naibed
August 16, 2025, 3:51am
52
Since people are reevaluating the ethics of Proton, another questionable tactic that was waved away earlier this year was Proton using dark patterns to reduce telemetry opt out. No one seems to appreciate the irony of a pro-privacy company using these tactics.
I think that the ProtonVPN app (at least on Android) uses misleading/alarming terminology in two places:
when not connected to the VPN, the app displays “You are unprotected” in red color and with an icon representing an unlocked lock; while connecting to a VPN server the app says “Protecting your digital identity”; when connection has been established the app says “Protected” in green color and with an icon representing a locked lock. (What I described can also be seen in the screenshots of t…
Edit: The tactic is called ‘Privacy Zuckering’:
"Privacy Zuckering" – named after Facebook co-founder and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg – is a practice that tricks users into sharing more information than they intended to.[citation needed] Users may give up this information unknowingly or through practices that obscure or delay the option to opt out of sharing their private information.
California has approved regulations that limit this practice by businesses in the California Consumer Privacy Act.
In mid-2024, Meta Platforms announced...
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