this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2024
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I'm still on google for email and a bit of drive, calendar etc. I've been reading stuff about Proton with some interest as I'd like to ditch google. This doesn't encourage me - what's the point of a mobile only plan? Isn't half the point of a cloud drive to allow sharing with other platforms? I'm just thinking aloud here - I could go read their offerings where I'd probably find that it's their lowest entry level tier and they have less restrictive plans with clients for various platforms?
The plan can only be bought on mobile(through playstore and app store).
Files are going to be accessible on all platforms.
So Proton introduces a service that requires a Google account, amazing /s
They seem to often be woefully unaware of who their demographic is...
Bit of an odd statement. It's not as if all Proton users are hardcore privacy fanatics who use custom ROMs on their phone
Then what are they?
People that want a different storage/mail provider that isn't Google, MS or Apple while still using the OS that came with the phone. Be it for privacy reasons or for not wanting to support their anticompetitive practices.
You cant just say "companies that are not X, Y and Z" without further explanation. That doesn't answer my question. People are not paying for something that is otherwise "free" for no reason.
You asked what the Proton users are that don't use custom ROMs. I replied people that simply want an alternative to Google, Apple or Microsoft services. That does answer your question, with the reasons also in there: anticompetitive practices and privacy concerns, among others.
I'm not sure what you want to hear from me. People don't all have the same values (or give the same weight to said values) so they don't all act the same. It's not a binary where you either care so you go all in or you don't care.
Some of Proton's users will use custom ROMs, others won't (like myself). Reasons for that differ from person to person. Some want to go all in on privacy and get rid of everything Google/Apple, they'll likely go custom ROM. Others just want Big Tech to not read their emails for advertisments or block your account because you've uploaded pictures of your children to your cloud storage. Some just don't like Big Tech's tendency to be anticompetitive and don't want to support it. Some want to use a service not from the US. Some like how Proton looks and feels etc etc. You can switch to Proton for all those reasons and not want/need a custom ROM. And yeah, some only look at what's free and won't use Proton.
To take myself as an example, I am one such user that doesn't have a custom ROM, but uses Proton. Why? I simply wanted to move away from, in my case, Microsoft's Outlook and Onedrive because I didn't like them being able to read my emails and use it for ads. That doesn't justify flashing my phone, which has little custom ROM support btw, with the potential of bricking it.
I asked about privacy advocates. You can use Proton otherwise without a Google account and without a custom ROM.
It doesn't, because there are a thousand other email providers. Which just leaves privacy advocates (their demographic).
Then I misunderstood. If it's just about privacy advocates, sure, most Proton users are privacy advocates in some form or another, though there are still alternatives to Proton in that regard.
I would say in that case of making the best use of all their offerings (mail, drive, calendar) Proton unlimited is the way to go: https://proton.me/drive/pricing I made the switch a year ago from a Google and I'm happy with Unlimited.
But they also have a free tier, good enough to try everything out. Plus individual subscription options for every one of their products (for example Drive Plus).