# Disappointment with PG teams handling of the "Remove ProtonVPN" post **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/disappointment-with-pg-teams-handling-of-the-remove-protonvpn-post/36171 **Category:** Meta **Tags:** other **Created:** 2026-03-10T23:43:59Z **Posts:** 33 **Showing post:** 8 of 33 ## Post 8 by @lyricism — 2026-03-11T00:33:57Z > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/319): > > we are not providing you with an SLA that demands we submit PRs within 24 hours What an odd strawman. To be clear, **my** issues are not so much with the time it took as the attitude of staff toward it. Like… Ignoring requests for an updated for weeks > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/137): > > is @jonah or [@staff](/groups/staff) going to respond to any of these VPN posts that came out during the holidays? It seems odd to let these issues of reccomendations possibly not meeting the criteria get buried. > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/141): > > Just hoping to get any sort of update about these issues. @jonah @nateb :slight_smile: Not taking any time to actually read the thread and getting well-established and oft repeated facts straight before either asking for the information when it’s already been provided or outright stating falsehoods > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/302): > > the question i still have is, is it really a fault of proton or apple? > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/305): > > amounts to a platform implementation issue with macOS/iOS (making it [Apple’s responsibility](https://protonvpn.com/support/macos-t2-chip-kill-switch)). (Note that the link above is for a clearly entirely unrelated issue) > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/312): > > That to me sounds like a platform issue in regard to not clearing out the routing table. > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/312): > > Its a limitation of the platform Or insinuating that the support in this thread for removing ProtonVPN is due to brigading > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/309): > > attention that new moderators of r/Privacy on Reddit encouraged new users 3 days ago to come here and brigade/disrupt this conversation To finally, long after the community has spent countless hours of their own time discussing and testing and confirming the issue, only have decisions be made by staff members acting entirely unilaterally > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/305): > > **We** are not removing Proton VPN > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/313): > > **my** testing: The community was ignored because a few members of staff disagreed with the clear consensus, and rather than engaging in the discussion, the community was sidelined and finally nearly shut down. * * * And now[[1]](#footnote-144214-1) they are continuing to sideline the community by imposing a 4 hour slow mode that doesn’t apply to themselves while they continue to post falsehoods in the pursuit of stopping the removal that we were led to believe was already in motion. This behavior is frankly **gross**. > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/327): > > Maybe pf will disappear in future versions of MacOS who knows, then we can remove all the VPN providers because they’ll have to use Network Extension. > > [TN3165: Packet Filter is not API | Apple Developer Documentation](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/technotes/tn3165-packet-filter-is-not-api#Moving-off-packet-filter) Nowhere in that article does it say that pf is going away. The reasoning behind their guidance is stated clearly > the PF rules you install might clash with those installed by: > > - The user > - macOS system services, either now or in the future > - Other third-party products This is also the case with iptables rules on Linux and I’m sure VPN app developers can handle those potential issues. If they don’t want to, they shouldn’t claim to have a functional kill switch on macOS. > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/329): > > it would make us lose more credibility, what we should be doing as a community is finding out exactly what is causing this with Network Extensions, and then not reporting it to the marketing department This issue has been reported to Proton. They don’t care, _and_ continue to push marketing that is false and portrays their product as if it doesn’t have this issue. > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/329): > > No software is perfect and that’s the world we live in. Let’s just recommend anything then. Get rid of the minimum criteria entirely. > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/331): > > Nobody managed to dig up that Apple technical notice ([TN3165](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/technotes/tn3165-packet-filter-is-not-api)) which actually points out very clearly `pf` is deprecated with wording like: > > > It is not considered API. **Do not use Packet Filter in a software product that you distribute to a wide audience**. If you’re currently shipping software that relies on Packet Filter, plan to migrate to [Network Extension](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/NetworkExtension). I don’t see why VPN providers are expected to just follow Apple’s advice if it makes their products inferior considering there’s been no indication pf is actually going away. Microsoft also wants you to use UWP on Windows. Many continue to use Win32 because UWP does not provide what they need, and it isn’t going to be removed any time soon. > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/332): > > pf will not be possible in the near future. Cite this if you are going to assert it please. I can not find any statement by Apple that they are planning to remove pf. It would be crazy if they did considering it’s what their own system services rely on under the hood. > [@Remove ProtonVPN](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/remove-protonvpn/33980/333): > > Was the expectation that a VPN made you anonymous from Apple themselves? You continue to fail to understand the issue. **Read the thread.** I am giving up. PG staff clearly have some reason causing them to look for any reason to keep Proton recommended. No other company would receive this treatment and we all know it. Why? I genuinely am at a loss. As I’ve said before, it’s their site, so fine, let them do what they want. I just wish they’d stop pretending they care about the community’s input while doing so. * * * 1. they seem to have reduced it very recently but it was 4 hours when I wrote this [↩︎](#footnote-ref-144214-1) --- _[View the full topic](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/disappointment-with-pg-teams-handling-of-the-remove-protonvpn-post/36171)._