Proton Offered Me Money... Then It Got Weird

[fernweh]

@PurpleDime

I think it’s weird to suddenly ghost someone when you were actively in conversation with them for weeks. We don’t know for sure why Proton didn’t respond, but I think it’s fair to say that their timing was weird, and that it likely has something to do with THO declining a sponsorship.

Yes it is weird, but that does not mean Proton deliberately ignored THO. Another explanation could be that the department for sponsorships or whatever assigned the case to the CEO and it takes a while to be processed? That would still be bad communication, but no intentional ghosting.

@PurpleDime

I disagree. I’ve learned a ton from them and continue to do so. Having dedicated sources that exclusivement comment on privacy news is extremely useful.

@fernweh

I had the impression that Tech Lore’s research is reading news articles and talking about it (I can do that too, no need to watch a video about it), instead of questioning claims and auditing software himself.

I don’t think it’s as easy as you think it is. Most people don’t have the time to do that. Having one or more go to places to get your privacy news is very useful. And it’s absolutely not true that TechLore doesn’t bring any critical thinking to their commentary. They do it all the time.

I don’t know what you mean by auditing, but most people in the privacy or tech community are no professional auditors, including journalists who work for big tech publications. That is a specialized skill. But TechLore has reviewed and compared a lot of different services over the years, and they’ve done very well.

That’s the point. It is important that people you listen to know what they are talking about. Many journalists and YouTubers have no technical expertise and spread bullshit. I don’t care about random tech magazines that claim specific Android custom ROMs are secure and private, while experts examine the software and come to a different conclusion.

I wonder if Tech Lore verifies e2ee products he advertises have working encryption, or if he reads the press kit and superficially checks the reputation of the company online.