>and I don't think new accounts get encryption services unless they pay.

source? Their compare plans page specifically lists "End-to-end encryption" as a feature for their free plan.

https://proton.me/mail/pricing#compare-plans

I thought I made a new account a while ago (as the front end for an OSS project) and it wasn't encrypted, and then when I checked encryption was moved to the paid membership. It looks like I may have just been confused though, because you're right it looks like it's still part of the free tier