How Do I get the Latest Proton Mail Android without Google Play store? Plus Proton software frustrations

Privacy Questions
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What is currently the most convenient way for me to get Proton Mail on Android with update notifications? Is someone mirroring their github release on an Fdroid repo? Are they even released their client on github anymore? Is it even open source anymore? I know they kept saying they made a new one. Something something Obtanium is maybe viable? I’ve been out of the loop still using the old one for several months, so anyone who has a good setup please let me know.

I’ve become increasingly disgusted with how Proton handles their software. For Desktop, They constantly push you to use arbitrary js apps instead of signed code with released apps. It’s inconvenient and not as secure (mostly as a MITM concern, not because I expect malicious code directly from Proton).

Then there is the android apps deal. Oh boy this one has brought me to tears. there are a couple of their apps on F-Droid but only because the community pushed them. Proton STILL will not stand up an F-Droid repo or get into the official Fdroid repo, and still points people to Google Play. Yet bashes Google for being evil. Tutanota has their email client on F-Droid, why not Proton? This baffles me to no end. Can someone explain this?

Literally the only reason I use Proton still is because they are still better than the others in some ways, and it’s not enough for me go through the nightmare of switching yet. But generally I’m so fed up of this attitude that Proton has about their software.

I’m scared to even recommend people to use Proton anymore these days because it’s inconvenient as hell and makes me look like a buffoon to tell them to download from Google Play after I just gave them a spiel about privacy.

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Obtainium and ‘GitHub - ProtonMail/android-mail: Proton Mail Android app’

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I get the apps from here https://protonapps.com/. Click on “download apk” for whichever app you want, a new page will load, add that url to Obtainium.

So far, I’ve added Mail and Pass to Obtainium.

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@privacy3765 @LukewarmNinja thank you both.

I have one more question if you or anyone else knows the answer. Does the github or protonapps release have any difference to the Google Play release? Does it remove google dependencies? or am I forced to have google running on my phone to use proton mail

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There is no need to have any google on your phone to run the Protonmail app. It works fine without Play Store or Play Services etc. However the mail notifications service functions using Google Firebase and sends out regular pings to their servers.

Let me be clear here, the pings to Firebase take place even if notifications are switched off in the app and there are no google services on the phone (Grapheneos for example). This behaviour cannot be switched off in the app as it is embedded in the code.

Make of it what you will.

This information came from a long discussion thread on the GrapheneOS forum

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That’s so very sad. Thanks very much for the link.

Do you or anyone else know of a way to use a third party email client for proton on Android?

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You’d be surprised at how many things rely on Google.

I use uBO hard mode. I’d say for a good 30% of my browsing (if not more), I have to enable google scripts because of recatpcha. Even official stuff like governments based confidential websites use google. Kind of crazy and hard to avoid.

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Google is only required for push notifications.
According to the mods of the Protonmail subreddit - Proton encrypts the notifications so Google can’t read any content.

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Can’t help with any other convenient options as an alternative to their app. I just log into my Proton account on my browser (Vanadium). I can live without the notifications feature