I think this is a fantastic idea, but like 1Password’s Emergency access feature, it has some major flaws.
1. YOUR TRUSTEES NEED TO HAVE A PROTON ACCOUNT
IMO, this is stupid.
That is not realistic to real-world situations when you’re in the thick of real tragedies.
The people you trust the most are not necessarily going to have a Proton account. Even if you manage to convince your loved ones to create a Proton address for this purpose, if they are not privacy conscious, there’s a good chance they won’t use their account.
I created Proton addresses for some of my family members years ago, and they don’t use them. If they got an email at their Proton address, it would take them a long time to notice, if they notice at all.
The people I trust shouldn’t have to have a Proton account to access my data.
2. NO SUPPORT FOR MULTI-SUBS OVERCOMPLICATES THE PROCESS
The fact that Proton doesn’t support multiple subscriptions under one Proton account overcomplicates the emergency access process.
For those who don’t know, if you are a paying subscriber to a single Proton product (Proton Mail Plus), Proton will not allow you to pay for another Proton service (Proton Pass Plus) under the same account.
Your only choices are either to upgrade to Proton Unlimited, which is more expensive, or create a 2nd Proton account for Proton Pass Plus, and end up with a subpar user experience.
Because of this very problem, I pay for 3 Proton subscriptions in 3 separate accounts, and it’s very frustrating.
That means that because I have 3ish paid Proton accounts, I have to create 3 emergency access protocols, which is stupid and makes things more complicated for my loved ones.
To me, it’s obvious that Proton does this out of greed. They are deliberately punishing people who don’t want to pay for Proton Unlimited or can’t afford it. I have asked them about it, and they have no plans to allow bundled subscriptions under the same account. It is a marketing decision. To me, it smacks of enshittification and a dark pattern.