6 ms·

I have a feeling that Proton has too many different products, and inevitably, like their greatest competitor, the google, they will be forced to wind some of th

by butz 3y ago

I have a feeling that Proton has too many different products, and inevitably, like their greatest competitor, the google, they will be forced to wind some of them down. And that will make some users mad. Proton Drive still does not have an option to sync files from Linux with no ETA. Introducing new products and not caring about existing products sure shows company's nearsightedness. And even if I am paying customer, they are still pestering me with upsell promotions, to use their other products that I have no interest in.

esafak 3y ago
Provide feedback here: https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/932839-proton-drive https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/932839-proton-drive
- butz 3y ago
  So, "Linux Client" for Proton Drive is 2nd most voted request. I need to log in to vote. Guess what are two top options to login... Facebook and Google. This is really sad.
  - ivan_gammel 3y ago
    I don’t really understand the point of your comment. Uservoice is a 3rd party SaaS. You can use email/password login there. What do you expect and why it is sad?
  - esafak 3y ago
    What would you have preferred?
neonnomad 3y ago
I'm not sure why you think this just because they don't support Linux yet. They have a few core key products such as Mail, Calendar, Drive, VPN and Pass. All of these are great for a Google Workspace convert. Adding Notes to that makes perfect sense as I want my Notes secured end to end and as a Voyager subscriber I'm really happy they are going down this path and it seems right in their wheelhouse. To address your Proton Drive comment directly, they are a small team and they are rolling out Web, iOS, Android, Windows and Mac. The most common platforms today which is what they should focus on. Android already has photo backup, iOS it's in beta. They are continually having new releases for all of these products and you can see that on /r/ProtonDrive. Saying they have abandoned these products or don't care about them is hyperbole. Is it taking longer than I would like, sure, do I want them to release a Public API for Drive (for rclone) and a Linux client, absolutely but lets give teams the benefit of the doubt.
- tailspin2019 3y ago
  > iOS it's in beta And was last updated 9 months ago. I'm still paying for it but have had to switch back to using Tresorit while I wait for them to update it.
  - protonprivacy 3y ago
    An update to the iOS app is coming soon, thanks for your patience!
    - 35803288 3y ago
      Please, stop writing “soon”. It’s become a bad joke at this point.
  - neonnomad 3y ago
    * Android version was last updated April 10 2024. * iOS has had some issues, I actually had to remove myself from the TestFlight due to a bug but it is actively being worked on (the beta version). I'm assuming they are waiting on the iOS beta to be stable before another release but I'm not part of the team. * Proton Drive for Mac was last updated March 29th. Just because a team is having an issue with one piece of their software doesn't mean it's abandoned or unsupported. Again, there is a lot of hyperbole here.
    - tailspin2019 3y ago
      > doesn't mean it's abandoned or unsupported I didn't use those words though. I just stated that I have switched to a competing product which is more feature complete. > Proton Drive for Mac was last updated March 29th. I switched back to Tresorit due to the lack of comparable features on the Mac app too. And Tresorit is not exactly packed with features. We can debate dates and details but there is a reason why the comment you originally responded to is the top voted comment for this article. Do you work for Proton?
- coldtea 3y ago
  >I'm not sure why you think this just because they don't support Linux yet He doesn't think it just because of that, this is just an example. That they had spread too thin with different products is a fact. I got interested in them for mail, and I could undertand them having a few more things, but the constant expansion worries me too. Even worse if they amass a portfolio just to look nice to get sold and folded into some monstrocity like Google. >They have a few core key products such as Mail, Calendar, Drive, VPN and Pass Even those, do these sound as "few core key products"? Those are already a lot for a company like that (as you said, " they are a small team"). Especially when they keep adding other stuff too, like Notes now.
blackeyeblitzar 3y ago
I think notes are something their privacy oriented customers have been asking for. It’s not just an arbitrary thing. Personally I would like more such products from them, like an end to end encrypted office suite.
tailspin2019 3y ago
Completely agree. I'm a longstanding paying customer and general supporter of Proton and it has been very clear for a long time that their attention is being spread too thin. The more recently launched products are not really feature complete in many ways and some go months without updates. Email is great, I'd still highly recommend it. But I wish they would restrict their WIP and focus on fewer things (for their own sake). Edit: to balance out my negativity a bit - I REALLY recommend Proton for email, to home users and business users alike. It's rock solid and the iOS app is extremely good too. It's also very clear to me that the Proton team work extremely hard, and listen to feedback. But my concerns about a perceived lack of focus still stand!
iowemoretohim 3y ago
What's the ETA for the Google Drive Linux client?
- grepexdev 3y ago
  Zinger! Thanks for the laugh
- mstkllah 3y ago
  Soon™
protonprivacy 3y ago
Hi there, Proton is backed by subscribers rather than VC investors, advertisers and selling data to third-parties. Both SimpleLogin and Standard Notes are open source community-driven projects, and for more on what makes Proton different, see: https://proton.me/blog/sustaining-mission-over-time https://proton.me/blog/sustaining-mission-over-time
- WhatsName 3y ago
  Is this a automated bot response? The main critique of the parent comment isn't that Proton engaging in many project, because of investors/ad revenue, but the act of doing so. I'm a active Protonmail subscriber too, who downgraded to the mail business plan, because I too want Proton to focus on their core business and not engage in becoming a clone of Microsoft 365. There used to be a regular vote on what users are mainly interested in. Maybe I missed it, but I too think that the risk of engaging in too many ventures will be the ultimate downfall. One last argument is, that hosting files and text and whatever is planned in the future weakens the legal ground to protect user privacy, as the (legal and technical) attack surface of hosting services is greater than just end-to-end encrypted email.
  - blackeyeblitzar 3y ago
    Looking at other responses posted by that account, I think they might be a bot or just pasting AI-generated responses. That said, I think privacy oriented people are desperate for exactly what you said you don’t want - a Microsoft 365 equivalent that is privacy oriented. I’d be willing to pay for it personally, and don’t think it automatically follows that launching a new product makes existing ones worse. Maybe they’ll get a lot more users that purchase the overall bundle and help them fund all these ventures better than ever before.
    - jddj 3y ago
      I think you're right, and it's an angle that it seemed like Mozilla were taking too, though they seem to have lost interest since.
    - 3y ago

