I agree with SF, this is more critical than adding online spreadsheet editor.

It's absolutely mind blowing this isn't already a feature. This is barebones basic functionality stuff. I just assumed you already had it when I subscribed.

This is much more critical than adding online excel knock off apps.

You know what I do every single day? Share files with colleagues via other cloud apps. You know what I do two or three times a year? Edit an online shared document. It's baffling that desktop shared folder sync this isn't a feature, and even more baffling that it doesn't even exist in group plans, like partner plans or family plans.

This is basic functionality, and not having it keeps Proton Drive from being a serious tool.

The lack of capacity to have shared files synced and available locally makes it almost impossible to convince colleagues that Proton is a viable business alternative. When are we going to get it?

If the reason for not developing this function is really that it would mean that unencrypted files can be stored locally, as suggested below, then this seems to me major overreach on Proton's part; surely it is up to users, and not Proton, to make decisions about what we are prepared to share with the possibility they may be unencrypted locally.

A shared, non-personal drive is also very much needed for Business users.
Now, as intermediate solution, the admin has set up a shared section in his account to which all users have access.

Accessing shared ProtonDive folders from the desktop apparently exists for the Windows app:
https://proton.me/support/shared-with-me-windows

Why not for the macOS app? How is this a security concern for one OS and not the other?

The lack of sync for Macs a critical gap in the Proton Drive app. Mac users need the ability to:
1) Select any folder(s)
2) Sync those folders with Proton drive
3) Share!

I get the arguement that the files are not encrypted if they're stored locally, but Proton already offers local copies of files. I would like specific files backed up locally, and currently I don't even have the option to do it with Proton Drive.

It's the biggest feature gap with the service in my mind.

I strongly support this feature request.

Shared folders that other Proton users have shared with me are currently not visible in the Proton desktop app on macOS, which is a major usability gap compared to the web and mobile apps.

This is especially problematic because many shared folders contain files that are primarily or exclusively used in desktop workflows (e.g. Photoshop files, thesis documents, design assets, large PDFs, project folders). These files are often irrelevant or impractical to work with on mobile and significantly harder to manage through the web interface compared to a native desktop app.

The inconsistency between platforms breaks real-world usage:
- Shared folders are accessible on web/mobile
- But invisible in the macOS desktop app
- This forces users to constantly switch platforms just to access shared content

For a desktop app, visibility and full parity with shared folders is essential, not optional. Without it, the macOS app cannot realistically replace the web app for collaborative or academic/professional use cases.

Adding full support for viewing and accessing shared folders in the macOS desktop app would greatly improve usability, platform consistency, and trust in the desktop client as a primary tool.

Just do it like Dropbox, please.

This has been on the Proton roadmap for a long time and still no shared folders on Drive. It's a frustratingly long wait.

We also have the same issue as the original poster. We need to be able to choose and sync files on MacOS so that they become searchable. Also, we need to be able to not just select some folders to be downloaded to be offline but need to have the option of selecting everything to be offline all the time. We do not live in an environment that allows continuous connectivity.

Two days ago I had upgraded my unlimited account to the Duo so that my wife and I could replace our box.com accounts with ProtonDrive. After waiting two days for our 1TB of box.com data to migrate to ProtonDrive, when I went to configure a shared folder that we use so we can both access our common and critical documents (5GB, 9K files...), I find out that oops, shared folders only work with ProtonDrive on Windows, not with ProtonDrive for MacOS.

Of course the web version of the shared folders is useless as I'm never going to tell her "honey, when you search for something, if you can't find it with Spotlight, please open your browser, login proton, and search for it there too. Oh... ergh... sorry, uhm... ehm.., don't be too upset, but if you download it and then update the document, please don't forget to re-upload it in the same place, you know, the directory 4 levels down from the top".

I want a happy marriage, so unfortunately I'm going to cancel Duo, keep on spending an extra $45/month to keep our Box accounts, and hope that eventually the guys at Proton will improve the MacOS version.

Isn't it a privacy risk? This is an answer from Lumo:

Syncing shared folders would indeed be convenient, but it would force Proton Drive to store decrypted copies on your Mac. macOS Spotlight (and any other local process) could then read those files in plain text, which defeats Proton’s end‑to‑end encryption and zero‑access guarantees. Because of that, Proton has deliberately left shared‑folder sync unavailable on macOS, and there’s no indication it will change in the near term. The safest workaround is to keep shared items in the web/app interface and only download the specific files you need to search locally.

This is critically important to me. I learned the hard way that folder and file sharing is not so robust with a certain large tech company. My wife and I share sensitive data, so I absolutely need this feature and I need it done right. Proton, I'm counting on YOU!

Same here : it's a “must have" feature to share documents with my family

It would be very adventageous to get this on the urgent line. The lack of this feature is really preventing us from working efficiently.

I would like to switch to proton drive with my entire family and small business but this feature ist a must have that prevents me from doing so.
Current sharing solution is insufficient.

I agree, and not just for spotlight. As a business user I want to be able to create shared folders that are much more conveneient to access for my small team - having to go onto the web for files doesn't cut it.

This is super important to me as well. This is the one last bit I miss to ditch most of the other cloud storage I'm currently using. I have a proton family account and we need to be able to share files in the mac OS desktop app.

I have the same issue, my wife and I share folder, however, every time I want add or access what she share, I need to got to the web application. Same applies for her trying to access what I shared with her. This is annoying and takes too much time, which caused us to duplicate the files and simple share them via e-mail or other means.

I'm a duo subscriber together with my partner, and shared folders not being synced makes collaborating on shared files very difficult.

This is especially true for shared spreadsheets (excel), which currently can't be edited in the online version. This means we can't update spreadsheets owned by the other person unless we download, edit, and then upload the new file.

I have been a paid proton subscriber for years, and recently signed my wife (a Mac user) on as part of a Duo account, so that we could transition away from Dropbox for sharing family files and collaborating on forms and documents. Now we find that Proton Drive is basically unusable for that (very basic) purpose, and raises the question of why a Duo account would exist at all. When one person shares a folder with another, it should appear as any other folder on their machine, and sync automatically, regardless of operating system. This needs to be remedied immediately, it is absolutely foundational functionality for a cloud storage platform.