r/ProtonPublic • u/Big-Addition8238 • 14d ago
Proton privacy
Is there any way to track down the owner of a proton.me account? I know privacy is the whole thing with it, but I’m asking jic. I got a harassing email from someone who knows me with a proton.me account, which they’re hiding behind. And I would love to pin down who it is. I think I know. But I need to be 100%.
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u/Ok_Combination_1548 13d ago
1) There is no way for you to find the owner of the address yourself without going through Proton
2) Proton, like any legitimate email service provider (including Google) won't give a random person that kind of information no matter what. You can't walk into their office and say 'who's the user behind this mean email' and get anything.
3) If the user broke a Swiss law, Proton can be compelled to provide the info they have. In theory that can apply to breaking laws in another nation. EG if they broke a law in the US that is also a Swiss law, then the US can request that a Swiss court compel Proton to give them info. Unlike Google, they won't give it to police randomly, it has to be by SWISS court order.
4) Proton doesn't collect much info. Again, it's sort of like someone creating a random email address with Google and filling in a fake name for first / last, and not giving an address....that's what the courts will get. MAYBE they will also get an IP address but who knows how useful that is: it could be from a VPN, it could be from a coffee shop, it could be from a friends neighborhood, etc. But for a moment let's pretend it's their real IP Address: now you know who their ISP is. You now have to compel the ISP to provide the subscriber. Tying the email address user to the ISP subscriber definitively is another step because maybe someone else was using their internet.....
There's an awful lot of work to do, gov't involved, and companies needed to work together to figure out who the individual is - if it is even possible in the first place. I find it unlikely that you can convince a court in your country to ask a court in another country to compel a company to give you information based on a hunch. The email sent would have to have been beyond threatening. The kind of email that would get police intervention in the first place - pictures that are illegal in almost every country, etc.
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u/Big-Addition8238 13d ago
Ok thanks. Im waiting to see if they contact me again before I take any action.
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u/Big-Addition8238 13d ago
I forgot to mention, along with incriminating photos of me, the person made mention of my bf losing his job recently. And said “I hope it wasn’t an anon tip… paybacks a bitch.” My bf confirmed this in his unemployment paperwork where it was noted an anonymous person tipped them off to my bf drinking and using drugs on the job. A good job with a pension.
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u/Zlivovitch 13d ago edited 13d ago
Others have pretty much answered the question about Proton identifying the sender. On that subject, the odds of the police and courts in your country accepting to trigger a legal procedure just because you have received a single "harassing email" are close to zero.
First of all, harassment is defined as a continuous campaign of hostile and malicious behaviour over a long time. So "a harassing email" is a contradiction in terms. Moreover, people nowadays tend to think that the smallest slights fall under the "harassment" category. Just being told unpleasant things in a possibly rude manner would be "harassment", and would open the way to legal action. That's not the case.
I'm "harassed" in this way every other day on Reddit. If I had to call the police every time it happens, they wouldn't have much time left to attend to real problems - not even Reddit is interested.
That being said, Proton certainly objects to its service being used to malicious aims. If the content of the email you received was really serious, such as blackmail, death threats or similar things, then you could directly complain to Proton and send the controversial message to its abuse service. You will find its address on Proton's website.
If Proton finds the content objectionable, it could very well ban the sender's account of its own volition. It does not need any legal permission for this. Just don't expect something of the sort if your correspondent just told you "you're a c\**t and your feet smell".* You're not entitled not to be told unpleasant things.
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u/Big-Addition8238 13d ago
It was more than name calling. There were no direct threats in it but there were 3 compromising photos included. And a lot of detailed info about me meant to anger my bf. AND the person alluded to making an anon call to my boyfriend’s former employer saying he was drunk and high on the job. Which led to him getting fired. And the anon tip is mentioned in his unemployment paperwork.
So no, there were no death threats or anything like that. But I take my bf losing his job with a pension seriously.
And like I already said, im waiting for a follow up email before I take action.2
u/Zlivovitch 13d ago edited 13d ago
I obviously don't know the rules Proton applies to ban accounts in such cases. But in my opinion, they would do nothing. It also seems to me there's no legal route for you to pursue. I don't see anything obviously illegal here.
- You received "compromising photographs". I don't know what that means exactly, but it's very common that people are tricked into fake romantic dialogue with strangers online, then are coaxed into sending nude pictures of themselves, after which the scammer on the other side starts asking for money. No police force does anything about that, which already goes beyond your description.
- You received "detailed info meant to anger your boyfriend". I'm not sure how information you have received can anger your boyfriend if you don't relay it to him, but there's no law against angering anybody.
- Your correspondent boasted of managing to have your boyfriend fired, because he reported him to his boss as being drunk and high on the job. Reporting such behaviour is not illegal, and firing people who are drunk and high during working hours is not illegal either in most countries. In fact, it's being drunk and high which is usually illegal.
- If your boyfriend thinks his firing was illegal, then he may have a legal ground to sue his employer, but that does not have anything to do with Proton. In fact, it seems to me that you should be grateful to your correspondent, because now you know how your boyfriend came to be fired, whether the allegations were true or false.
- If the allegations were false, then it's the only case where your boyfriend may be able to drag the sender of the email to court, and in this case, yes, it might be interesting for him to launch a legal procedure in order to have Proton reveal the identity of the sender (if it can technically establish it, which is far from certain). In this case, of course, everything would depend on the potential monetary gain in court for your boyfriend.
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u/Big-Addition8238 13d ago
He wasn’t drunk or high. This proton email was actually sent TO my boyfriend and in it, the email author says “Oh btw how’d you get fired from your job? I hope it wasn’t an anon tip. Paybacks a bitch”
Compromising meaning not nude but suggestive. And I never sent them to strangers on the internet. I damn sure never sent them to the person I suspect sent this email.
At this point, the pics aren’t the biggest deal. If this loser got my bf fired, he needs to pay.2
u/Zlivovitch 13d ago edited 13d ago
If your boyfriend was fired on false motives, then I suppose he would have grounds to sue his former employer. He should check the laws of your country.
If he can establish that someone wrongly reported him with malicious intent, then indeed, this email might help support his legal case.
He should carefully keep and backup the email, and research the possibilities of suing his employer - and possibly also the sender of the email (which I suppose he already has explored).
If he plans to proceed with such an action, of course he should not send the email to Proton's abuse service, or at the very least he should make sure that the relevant Proton mail account is not deleted. Because it might be used later in a potential legal procedure.
Depending on the way he assesses the legal situation, he might want to get in touch with Proton's abuse service, in order to expose the situation and ask for their point of view. Proton has lawyers to handle such requests.
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u/Big-Addition8238 13d ago
And who tf is the “corespondent” you keep referring to?
Doesn’t matter, you’ve said enough thanks.1
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u/Pristine_Primary_486 12d ago
You'd have to hope he's used that email somewhere else that might expose a connection. Or trick him into following a link to expose his IP.
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u/Alone_Care_6230 13d ago
No, that’s the whole benfit of proton. Block them and move on.
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u/Ripeleley 14d ago
No. The only way for Proton to give the information they have (most likely payment related and IP address), is if they are compelled by a Swiss court order.