This article details the development and significance of the ACME protocol, which underpins Let’s Encrypt, an automated certificate authority. It explores the challenges of implementing encryption across the web and highlights the evolution of ACME in promoting widespread HTTPS adoption.

Let's Encrypt has introduced short-lived certificates with a validity of less than 7 days. Users can obtain these certificates using ACME clients, and Google Trust Services also offers similar options with customizable validity periods. Automation simplifies the management of these short-term certificates.

Let’s Encrypt reflects on a decade of providing free, automated SSL/TLS certificates, highlighting key milestones and growth in certificate issuance. The organization emphasizes its impact on web security, particularly the rise in HTTPS prevalence. It acknowledges partners and sponsors that helped launch the initiative, aiming to continue enhancing Internet security.

Let's Encrypt has discontinued its email notifications for certificate expirations effective June 4, 2025, citing high costs, privacy concerns, and the diminishing need due to automated renewal processes. The organization encourages users to adopt tools that support the ACME protocol for certificate management instead of relying on these notifications.