advertisers or governments, nor use it for training large language models.

Lumo features an internet search function, which is disabled by default to maximize privacy. If activated, the chatbot will utilize privacy-friendly search engines to find answers.

Proton is positioning Lumo as an alternative to offerings from major AI companies such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Meta AI, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot.

«Big Tech utilizes AI to enhance the collection of sensitive user data and accelerate the shift towards a surveillance capitalism. Our vision is an artificial intelligence that prioritizes people over profits,» stated Proton’s CEO and founder, Andy Yen.

Lumo operates on several open-source language models hosted on the company’s servers in Europe, including Nemo from Mistral, Mistral Small 3, Nvidia’s OpenHands 32B, and OLMO 2 32B from the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

The chatbot selects various models based on the specific task at hand; for example, inquiries related to programming are handled by OpenHands.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that in October 2024, Google integrated the Gemini chatbot into Gmail for iOS users, enhancing their email experience.