Want a private ChatGPT alternative? How Proton's Lumo 2.0 locks down your data, EU style - ZDNET

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. The maker of ProtonMail and ProtonVPN says its second-generation chatbot is never trained on user data. Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Proton, best known for its ProtonMailVPN and encrypted email service ProtonMail, has announced Lumo 2.0, the second iteration of its ‘privacy-first’ AI chatbot, featuring “the most significant change since launch.” First announced in 2025, Lumo arrived as a privacy-preserving alternative to popular AI models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. While able to perform many of the same tasks — answering user queries, searching the web, generating content including text and images, and analyzing uploaded files — Proton emphasizes security and privacy features that other AI models don’t prioritize. Also: Privacy in the AI era is possible, says Proton’s CEO, but one thing keeps him up at night To date, over 10 million people have used the open source chatbot. According to Proton, the AI chatbot’s capabilities are steadily growing. On the independent Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, which measure