by butz 3y ago

esafak 3y ago

Provide feedback here: https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/932839-proton-drive https://protonmail.uservoice.com/forums/932839-proton-drive

butz 3y ago
So, "Linux Client" for Proton Drive is 2nd most voted request. I need to log in to vote. Guess what are two top options to login... Facebook and Google. This is really sad.
- ivan_gammel 3y ago
  I don’t really understand the point of your comment. Uservoice is a 3rd party SaaS. You can use email/password login there. What do you expect and why it is sad?
- esafak 3y ago
  What would you have preferred?

neonnomad 3y ago

I'm not sure why you think this just because they don't support Linux yet. They have a few core key products such as Mail, Calendar, Drive, VPN and Pass. All of these are great for a Google Workspace convert. Adding Notes to that makes perfect sense as I want my Notes secured end to end and as a Voyager subscriber I'm really happy they are going down this path and it seems right in their wheelhouse. To address your Proton Drive comment directly, they are a small team and they are rolling out Web, iOS, Android, Windows and Mac. The most common platforms today which is what they should focus on. Android already has photo backup, iOS it's in beta. They are continually having new releases for all of these products and you can see that on /r/ProtonDrive. Saying they have abandoned these products or don't care about them is hyperbole. Is it taking longer than I would like, sure, do I want them to release a Public API for Drive (for rclone) and a Linux client, absolutely but lets give teams the benefit of the doubt.

