ProtonMail has a free version which is enough for many. Every email you send or receive in Gmail is being collected as data by Google and i don’t want to give my personal data to Google
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daq@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months agoI really don’t understand why people love Proton so much. It’s really expensive, requires a non standard client and in the end you’re still using it to communicate via one of the least secure protocols ever with vast majority of people not using Proton.
MrMonkey@lemmy.world 9 months ago
daq@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
I’m not defending Google. They are an evil fucking company, but are you not sending any emails to Google either? My point is Proton is charging you for something that makes no difference since your email comes from non Proton servers and goes to non Proton servers most of the time.
And Proton’s free offering is really not useful to most people. Maybe as a short term trial, but certainly not a replacement for main inbox.
Alk@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Again, we’re not just talking about email. Things like email aliases and other features are what people mainly stick with Proton for. Nobody knows my real email. They all get an instantly generated alias that I can revoke at any time. Plus if I get spam, I will know who leaked my email. Most people do not actually send many personal emails. It’s a secure platform with many benefits.
daq@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
You mean aliases that every other email provider has? Even yahoo has had them for years.
MrMonkey@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Correct, aliases are one of the best built-in features. Unlimited aliases costs covers a decent part of the subscription
MrMonkey@lemmy.world 9 months ago
If you are referring to ProtonMail encryption, i think it’s primarily about encryption at rest, so that nobody except you (not even Proton) can read your emails. Unlike other email providers (like Gmail) where the emails could be easily accessed by the email providers whenever they want/need to (like data for ads or legal orders from government etc). While not at rest (i.e., sending/receiving emails), emails between Proton and Gmail are on TLS unless it changed in recent years, unless the email is password protected in which case Gmail cannot read the email until you open it with the password
daq@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
Gmail is the exception because almost 100% of Google’s profit is from ads. Not that other providers of free email service aren’t parsing your emails for AI training or other reasons, but I can’t think of a single paid provider that accesses your email at rest.
Alk@lemmy.world 9 months ago
It’s the other things that come with it that make the price worth it. Like the VPN, password manager, easy built in email aliases (key word easy built in), and drive storage. I paid for several of those solutions separately until combining them into a cheaper and more secure platform.
daq@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
What’s the total monthly cost for all these services in a package? “Worth” is different to everyone, but I suspect your definition is very different from mine considering I host my email with purely mail for $10/year and use bitwarden for another $10/year.
More than a just money though - I’m very hesitant to switch my calendar and contacts management to proprietary software hosted by company in a different country.
Tekchip@lemmy.world 9 months ago
As the saying goes “If you’re not paying for the product you are the product.”
I’ve been using Fastmail for years now. Worth every penny. Doesn’t even come with “extras” other than a little webdav storage space.
Most email providers have free tiers. Try them!Find the one that works best for you. Pay for that.
daq@lemmy.sdf.org 9 months ago
Running email server only costs them ~$10/year/user. If you use too much, they will pass the costs to you. These guys aren’t trying to become next Gmail. They are just offering great service at reasonable price that covers their expenses and their staff’s time.
baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
+1 for purelymail. It just works, and is everything I need and nothing I don’t. And so cheap.
h_a_r_u_k_i@programming.dev 9 months ago
This, for example I love Proton Pass so far. I completely replaced my Bitwarden with Proton Pass. It (Proton Pass) has built-in 2FA authenticator, password generator, Firefox extension, and email generator to hide my email address.
Not happy with Proton Calendar (pretty basic) or Proton Drive (doesn’t support auto-sync, yet) but I’m patiently waiting for them.