this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2025
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350
Proton 2024 Lifetime account fundraiser for online freedom | Ends on January 5th (proton.me)
submitted 4 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
69 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

It says that "100% of the proceeds will be donated" and I recognize a few projects in their list that are worth supporting. While this still feels a bit like an ad, I thought it was newsworthy + something that the Fediverse would be supportive of?

Please share if you see any issues with this, and I can edit it into this post (or take down the post).

Full details on the link in the post, summary:

Join our charity fundraiser before it ends on January 5th

Since 2018, with support from the Proton community, we have financially supported non-profit organizations that share this vision, donating over $3 million to fuel a growing movement for a better internet. For this year’s fundraiser, we’re giving away 10 Proton Lifetime accounts, our most exclusive plan that gives you the most storage and all the features of all our current and future products, forever.

Starting today, you can enter the raffle to win a Lifetime plan. 100% of the proceeds will be donated, along with a $150,000 matching contribution from Proton. Raffle tickets are on sale from now until January 5 at 11:59 PM CET. We’ll announce the winners the following day.

Recipient details:

A portion of the funds will also go to a few organizations from past years, such as Tor, GrapheneOS, and others, as many nonprofits have seen drops in donations and are struggling to reach their budget goals.

this year’s recipients:

  • Freedom House
  • Free Software Foundation Europe
  • Law for Change
  • Ada Lovelace Institute
  • Nothing2Hide
  • Free Press Unlimited
  • The Tech Oversight Project
  • Open Data Institute
  • OpenStreetMap
  • Ladybird
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[–] [email protected] 152 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (5 children)

I remember one time I criticized proton for positioning itself as community oriented while still being a for-profit corporation. I pointed out that as long as it’s a for-profit corporation, it would have not have any financial or legal incentive to continue pursuing its mission if it ever achieved a certain level of market share. But then several months later, they actually announced that they were going to put their money where their mouth is, and transition to a nonprofit structure.

I think that proton is perhaps the greatest example at the moment that to oppose capitalism does not mean you have to be opposed to free enterprise, and people should always think about this sort of thing when they listen to any kind of business leader try to convince them that it’s actually really important that they be allowed to cash out whenever they want.

I can’t imagine that their set up is perfect, but I definitely am going to have to give this offer serious consideration.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Proton is still a for-profit company, the change that happened was that the for-profit company was no longer owned by a single or multiple people (that can sell it whenever they want). Instead now proton is owned by the non profit that can't be sold

[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Is this similar to how Mozilla is set up?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago

Pretty much yeah

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Proton isn't opposing capitalism though, it's filling a niche created by other organizations' poor privacy policies. Them being nonprofit doesn't change that, it just places certain restrictions on themselves.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

First of all, I did not say that proton is opposing capitalism. I said that to oppose capitalism does not mean you have to be opposed to free enterprise. As in, you can be opposed to an economy comprised primarily of capitalist institutions without being opposed to the concept of free enterprise. Proton is simply an example of such a business, which can be used as evidence for the fact that it is entirely possible to start businesses in a free market economy which are actually interested in solving problems as opposed to using the existence of problems as a vehicle to enrich a class of shareholders.

Second of all, “it’s filling a niche created by other companies’ poor privacy policies” is essentially nothing more than a restatement of the second sentence I wrote, which I will repeat here: “I pointed out that as long as it’s a for-profit corporation, it would have not have any financial or legal incentive to continue pursuing its mission if it ever achieved a certain level of market share.”. You’re right that them adopting a nonprofit structure doesn’t change that, but it does change their ability to sell out their customers at the discretion of a class of shareholders, unlike any business which is owned by private individuals.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I think that proton is perhaps the greatest example at the moment that to oppose capitalism does not mean you have to be opposed to free enterprise,

You seemed to use Proton as an example of that. Maybe I read it differently than you intended.

Second of all, “it’s filling a niche created by other companies’ poor privacy policies” is essentially nothing more than a restatement of the second sentence I wrote

I don't think it is. My point is that Proton is a product of capitalism, as in, like any corporation, they found/created a niche and filled it. That you like this company and not others has more to do with you liking the niche than anything altruistic you think Proton is doing.

Proton is overpriced for what they offer, but they can charge that much because of brand recognition. Look at Tuta, a for profit company that offers similar services with more features for less.

