Thinking of purchasing Proton Unlimited—Is it a good decision in terms of privacy?

Questions
1

Hey everyone, this topic might have been asked previously, but I kindly request you to read the entire post. In short, I’ve realized that I might have to use multiple Proton services, so I’m considering whether I should go with Proton Unlimited instead of buying paid plans separately for each service.

This story began last year when I decided to settle on specific services instead of using multiple services from one category. I started finalizing the services for which I might purchase paid plans. In this journey, I noticed that I’m using multiple services from Proton, although I’m using different Proton accounts for each of these services.

The Proton services I’m using and the reasons for not switching to alternatives are as follows:

ProtonMail - No doubt, it’s the most improved privacy-focused mail service, and I’m actively using it. I’m also using Tuta Mail alongside it, but the mobile app of ProtonMail is much more polished than the Tuta app. That’s why I prefer the Proton app most of the time. However, I don’t need any of the paid features of ProtonMail.

Proton Pass - I was a paid user of Bitwarden, but over time, I didn’t notice any major improvements. Additionally, I wasn’t storing 2FA keys in Bitwarden, so the paid plan was not worth it for me. The autofill function sometimes doesn’t work; it doesn’t recognize most mobile apps, so it doesn’t suggest login credentials, and card information has never filled out automatically. I have to manually enter all the details. So, I decided to shift to a good password manager. Until last month, I was inclined to go with 1Password, but due to the recent price hike, I wonder if 1Password might lose a significant number of users and be kicked out of the top 3 position for password managers. I recently learned that both Bitwarden and 1Password are VC-funded, which I think could negatively impact user privacy in the future. In contrast, Proton isn’t VC-funded, which draws my attention toward Proton Pass.

Proton Authenticator - I’m already using Ente Photos, so I don’t want to use the same account for storing my 2FA keys. However, it’s not absolutely necessary to use Proton Authenticator over Ente Auth; I can use a separate account for Ente Auth. Proton Authenticator is a new product in the market, so I decided to try it out.

Proton Drive - Other than Filen and Proton Pass, I don’t know of any other cloud storage that offers client-side encryption for their entire cloud storage (not just for vaults). I don’t consider Tresorit as a privacy-focused cloud storage due to the involvement of the Swiss government. As of now, I still don’t trust Filen completely; they need to operate for the next 2-3 years before I can store my data there. Moreover, the new Filen Android app doesn’t support Android 13 devices. I agree that’s a pretty old version, but my device is still working fine, so I keep it as a secondary device. Thus, my last option left is Proton Drive.

Proton VPN - Mullvad and Proton are the two most privacy-focused options in the VPN market. I’ve tested both. Unfortunately, Mullvad doesn’t provide any regional IP addresses for my country, while Proton has virtual servers available. That’s why I couldn’t access regional content and websites with Mullvad VPN. So, Proton VPN is the only option for me.

The Proton services where I’ll never switch to:

SimpleLogin - It might be a good email aliasing service, but I’ve been using Addy for more than three years. It would be nearly impossible for me to change the email aliases from every website where I’ve used Addy, so I have no plans to switch to SimpleLogin, even if I purchase the Proton Unlimited plan.

Standard Notes - I consider it a great cloud-based encrypted notes app, far better than its competitors. However, their paid plan is too overpriced, so I switched to Notesnook a long time ago. There are many important notes saved in my Notesnook account, and I don’t want to mess around by shifting to a new service.

Except for the mentioned services, all other Proton services are optional. My workplace still depends entirely on Google, so Proton Sheets and Proton Docs might not be useful for my professional use. I don’t rely on any calendar app, so Proton Calendar is also not necessary.

My concern:

Ecosystem functionality - I’m always opposed to putting all eggs in one basket. Ecosystem functionality reminds me of the old days when I used one Google account for watching YouTube, saving documents in Drive, backing up photos to Google Photos, and purchasing paid apps from the Play Store. I always try to avoid making the same mistakes again. However, nowadays, every provider is focusing on building their own ecosystem of products, and there are very few providers in each category of services. So, in the end, we have to use multiple products from the same provider. A workable solution could be using separate accounts for different services from one provider, but I don’t think that’s a proper solution; it feels like running from the problem instead of facing it.

The annual paid plan for most of the Proton services (Mail, Pass, Drive) is starting from $48 USD, while the regional annual pricing for Proton Unlimited on the Play Store is around $56 USD. So, that’s more value for money. I might need to contact Proton support to ask if it’s possible to pay the same as the regional pricing when I purchase the plan from their website.

So, I want to know your opinion regarding this.

Should I go with the Proton Unlimited plan? Is it a good decision in terms of privacy?

2

If you care, it is important to note that having and using multiple Proton IDs for free is violating their ToS. You can of course use and pay for multiple services with multiple accounts.

It would usually be right. But not in these products case. What can happen is enshittification. But there won’t be an impact on users and their privacy. It’s literally why they exist so this is where they will draw the line. I say this with confidence seeing them over the years.

Peergos is another option. Check out PG recommendations.

They are Swiss Post funded, as I understand. This makes it a Swiss Government product. There is no involvement. It’s theirs. But your equivalency should not by default be considered the case for discounting something.

Does even Google support it anymore?

It is never advised to keep using unsupported OS. I don’t know if it’s being supported still but if it’s not, just because something bad has not happened yet doesn’t mean it can’t happen anytime - especially on unsupported hardware.

Also consider pairing any cloud storage of your choice with Cryptomator. It’s practically the same thing but could end up being cheaper. But simply getting and using Proton Drive is simpler for sure.

IVPN is another one. Again, check PG recommendations.

You can’t do that on Mullvad anyway. Streaming support is not what Mullvad actively provides. ProtonVPN is indeed the best option for you here if this is needed.

The best way to get most out of your money and not break their ToS is to buy Proton Unlimited and use it as much as you can for everything. It definitely provides enough value for all that you get - if you’re using almost all their services that is. If not, then you may want to approach your privacy toolkit from a fragmented independent manner using different tool for each product.

Yes, and yes.

Like I said, it depends on how much and the type of commitment you’re willing to make to buy the 12 or 24 month Unlimited plan for the great price/value (if you’re using it all and enough).

You’ll see people here have all kinds of opinions on this. Many would not put their eggs in one basket but that’s where you end up with cost savings, convenience, and value. So - it comes down to your preference, usage, affordability, and convenience you want to have or not.

3

I’d say yes—it’s probably the best value. If you had to pay different providers for all of these services, it would cost you a lot more, and the overall experience would likely be less smooth.

That said, if you have money “burning a hole in your pocket,” diversification is wise. It’s always a good idea to spread your investments, but if your threat model isn’t particularly high, you might consider sticking with Proton. Any extra savings could even be donated to Privacy Guides. Just a thought.

4

This is what it comes down too. If this is more important then cost then there are individual tools that are better then each of the tools you have a need for but, if cost is more important it is very difficult to find 3 tools as good as what Proton offers for the price of Unlimited.

Personally I don’t find the “eggs-in-one basket” concern very compelling. If you trust Protons security measures it should not matter. Also, since you use a password manager most of your eggs are in one basket anyway.

5

As a Proton Unlimited user, commenting to flag this thread for myself to review later.

7

Please search the forum for existing topics!!

And many many more. No need to create new ones. Thanks.