Need to examine all the bare email header for practical troubleshooting or pure curiosity? Find out here how to access the full message header lines for an email in Proton Mail.
First, Let’s Call It “Bletting”
When it is properly ripe, the medlar is a fruit nobody wants to eat: hard and with a biting astringency, its flesh is a tough one to swallow.
That all changes, of course, when a medlar is allowed to ripen to the point where it is way past its prime. It turns into an explosive, fermented mix of sweet and squishy flesh that tastes of caramel and dates. The process is, perhaps a bit euphemistically, called “bletting” for medlars.
Now, want to crack open an email’s header to reveal drippy-sweet dates and tasty time-stamps?
How to Access the Full Email Message Header Lines in Proton Mail
Proton Mail on the Web
Time needed: 1 minute
To view the full message header including all the meta-data for an email in Proton Mail on the web:
- Open the message whose header lines you want to access in Proton Mail.
- Select the More button for the message.
Here’s where: The button has three dots (⋯) and is in the email’s toolbar on top of the message body.
- Choose View headers from the menu that has appeared.
- Find the header lines starting from the top (after Message headers) and up to the first fully empty line.
What’s next: What follows is the message body (including attached files) encrypted with PGP (starting with —–BEGIN PGP MESSAGE—–).
- Click Cancel to close the Proton Mail full header view.
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Full Mail Headers in the Proton Mail App
To access the full email headers for a message using the Proton Mail app for Android or iOS:
- Open the email whose header lines you want to access.
- Tap the three dots menu button either in the message toolbar at the bottom or in the header area (next to the recipient).
- Select View headers from the menu that has appeared.
- Access the complete email header lines in the Message headers sheet that has come up.
Only the headers: This sheet shows only the header lines and does not include the (encrypted) message body.
Email source: You can access the full message source in the mobile web version of Proton Mail (see above) - Tap the back arrow button to return to the email’s regular display.
How to Access the Full Email Message Header Lines in Proton Mail: FAQ
Can I access the header without first opening the email?
No.
Proton Mail only access the message source after opening and loading an email.
(How to access the full message header lines tested with Proton Mail a desktop and a mobile web browser as well as the Proton Mail App for iOS 4.8; first published October 2023, updated April 2024)