tailspin2019 3y ago
> iOS it's in beta And was last updated 9 months ago. I'm still paying for it but have had to switch back to using Tresorit while I wait for them to update it.
- protonprivacy 3y ago
  An update to the iOS app is coming soon, thanks for your patience!
  - 35803288 3y ago
    Please, stop writing “soon”. It’s become a bad joke at this point.
- neonnomad 3y ago
  * Android version was last updated April 10 2024. * iOS has had some issues, I actually had to remove myself from the TestFlight due to a bug but it is actively being worked on (the beta version). I'm assuming they are waiting on the iOS beta to be stable before another release but I'm not part of the team. * Proton Drive for Mac was last updated March 29th. Just because a team is having an issue with one piece of their software doesn't mean it's abandoned or unsupported. Again, there is a lot of hyperbole here.
  - tailspin2019 3y ago
    > doesn't mean it's abandoned or unsupported I didn't use those words though. I just stated that I have switched to a competing product which is more feature complete. > Proton Drive for Mac was last updated March 29th. I switched back to Tresorit due to the lack of comparable features on the Mac app too. And Tresorit is not exactly packed with features. We can debate dates and details but there is a reason why the comment you originally responded to is the top voted comment for this article. Do you work for Proton?
coldtea 3y ago
>I'm not sure why you think this just because they don't support Linux yet He doesn't think it just because of that, this is just an example. That they had spread too thin with different products is a fact. I got interested in them for mail, and I could undertand them having a few more things, but the constant expansion worries me too. Even worse if they amass a portfolio just to look nice to get sold and folded into some monstrocity like Google. >They have a few core key products such as Mail, Calendar, Drive, VPN and Pass Even those, do these sound as "few core key products"? Those are already a lot for a company like that (as you said, " they are a small team"). Especially when they keep adding other stuff too, like Notes now.

blackeyeblitzar 3y ago

I think notes are something their privacy oriented customers have been asking for. It’s not just an arbitrary thing. Personally I would like more such products from them, like an end to end encrypted office suite.

tailspin2019 3y ago

Completely agree. I'm a longstanding paying customer and general supporter of Proton and it has been very clear for a long time that their attention is being spread too thin. The more recently launched products are not really feature complete in many ways and some go months without updates. Email is great, I'd still highly recommend it. But I wish they would restrict their WIP and focus on fewer things (for their own sake). Edit: to balance out my negativity a bit - I REALLY recommend Proton for email, to home users and business users alike. It's rock solid and the iOS app is extremely good too. It's also very clear to me that the Proton team work extremely hard, and listen to feedback. But my concerns about a perceived lack of focus still stand!

iowemoretohim 3y ago

What's the ETA for the Google Drive Linux client?

grepexdev 3y ago
Zinger! Thanks for the laugh
mstkllah 3y ago
Soon™

protonprivacy 3y ago

Hi there, Proton is backed by subscribers rather than VC investors, advertisers and selling data to third-parties. Both SimpleLogin and Standard Notes are open source community-driven projects, and for more on what makes Proton different, see: https://proton.me/blog/sustaining-mission-over-time https://proton.me/blog/sustaining-mission-over-time

WhatsName 3y ago
Is this a automated bot response? The main critique of the parent comment isn't that Proton engaging in many project, because of investors/ad revenue, but the act of doing so. I'm a active Protonmail subscriber too, who downgraded to the mail business plan, because I too want Proton to focus on their core business and not engage in becoming a clone of Microsoft 365. There used to be a regular vote on what users are mainly interested in. Maybe I missed it, but I too think that the risk of engaging in too many ventures will be the ultimate downfall. One last argument is, that hosting files and text and whatever is planned in the future weakens the legal ground to protect user privacy, as the (legal and technical) attack surface of hosting services is greater than just end-to-end encrypted email.
- blackeyeblitzar 3y ago
  Looking at other responses posted by that account, I think they might be a bot or just pasting AI-generated responses. That said, I think privacy oriented people are desperate for exactly what you said you don’t want - a Microsoft 365 equivalent that is privacy oriented. I’d be willing to pay for it personally, and don’t think it automatically follows that launching a new product makes existing ones worse. Maybe they’ll get a lot more users that purchase the overall bundle and help them fund all these ventures better than ever before.
  - jddj 3y ago
    I think you're right, and it's an angle that it seemed like Mozilla were taking too, though they seem to have lost interest since.
  - 3y ago