It sounds like you're frustrated with ProtonMail's reliance on Google Play Services, which contradicts its privacy-first philosophy. While ProtonMail is one of the most privacy-focused email providers, this dependency can be an issue for users who choose de-Googled devices like LineageOS without GApps.

You might want to consider:

Using ProtonMail's F-Droid Repository – Proton offers an alternative installation method via their own F-Droid repository, which provides a version that does not rely on Google Play Services.

Using ProtonMail Web App – If the mobile app doesn't work without Google dependencies, using the web version (mail.proton.me) in a privacy-focused browser like Firefox or Bromite might be a workaround.

Reaching Out to ProtonMail Support – If you haven't already, you could send your concerns directly to ProtonMail’s team. Apply for udyam registration - https://udyamregisteration.org/. They do take privacy concerns seriously and might consider removing dependencies on Google services in future versions.
Would you like help crafting a more formal message to ProtonMail’s support team?

I haven’t read all 240 or so comments so I may be missing or repeating something, but the Protonmail app runs beautifully on my /e/OS phone. Has done for years. No Google.

Very sad that this isn't even planned. I am unable to replace TOTP with a security key on my proton account which would enhance my security. I appeal to Proton to implement FIDO functionality without Play services.

your websites are really good. I appreciate your work. Nové kancelárie

I'll repost a link from an earlier comment: https://grapheneos.org/faq#notifications

Push notification of new email can definitely work without Google being involved at all, but it needs to be implemented, and the dependence on play services completely amputated like the gangrenous appendage it is.

De-googling your life is critically important, especially for those people who are clueless about the constant gross invasion to their privacy. People talk about their "threat model", which at this point is ridiculous since gross invasion of privacy and corporate surveillance is so intrusive and pervasive that it is a violation of EVERYONE's so-called "threat model".

Please help make security and privacy easy for everyone, as it should be.

This is a must. Privacy and google don't mix well. Hope proton implements this soon.

I back this up 100%. I believe that this feature request is not an optional issue, it is a must if Proton is claiming to be Privacy Focused. I've been a plus member for several years, as I believe in privacy. I hope that Proton is taking this as seriously as we do. Unfortunately, as this has been an open issue for 7 years and has not been completed, I start to think that maybe Proton does not believe in the values they advertise. Namely: privacy, freedom, and choice. There is no choice if people cannot choose between using Google Play services with better battery life, and a background service that checks the email with heightened security. There was also a project to publish an app on F-Droid, I thought would address these issues but it is dead now. I finally degoogled my android to find out Protonmail cannot push notifications, and found ways to get it done through a 3rd party app. To be honest, this might be the deal breaker for me to switch my email service to a service that works on degoogled phones.

Will only work if you guys collaborate with phone makers and app makers
1) Google play store alternative - apps are the major reason why phone makers include Google services (though there are alternatives like samsung's or Amazon's app stores, they are way behind Google in number of apps and then again they're also big tech companies who spy on their users) - it would be awesome if proton makes an alternative platform for this. I want to see an implementation similar to obtainium but with apps already listed - like app makers would host their apps somewhere (in their own website or in GitHub, or proton could use fdroid implementation to let app makers make their own repos) which proton can make some guidelines for and list those apps in this platform, appmakers could use their own payment system this way (so I think they would be interested in this)
2) android push notifications - all the notifications that we get go through Google servers
3) Google location accuracy for reliable navigation - there was an alternative to this by mozilla which think got discontinued
If guys can figure out these then it's the end for Google's dominance of Android
I've only seen murena and fairphone doing this deegoogling of android (also murena could be considered a competitor to proton cuz of their ecosystem)
I can also see mobile Linux OSs (mobian, phosh, plasma mobile) needing these - i can see them being adopted once they are able to run Android apps perfectly in a compatibility layer (like SailfishOS)

I totally support this idea! It is an essential step to make all the apps available on F-Droid. This would make Proton apps much more convenient on DeGoogled phones

I don't think this is a privacy risk because there is no sensitive data transferred, but at least give everyone a choice.
Make one version without Google's notification service and one with it for people who have less battery capacity.
Privacy is about being able to have a choice, and if I want a de-googled phone and still get all the notification, than Proton shouldn't be in the way of it.
(At least Proton is not dependent on google play services to work, just for notifications, which is still awesome IMHO and seems to be often forgotten here)
Edit: e.g. Proton Calendar has no notification problems at all without google play services, at least in my experience

ProtonMail should be using UnifiedPush or whatever even in fully googled phones.
Those constant pings to Google's Firebase server are ridiculous for a "privacy" service.

100% back this request, this is needed ASAP. Honestly if I'd known this was a limitation I might have gone elsewhere for private email, and I may still decide to bail if this isn't taken seriously. A corp that's serious about privacy and security should have already done this.

Not paying for the service if the basic function of notifications on a privacy friendly phone is not fulfilled.

For the degoogled folks who have a serious threat model, this is a must

Any update on this? I'm using grapheneOS and I get notifications from Signal no problem. I'm sussing out the features on Proton mail over Tutanota, and I really want to make a switch for some crucial features for my business, but this one is a deal breaker...

This needs to be implemented ASAP.

I disagree. The vast majority of people have a basic Android OS with Google Play Store (myself included). Not everyone knows (or care) how to install an alternative OS on their phone.

I disagree. It's a very convenient feature for newcomers who want to migrate from Google. There are many people who have used Google services for decades, you can't expect them to migrate their data manually.

I don't understand how Proton want fight for online freedom and have a such strong dependency to Google Play Services.
I am now running an AOSP rom without Play Services that is aiming to be more secure and better for privacy (it is DivestOS).
But I can't have email notifications because ProtonMail is only using Google Play Services with no fallback to local push. Even a regular (configurable) gathering of new emails every hours would work for me. I don't need it to be real time, as if I wait for an email, I just check myself!

I can tell you with total certainty that if Proton did not offer to import all my items from Google, there is a 0% chance I would have switched to Proton. It is just too much work to manually copy literally decades of data. The import capability is there for people who need or want it; if you don't, then ignore it.