If not, what alternatives can i use?
Proton just completed their SOC 2 Type II audit:
https://proton.me/blog/soc-2Accomplishments like this are why I continue to trust Proton and remain a paid user.
That depends on your risk tolerance, which is a decision you have to make yourself.
The real question is, where do you draw the line. You can even make a convincing case that gmail can be trusted with your data. Actually, many people feel that way, so it’s not a bizarre or rare stance. Alternatively, you can also say that self hosting everything is the only way to be sure.
If you’re using Gmail, and you’re considering alternatives for privacy reasons, then 100% without a doubt, objectively and unequivocably, Proton is the better choice of the two.
There are other email providers with privacy assurances, and yes, you can self-host, but don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good.
To address the trustworthiness of Proton directly: I’ve been a Proton user for about 10 years. It gets the job done. I have complaints, but privacy is not among them.
It’s a corporation, so, no.
You need to specify what you want an alternative to, as Proton hosts a lot of services.
OK then, what alternative do i have to Proton Mail?
Tuta are better, but not much. They’ve been getting worse every year.
I switched to Disroot early this year and it’s been smooth sailing. They’re not a corporation, and I can talk to them directly and not some dumb outsourced support staff.
For what ? Security or anonymity ? Likely yes for the first but no for the second. For example
People get their panties in a twist over this one, but they still operate within the law. What should they have done here, not complied? It’s a court order, from their country.
I think OPs question is still relevant in that context. Does that case reduce their effort towards privacy? I believe the answer is yes.
According to Proton’s AI answers:
Proton Mail is designed with a strong commitment to user privacy and security. Here’s what you need to know about the information Proton Mail can provide to law enforcement:
Encryption: Proton Mail uses end-to-end encryption, which means that the content of emails is encrypted on the user's device and can only be decrypted by the intended recipient. Proton Mail cannot read or access the content of your emails. Metadata: Proton Mail can access certain metadata associated with user accounts, such as: Account creation date Last login time IP addresses used to access the account Email headers (sender, recipient, subject line, timestamps) Legal Process: Proton Mail will only disclose user information to law enforcement if it receives a valid legal request, such as a court order or subpoena, that complies with Swiss law. Proton Mail is subject to Swiss privacy laws, which are among the strictest in the world. No Backdoor Access: Proton Mail does not have backdoor access to user data. The company is committed to protecting user privacy and will resist unnecessary or overly broad requests for information. Transparency Reports: Proton regularly publishes transparency reports detailing the number and nature of legal requests it receives. These reports provide insight into how Proton handles requests for user information.In summary, while Proton Mail can provide certain metadata to law enforcement under valid legal requests, the content of encrypted emails remains private and inaccessible to Proton or any third parties.
Metadata in the context of Proton Mail refers to the additional information associated with your emails that is not part of the actual email content. While the content of your emails is end-to-end encrypted and only accessible to the sender and recipient, metadata can include the following details:
Account Information: Account creation date Account status (active, suspended, etc.) Login Information: Timestamps of when you last logged in IP addresses used to access your account Email Headers: Sender's email address Recipient's email address Subject line of the email Timestamps indicating when the email was sent, received, or read Information about the email's path through servers (though Proton Mail minimizes this due to its encryption practices) Message Status: Whether an email has been sent, delivered, or read (if read receipts are enabled)It’s important to note that while metadata can provide some context about email activity, the actual content of the emails remains encrypted and private. Proton Mail is designed to minimize the amount of metadata collected and stored, and it will only disclose metadata to law enforcement if it receives a valid legal request that complies with Swiss law.
Yes, there have been instances where law enforcement agencies have made valid legal requests to Proton, and in some cases, these requests have led to investigations or arrests. However, Proton’s transparency reports do not provide specific details about individual cases to protect user privacy and comply with legal confidentiality requirements.
Proton regularly publishes transparency reports that summarize the number and types of legal requests it receives, as well as how it responds to those requests. These reports provide insight into the nature of the requests and Proton’s commitment to user privacy.
For example, Proton’s transparency reports may indicate the number of requests received from law enforcement agencies, the types of information requested, and whether Proton provided any information in response. However, the reports do not name individuals or provide specifics about individual cases.
If you’re interested in learning more about Proton’s transparency reports, you can find them on Proton’s official website. These reports demonstrate Proton’s commitment to balancing user privacy with legal obligations.
Just found out they have a proprietary AI service…
Swiss have one of the strongest privacy laws and Proton is pretty save to use.
Depends on your threat model. What are you defending against?
I am defending against anyone that uses my data for non-essential purposes. Well, not all non-essential purposes; i mean ads, personalization, AI, selling it for profit, etc.
To my knowledge Proton doesn’t sell your data and there were no leaks in the past. It is also true for a lot of its competitors though.
Note: I use Proton for some things.
But, here’s the twist: there’s a controversy because of the recent AI and the CEO being Pro-trump.
I don’t think that controversy about Trump is concerning in any way. The AI could be interesting instead.
It’s fine, closed source is fine. Trust us bro
All Proton apps and services are OpenSource.
This article is somewhat biased, yes, they handled out an IP of an to the authorities, this is mandatory for every service in a criminal investigation if there is an court order present, they must give the data which they have about the user, even Lemmy must do it if there is an court order about an user. Any service in the web must fullfit the laws of the country in which it’s operating. This has nothing to do with privacy or trust about the service, also not if it is OpenSource or Proprietary. A service also can’t avoid that it is used by republicans in the US, or that one of the employees is a right winger. The CEO of the Brave Browser (FOSS) as example. Can Lemmy avoid that an Nazi use it in a own instance?
Their LLM is not
Neither are there mail servers.
They’ve open sourced their clients.
Made with 100% real oranges and also a load of preservatives in sugar.
Their PR department lies and tells partial truths way too much for a privacy company.
the ceo is potentially fascist. they might be ok now, but there’s no way to trust it long term if that’s what you are hiding from.
if you are coming from gmail or hotmail, its gonna be better, but that’s kind of a low bar.
