The CEO of Proton (Andy Yen) answers all your questions!

The CEO of Proton (Andy Yen) answers all your questions!

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Episode description

At the end of November, I asked the community on mastodon to send me all their questions about Proton Mail, Drive, VPN, Pass, their features, their privacy, and their security.

I compiled all of these, and interviewed Andy Yen, the CEO of Proton. I couldn’t ask ALL of the questions, since there were 130 non-duplicates, but over the course of 1h30, we still managed to cover a lot of ground.

So, here is the full interview (also available as a video on the Youtube channel if you prefer that).

00:00 Intro 2:11 How did Proton start? 4:18 Why start with email? 6:57 What is Proton’s business model? 9:28 Why set up in Switzerland? 12:28 What data do you have on customers? 15:33 How is encryption important? 19:14 Do you always need to use a VPN? 21:41 Why focus on building an ecosystem? 25:50 Is an Office Suite planned? 27:23 What differentiates Proton from competitors? 31:20 Is Proton a viable alternative to big tech services? 34:26 Why expand to more products instead of finishing existing ones? 38:14 Does the general public care about privacy? 39:40 What’s next for Proton services? 41:02 What are the plans for native Linux clients? 46:57 Will ProtonVPN offer dedicated IPs to everyone? 48:41 What’s the environmental impact of Proton? 50:21 Proton on F-Droid, without Google Play notifications? 52:57 Why are code repos all separated and hard to find? 54:06 Why are addresses ending in “.me” ? 55:51 When will all apps reach feature parity? 57:18 Will SMTP relay be supported? 58:41 Will Proton focus more on businesses in the future? 1:00:44 Why put all your eggs in one basket with just Proton services? 1:02:18 Will Proton support passkeys? 1:04:16 Does E2E matter is the recipient isn’t using it? 1:05:44 Will Proton disable port forwarding in VPN? 1:07:35 Is encryption enough to make email private? 1:10:01 What protects users from a change in Proton’s code licensing? 1:12:08 How does Proton protect its infrastructure? 1:14:09 Impacts of Quantum Computing on privacy and security? 1:15:19 What’s the future of Proton Bridge? 1:17:19 When will Proton photos be a thing? 1:18:11 Plans for Proton Notes? 1:19:14 Will VPN support the Apple TV? 1:22:07 Support the show

0:00Intro
2:11How did Proton start?
4:18Why start with email?
6:57What is Proton's business model?
9:28Why set up in Switzerland?
12:28What data do you have on customers?
15:33How is encryption important?
19:14Do you always need to use a VPN?
21:41Why focus on building an ecosystem?
25:50Is an Office Suite planned?
27:23What differentiates Proton from competitors?
31:20Is Proton a viable alternative to big tech services?
34:26Why expand to more products instead of finishing existing ones?
38:14Does the general public care about privacy?
39:40What's next for Proton services?
41:02What are the plans for native Linux clients?
46:57Will ProtonVPN offer dedicated IPs to everyone?
48:41What's the environmental impact of Proton?
50:21Proton on F-Droid, without Google Play notifications?
52:57Why are code repos all separated and hard to find?
54:06Why are addresses ending in .me?
55:51When will all apps reach feature parity?
57:18Will SMTP relay be supported?
58:41Will Proton focus more on businesses in the future?
1:00:44Why put all your eggs in one basket with just Proton services?
1:02:18Will Proton support passkeys?
1:04:16Does E2E matter is the recipient isn't using it?
1:05:44Will Proton disable port forwarding in VPN?
1:07:35Is encryption enough to make email private?
1:10:01What protects users from a change in Proton's code licensing?
1:12:08How does Proton protect its infrastructure?
1:14:09Impacts of Quantum Computing on privacy and security?
1:15:19What's the future of Proton Bridge?
1:17:19Will SMTP relay be supported?
1:18:11Plans for Proton Notes?
1:19:14Will VPN support the Apple TV?
1:22:07Support the show