Proton is a product of a competive market, and that's a good thing.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago

The big difference is that they're not publicly traded. Stocks are the root of all evil.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

Being for profit as a legal entity doesn't necessarily mean they will exploit every angle they can to make a profit. When a company has to answer to shareholders, like when they go public or sell private share to raise capital, that's when it becomes a real issue. It really depends on their bylaws and who's running the organization otherwise.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

Non-profits are just for-profits for management. They make things slightly more transparent. That's about it.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

sdfhjlaks;fjlk;asfjkl;sfjakl;

[–] [email protected] 31 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I really hope Ladybird is able to eventually become a strong alternative browser engine to Chromium.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

only for it to be a safari wrapper on ios…

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago

Hopefully not in the EU.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 weeks ago

Right now we need organisations fighting for software and media freedom more than ever. The unholy alliance of big corporations and far-right politics is just getting going, and if we don't have alternatives to communications run by unethical corporations we'll be driven into silence while they control all messaging. So this seems like a worthwhile donation.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

As an owner of a competing email service, I’m primed to dislike Proton, but god damn, I just can’t. They’re an awesome company. I hope that in the coming capitalistic hellscape (wait, we’re already in a capitalistic hellscape), Proton is able to defeat the 70% market share behemoths of Gmail and Exchange.

I’m really glad to see they’re supporting Ladybird too. That’s such a cool project.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Which provider if you don't mind sharing?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

It’s https://port87.com/. I’m still working to make it ready for business use, but it’s ready to use as your personal email. It’s really good for keeping your email organized, which is something I’ve always struggled with personally.

It’s behind a waitlist right now, but I send out invites about once a week.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Good job, I'm with tuta and am super hesitant to switch since ctempla dropping the ball 3 years ago else I'd ask for an invite. But honestly need more indie providers like tuta, ctempla and proton.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I completely understand. One thing I’m working on right now is custom domain support, so that you can either use [email protected] or even just [email protected]. That way if you ultimately decide to switch providers, you wouldn’t have to change all your email addresses. I’m hoping to have that available within the next few months.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

How is this patented? I had a professor show us how to do this in college.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

The patented part is that you can have multiple email addresses for the same user, and a subset of them can provide challenge-response screening to filter automated messages. The patent is publicly available on the USPTO website.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Got my tickets a few days ago, hoping for a win!

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 weeks ago

Just got one myself! 🤞

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Cool. I bailed on Proton for Tuta because the value wasn't there for me.

I'll be buying a ticket to support the various orgs, and I'd definitely use the lifetime sub if I somehow won. It's cool of them to offer it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

How does your experience with Tuta compare to Proton? Was it a good move?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 weeks ago

I think so. Initially it was pretty rough, but they've been actively improving things, so it's better now. Once they finish implementing labels (soon?), I think it'll have everything I need.

Some downsides:

  • must use their client - not an issue for me, but could bother others; their app isn't as nice as proton's IMO
  • no extra apps, just email and calendar
  • no good way to export data - they're improving this, but it's still a pain

The reasons I switched are:

  • cheaper family plan - I'm currently the only one on it, but I could add more accounts for €3/month
  • 3 custom domains - I currently use two, one for family and friends, and the other for online spam; I could probably use aliases, but I want it to be easy to switch if Tuta does anything I don't like; I'd have to get the top Proton tier for that
  • I didn't actually use the other services anyway - I tried the VPN, but I honestly prefer Mullvad anyway, and I don't need VPN always right now

That said, Proton ultimate is a decent deal if you commit for 2 years. I just decided I'd give Tuta a shot and they're pretty reasonable.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

I wish Tuta supported throwaway email addresses. If it did it would be nearly perfect.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 weeks ago

It’s a great idea for a way to encourage donations to these projects.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 weeks ago

I bought a ticket, thanks for the post. I don't expect to win, but it'd be cool if I did and it's a good excuse to send $10 to some cool projects

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago

All the service! Who ever wins gets storage, key wallet, VPN and email. Thats pretty fucking good.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 weeks ago (4 children)

I've once bought lifetime service - couchsurfing. It didn't stick foe less than 1 year. I have second life time account for 2600 magazine but still I'm skeptical to "life time" promotions

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 weeks ago

Thats okay. They aren't selling life time though, but only raffle them away during promotions. So in this case they probably are sustainable, but the chance to get one is next to zero (unless you buy them off of someone else, as that is a thing proton supports).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago

Plex lifetime has lasted me a long long time, maybe around 10-12 years, so even if it somehow stops now it's more than made up for what I paid for it

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I got a lifetime 2600 subscription in 2009.

Every quarter they still send another issue.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

life time subscriptions always gets cripled as time goes by, to the point they become useless. Like forcing you to top up, or even worse to abandon and get a monthly plan for new features.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Just a reminder for anyone concerned about potential FSF involvement that Free Software Foundation Europe has no ties to FSF or Stallman.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

Thanks, bought a few too

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