You may have heard about ProtonMail's legally justified IP log case in recent news, if not, I wrote about it here
I think the problem starts when people decide not to read the privacy policy which is sent automatically during the signup process as well as being clearly available on their website. The old Privacy policy effective 16 Nov 2015 was updated on 06.09.21
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>I would respectfully disagree on this. This is disclosed on Proton's privacy policy, threat model, and transparency report, which are linked from every single page of the website. It is also included in the welcome email sent to every ProtonMail user.
— Andy Yen (@andyyen) September 6, 2021
The difference between ProtonMail and Proton VPN is that under Swiss law VPN companies CANNOT log IP addresses and traffic while connected through a tunnel but IF passed by the Swiss canton court of Geneva or a Swiss federal court, they can be forced to turn on logging after a subpoena has been served. Despite this ProtonMail remains one of, if not thee most secure email provider in the world because of the unique laws Switzerland has regarding privacy.
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Proton must comply with Swiss law. As soon as a crime is committed, privacy protections can be suspended and we're required by Swiss law to answer requests from Swiss authorities.
— Andy Yen (@andyyen) September 5, 2021
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Did you actually read the privacy policy, though? Because there is a section in their called Data Disclosure, which explicitly states that ProtonMail must comply with Swiss law enforcement if given a legally binding order.
— Andy Yen (@andyyen) September 6, 2021
If this had happened in any other country within the EU, UK, Asia, Australia, or US the outcome would've been a lot different.
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>For your privacy, ProtonVPN has a strict no-logs policy which was successfully tested in a 2019 legal case. Under Swiss law, there’s also currently no way to force ProtonVPN to start logging. You can learn more here: https://t.co/IHo1Aavlh3
— ProtonVPN (@ProtonVPN) September 29, 2021