Leaving Proton Mail
14 hours ago
- The author is leaving Proton Mail after four years due to growing doubts about its claims and practices.
- Proton's open source commitment is partial: client apps are open source, but server backends are proprietary and not mentioned, undermining trust.
- The non-profit structure is misleading: Proton AG is a for-profit company owned by a foundation, lacking public financial transparency unlike Signal or Mozilla.
- End-to-end encryption only works between Proton users, not with external email services; 'zero-access encryption' is a vague marketing term.
- Proton has expanded into too many products (Drive, Docs, AI assistant, Meet), spreading focus thin instead of perfecting core services.
- The CEO's political alignment with Trump and Republican stances on big tech regulation contributed to the author's decision to leave.
- The author plans to switch to Disroot for email, keep Proton VPN until subscription ends, and consider self-hosting or own domain for future portability.