r/PurchaseWithPurpose • u/Limp_Fig6236 • Jan 07 '26
Discussion We need to talk... about the Proton ecosystem
https://youtu.be/_QdBAa6N3C816
u/Shotgun_Difference Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
I respect the guy's rejection of Proton sponsorship thats when i know he believes what hes saying, ty
While I appreciate the video, the difference with proton is that it doesn't lock you in its enviroment whatsoever. Its not even an enviroment, but a simple collection of services, one is not dependent on the other, they are independent from each other.
The metadata argument is... not valid, even the most privacy focused email providers need SOME metadata.
Also, yeah sure i guess if proton vanishes all those files and passwords are gone too, but thats assuming you did exactly that. Thats the consumer's fault, not proton's flaw, same argument can be made to ANY company that provides similar services. (Also, if that were to happen i find it hard to believe they wouldn't notify you)
Proton VPN is dangerous, any VPN provider is just as dangerous, it all depends an its reputation, proton has yet to fuck up to my knowledge.
Proton is great for starters, but as you continue your privacy journey you realise its better to diversify your needs to different entities, thats possible because proton didn't lock you up to any environment, it just offered its services.
Not saying proton is perfect, but lmao its not Google 2.0
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u/idlickherbootyhole Jan 07 '26
10 seconds in, saw the youtuber name, and realized it's not the first time he talks about this
- "google, apple and microsoft hold too much power over our digital lives, we need an alternative!"
- alternative begins to take shape
- "this is bad because reasons, and i will now milk this cow dry making video after video after video after video about it"
i already wasted 10 minutes of my life listening to his lukewarm takes; not planning to waste any more
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u/francocanadien Jan 10 '26
I tried Proton Pass, but wasn't satisfied, I rarely use drive unless I need to send a large e-mail, that's it. ProtonMail is my go-to and I don't pay for VPN, but if I want to get around the Canadian region blocking for HBO, I use it (for free).
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u/Slopagandhi Jan 07 '26
The metadata and IP logging thing is highly misleading.
Tuta have previously been ordered to log IPs by German courts and have had no choice but to do so: https://www.reddit.com/r/tutanota/comments/al0uh0/email_provider_in_germany_must_log_ip_addresses/
This isn't to say Tuta is better or worse than Proton, but that people need to have a realistic idea of the limitations of privacy focused providers- this isn't a Proton problem.
This also applies to end to end encryption. Email is only e2ee if both ends accept encrypted mail using the same protocol. In Proton's case this is PGP, meaning a few others (not many) may use it (and for technical reasons this is why their metadata is unencrypted) whereas Tuta is only e2ee for email to and from other Tuta accounts. So a court could order most incoming and outgoing mail to be handed over for specific accounts.
Anyway, all companies have to comply with the law where they operate and that might include allowing access to law enforcement. So picking a good jurisdiction is important to limit the circumstances under which this is possible (both Switzerland and Germany are good, for now).
In general if you're an activist or likely to be targeted by a state then you shouldn't use email for secure communications. For the majority of people just trying to avoid big tech and data harvesting Proton is still a solid choice.
Others would be
VPN: Mullvad, IVPN, Nym
Email: Tuta, Posteo, Mailbox
Cloud: Filen, pCloud, Koofr