Proton doesn't really support anonymous payments. Let's demand that they do

Privacy doesn’t equal anonymity. So I was curious about Proton’s marketing in terms of anonymity.

I stumbled upon this:

Proton – 26 May 23

How to send an anonymous email | Proton

Learn how to send an email as anonymously as possible using Proton Mail, SimpleLogin, and a VPN or Tor.

They do talk about anonymity. So I asked Lumo, their AI.

Here’s a summary, as I can’t copy/paste because of PG’s weird policy.

Being a paid customer at Proton significantly enhances your ability to use services anonymously, but it doesn’t automatically guarantee it on its own. True anonymity depends on how you set up your account and use the services.

It said that Proton allows you to create an account without providing personally identifiable information like your name, phone number, or recovery email. You can sign up using just a username and password.

It also said that, as a paid customer, you can maintain anonymity by using Proton’s supported anonymous payment options, such as:

• Cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin)
• Prepaid cards
• Cash (via certain partners)

It incorrectly stated that these methods avoid linking your payment to your real identity as PurpleDime correctly described and Bitcoin is not at all anonymous.

It finally had the good recommendations to avoid adding a recovery email or phone number, use email aliases (via SimpleLogin) to mask your real address and to be cautious with metadata in emails, files, or calendar events.

Ultimately, it said that absolute anonymity also depends on your own behavior and threat model and that Yes, you can use all Proton services anonymously as a paid customer , which as shown in this topic is wrong.

All that to say +1 to thread.