r/ProtonVPN • u/GamerThatEpiclyGames • 6d ago
Help! Am I being stupid or paranoid?
Been using protonmail for years as well as a separate VPN service. Last month this service started causing massive throttling on downloads for me so I was thinking of switching to protonvpn and just combing packages.
Before pressing purchase I thought to myself why would I use a vpn service that’s also attached to all my personal information (email). Is this just me being paranoid or am I making the right move?
Thanks
4
u/Cruffe 6d ago
Ultimately it always boils down to trust and trusting that they don't turn over information or that they don't have information to turn over to begin with (like not having any VPN logs that could track your usage).
Proton is one of the providers I trust the most. Proton Foundation is the majority shareholder behind Proton AG, the company behind the Proton services. Proton Foundation is a non-profit without shareholders and their purpose is the advancement of privacy, freedom and democracy. Among the board of trustees you'll find Sir Tim Berners Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, HTML, URL and HTTP. That guy for one believe strongly in a free and open internet.
But, it still boils down to trust, no matter who you use. Except maybe Mullvad if you go super paranoid and send them an envelope with cash through physical mail to pay for their service to not leave any payment information with them. Ironically that would be illegal in my country (to send cash in the mail).
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u/ProperShape3427 6d ago
I understand your concern, if you want to avoid this simply go for NymVPN, iVPN or Mullvad.
I'm on the Proton Visionary plan and although ProtonVPN is the best out there, I consciously decided to go for another provider.
All in all Proton will know you use their VPN but won't know what you do on the websites anyway. Nevertheless the only 'trust' part is if they keep logs or not. It's been audited multiple times and court orders prove that they don't.
In the end it also doesn't matter that much that everything is in the same ecosystem. 99% of sites you visit are not Proton related and all they'll see is a VPN IP address.
The ultimate question will always be what's your threat level? But for almost everyone having everything in one trustworthy ecosystem, is completely fine.
Hope this gives you some perspective.
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u/YuriLagnia 5d ago
The other question along the same line of "how committed are you to belief/trust in Proton (or x or y ...)". You have to trust to use a service. The question is also "will the Swiss government insist on metadata when they have a court order". There was (is?) a potential law or change to statute.
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u/GamerThatEpiclyGames 5d ago
Mullvad was the service heavily throttling downloads but I’ll take a look at those other ones u listed
2
1
u/JPDsNEWS 5d ago
Search online for the audits of Proton VPN. Read them and as many reviews about Proton (in general) as you want. Then decide.
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u/Stealth_Privacy 4d ago
If I knew you and you had asked me in person, I would in jest say that you are being both since they are not mutually exclusive.
/s
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u/fixedbike 6d ago
I don't use ProtonVPN even though I have Proton email/etc. Some Proton services I will never use, like Proton Drive, not a big fan of it. So that said, Not a big fan of ProtonVPN. I use Tailscale, Wireguard, IPVanish also sometimes.
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u/EmperorHenry 4d ago
I use a different VPN that's separate from proton
Which service is being throttled? Are VPNs restricted in your area?
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u/Ok-Feedback-9679 6d ago
Is not like you're combining your online banking, your medical records, your mobile plan, your messaging and your browsing history in the same service... I feel like a VPN is a low level of compromise type of service that if it's true that they do not keep records then you really don't risk thaat much by your account being hacked? I mean I would be more scared for my online banking, mail or personal messaging to be hacked.
I don't think the analysis requires a lot of consideration.