Rant about Proton services

So I am a HUGE Proton fan. I will meatride them most of the time, I use most of their products, etc.. But half the time, I have a HUGE hate boner for some of their decisions or features (more so lack of them)..

Note I don’t own any subscription and I am using the free plan for everything.

Proton Mail

This is basically Proton’s core/main service they offer. I don’t really hate it that much or have many complaints, but..

Proton, why the HELL do you not offer EMAIL CLIENT SUPPORT FOR FREE?? This is SUCH A BASIC FEATURE!!! Why are you gatekeeping this for paid customers? Basically every other mail service has this…

To be fair, I do get why they’d do such a thing. The end to end encryption does need a client to decrypt, but..

Why make it paid? This is an integral feature, this isn’t just something optional and all..

By the way, if you’re on Linux and you’re suffering with this too (or you just want an alternative to Proton’s official client) there is Hydroxide. It’s cool I use it.

On the page it says that IMAP is WIP and you might hear it’s not actively supported anymore. This is Protonese propaganda. It works well. Don’t believe this.

Also, like any other Proton app, the mobile app has some problems. The web experience isn’t that bad.

Proton Pass + SimpleLogin

I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re refering to as Proton Pass, is in fact, SimpleLogin/Proton Pass, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, SimpleLogin plus Proton Pass. Proton Pass is not an password manager and alias manager unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning Proton ecosystem made useful by the SimpleLogin aliasing system, mail service and other apps comprising a full ecosystem as defined by big tech giants.

Many computer users run a modified version of the SimpleLogin system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of SimpleLogin which is widely used today is often called Proton Pass, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the SimpleLogin system, developed by the SimpleLogin Project and later integrated into Proton.

There really is a Proton Pass, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Proton Pass is the password manager: the component in the system that stores credentials and generates passwords for the other services that you access. The password manager is an essential part of a modern security setup, but useless by itself; it can only function effectively in the context of a complete aliasing and email-routing system. Proton Pass is normally used in combination with the SimpleLogin service: the whole setup is basically SimpleLogin with Proton Pass added, or SimpleLogin/Proton Pass. All the so-called Proton Pass features that involve email aliases are really features of SimpleLogin/Proton Pass!¹

No, wait, I actually do have some complaints.

Why the hell do all the prem features look normal until you try to use them?? WTF?

BTW 10 aliases is so low? Please give us atleast 15.

Proton Calendar + Lumo AI + Proton Meet

I haven’t used these.

Proton Auth

This piece of shit legitimately sucks.

I downloaded it because it said on the tin it would work with my PC and all my other devices and sync.

The UI looked like shit, I couldn’t even get it on my PC which was what I was interested about.

I just switched back to Aegis. It’s great and I recommend it to you all.

Proton VPN

This thing SUCKS in its free tier. But unlike Proton’s other services, this is basically just the free sample and not actually usable on its own.

Therefore I can’t be judging it.

Please make it actually usable for free, add a few more servers, please..

Proton Drive

..Oh boy

Proton, what the fuck is this?

Worst mobile app of all, mediocre and buggy on web aswell.

Proton. Why on EARTH do the FUCKING FILES NOT DELETE AFTER YOU PUT THEM IN THE TRASH?!

They stayed there for basically THE END OF TIME and were CLOGGING UP MY STORAGE.

On ANY OTHER SERVICE, they delete after 30 days, more or less. But no, Proton wants to be UNIQUE and DOESN’T DELETE SHIT!

Also, on multiple file downloads that are actually pretty large, IT DOESN’T EVEN SHOW A PROGRESS BAR! I THOUGHT IT FUCKING FAILED! But NO, it was DOWNLOADING! This is literally downloading 101! If your site doesn’t send it to the browser download bar or the user’s download manager immediately, you put a PROGRESS BAR!

And the mobile app is LITERALLY DOGSHIT!

It doesn’t even SHOW me the trash, it just claims it’s empty!

And it REFUSES to sync on data!

Also, the mobile version CANNOT EVEN EDIT DOCUMENTS PROPERLY!!

Proton, please fix.

Proton Wallet

Okay, so I haven’t actually fully tried it since I don’t own Bitcoin.

But that’s my complaint! Why only BTC?!

People have been asking for a XMR wallet and payment method for ages now, yet nothing!

Actually, when it was still in the beta, I asked Proton Support about this. They claimed they chose Bitcoin because of “security” and “user demand”. What?

People have been asking for XMR stuff for much longer, as far as I’m aware.

Add it!

All Proton services

Ok, so why the HELL does every service have annoying popups and the stupid offer button at the topright? Please add a option to turn it off, it’s annoying as shit.

Conclusion

Overall, I’m still a Proton fan. But PLEASE, add these features, fix these, or raise the limits.. Some of these are legitimately a big deal.

Proton if you’re reading this pls give me free a Visionary or Lifetime sub.

Footnotes

1. https://www.gnu.org/gnu/incorrect-quotation.en.html ↩︎