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This is not completely fair or true statement - though it is not too far from truth.
Proton Mail has long positioned itself as an apolitical company, dedicated solely to safeguarding user privacy. That’s why many were surprised when CEO Andy Yen posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the political landscape in the U.S. had shifted, stating, “10 years ago, Republicans were the party of big business and Dems stood for the little guys, but today the tables have completely turned.”
This was earlier this year. So sure its up to interpretation.
So... He's an idiot, is what you're saying.
I remember there being a little more to it, but I don't have receipts. They did fairly reasonable PR explanation which lowered my concern a little - but some doubts stayed with me for sure.
That quote was the crux of it. IMO Yen was foolishly only looking at the situation through the lens of which party would be less of a barrier to Proton's business and interests in user privacy at that point in time. But the community very harshly (and rightfully so IMO) corrected him with regards to the bigger picture of corruption and cronyism and greed rampant in today's GOP and how shortsighted it would be to trust them at all.
Proton as an org was pretty burned and officially walked it back and said they would refrain from allowing individual staff (CEO included) from making those kind of political statements that could be interpreted as representing the business.
I think that's the right response, because he certainly fucked up. That doesn't make them evil, but it does cause me concern around their awareness of the shifting US legal landscape.
Doesn't make them necessarily evil. But yeah, overall I'd agree with you on it. I'm certainly in my guard since then though.
I recall him saying he was not american so it doesnt matter what he said. Which annoyed me cause then why open mouth?
That being said its more than understand the ceo is not the only voice in company and it was January 2025 so I may have outdated information if this stance is even relevant.
Yeah it's a LOT far from the truth, like the distance between neptune and the sun
Yeah, I guess it depends on how you look at it and what are your limits on this stuff. I can see why you disagree even with me for sure.
It definitely didn't look great. It certainly didn't inspire confidence. Not bad enough for me to leave (once the head cooled), but enough for me to consider it if a competitor comes up with a similar offering (looking at Tuta Drive once they introduce it).
It was enough to get me to unsubscribe and move to tuta for email, pcloud for storage, and mullvad for VPN. I still have a free proton account but they will need to really regain my trust to get me to resubscribe.
Regardless of the walkback, it takes a real egghead to 'accidentally' praise an obviously corrupt fascist. Even from the narrow perspective of 'what is best for their business' it was moronic. You really think the guy in bed with Peter Theil, Palantir, Musk, etc etc and loves dictators who "rule with an iron fist" is somehow good for your privacy company and your users?
The statement revealed this dude as either at worst a fascist or at best a dipshit. Neither option is great for CEO of a company that requires very high trust from its users. Do I want to rely on and pay for products from the company he oversees? No not really.
I'm in a similar boat. I had Proton Unlimited because of a good deal they had, downgraded back to Mail Plus and got Mullvad for VPN (which looks to me better than Proton).
The thing about Proton is they make it easy to degoogle. I can easily set up gmail stuff to be forwarded for things I didn't switch yet (or people who didn't catch on the fact I changed emails) and they have a whole suite of products.
But really, if Tuta introduces a Drive on feature parity, I will consider a switch - though it will be pain to change everything again.
"Great pick by [Donald Trump]. 10 years ago, Republicans were the party of big business and Dems stood for the little guys, but today the tables have completely turned."
- Andy Yen, Proton CEO
"Until corporate Dems are thrown out, the reality is that Republicans remain more likely to tackle Big Tech abuses."
- Proton