I’m getting ready to move off of Google (and Private Internet Access), and Proton is looking like the best option. But I’m nervous. Some of the things I worry about:
- Calendar support: I rely really heavily on Google Calendar. How will I share events with others? And what will I do without Google Tasks?
- VPN App Quality: Seeing some mixed reviews on Proton VPN Android app.
- Proton ethics & politics: Look, I really don’t want to open up the holy war here. My big stipulation is: I don’t want my money to go to a company that will donate its money or services to fascists. To my knowledge, Proton does not do that. I know they made a post that seemed to praise GOP antitrust efforts. I do not believe that that is the same thing as lending material support for fascists. (And, as someone who is very well read-in on antitrust issues, I’ll say that – for a lot of complicated reasons – there is some truth to Proton’s post, but I wish they had framed it as a critique of the corporate wing of the Democratic party and not praise of the GOP.)
- Anything else I haven’t thought to ask.
So, folks who have made the switch: What do you wish you had known? What do you wish you had done to make the move easier?
Thank you for your advice.
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I went from Google to Proton and then switched out for another provider. No offline mode/IMAP support allowing me to use an email client on my phone was bothersome as I need to monitor multiple inboxes. Email was fine but sluggish (in part due to decryption so partially understandable I guess). Still use the VPN which I think is their most mature product. Drive is basic but I didn’t need much more.
I was willing to put up with the annoyances when I really believed in what they were doing. But after the GOP comments, the crypto/AI stuff, and leaving Mastodon it just all became a bit much. I like that they are nonprofit, FOSS, and independently audited of course, but their messaging/priorities have been mixed to say the least. Wouldn’t blame someone for staying, wouldn’t blame them for leaving at this point.
Yeah. Tried ProtonVPN before it was blocked, and hoped I’d also have another email address. But no, being unable to use it in my email client with all the other accounts made it unusable for me.
Not sure sure if you know about this but they reason they don’t allow it in other clients is the encrypted portion. However, they built a bridge recently that allows you to use it within other clients on Linux (not sure what other OS but looks like windows too) and I’ve been running it on the Evolution client since.
Proton Mail Bridge
Yeah, I am very much aware of this. However, I prefer not to trust the encryption that happens on their servers instead of my client, so I’d consider the non-e2e mail as fully open. As for bridge - indeed it solves the problem, but it’s exclusive to paid plans, which is not what I had experience with.
What do you mean by saying that ProtonVPN was blocked?
Blocked by the government I mean. Inaccessible. Somene I know tried Stealth and it doesn’t seem to work either, at least on the free tier.
which government? is it not usable anymore?
I mean of course you can use mail and other services - but you’d need another VPN/proxy, which is what we’re used to. But I only wanted the VPN, and that is indeed unusable
thanks for the info. I wanted to purchase it. I guess I’ll go with Mullvad then
I mean depends on your location. Chances are it is fine for you.