this post was submitted on 12 May 2025
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Privacy
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Mullvad hasn’t yet shown themselves fed- friendly.
Proton has.
Mullvad is the answer.
Source please, we in the /privacy community genuinely want to learn so when such things do happen, we all benefit from factual information. Please do not assume we all know what you are referring to. It is particularly in this kind of cases when, for example with Signal what was "shared" with authorities is basically irrelevant, cf https://signal.org/bigbrother/ so we must be precise.
Proton has cooperated with subpoenas on multiple occasions leading to the user’s arrest.
While they may challenge them, the point is that they have cooperated and thus are not reliable. There are no reported cases of Mullvad doing the same.
There are ample links from multiple sources that describe this with a simple search.
That's because no one running a service will go to jail for you. None.
Not ProtonVPN, not Mullvad, not IVPN, not Lemmy Instances.
Imagine you run one of these, and you received a lawful order in your jurisdiction.
Turn over data or go to jail for a long time.
Would you go to jail to protect user privacy?
The only thing Proton does better is because they are under Swiss Jurisdiction, which has stricter control over when a court order can be issued. But if a court order goes to Proton, they can't ignore it.
Also: Protonmail =/= ProtonVPN, they are under different laws. In Switzerland, Mail providers have to provide IP addresses upon a subpoena, VPN providers do not. If those users had used ProtonVPN to access their Protonmail, they'd be safe.
To be fair, if your safety depends on whether a particular company cooperates with authorities, you'd better rethink your OPSEC.
My thinking is, if the CIA (or whatever country's equivalent) is on to you, it's pretty much jover.
Please do provide a link, especially if it's very easy to find. I'm not saying anything you say is wrong, only that if it's not an opinion, then a link from a trusted source helps other to understand the situation.
It's a somewhat convoluted story. Here are some links
The takeaway is when he logged into his Protonmail they logged his IP address which helped track this individual down. But note that Reddit thread I linked. I also cannot find that much information about "what happened next," or the details of who was arrested and why.
There may be other examples, but this particular case kinda hit the rounds back when it happened.
Excerpts from your third link https://www.wired.com/story/protonmail-amends-policy-after-giving-up-activists-data/
Proton did not voluntarily log IPs, they were under a lawful court order and were out of appeal options.
Like I said, no one running a service will go to jail for you. None.
Not ProtonVPN, not Mullvad, not IVPN, not Lemmy Instances.
If a legal court order is received, they will conply after they run out of appeals
Imagine you run one of these services, and you received a lawful order in your jurisdiction.
You can choose to turn over data or go to jail for a long time.
Would you go to jail to protect user privacy?
That's why its not only a company's privacy practices you need to worry about, but also the jurisdiction. Choose a service that's is in a privacy friendly jurisdiction.
Also, this is about Protonmail, which is under different laws than ProtonVPN.
When did Proton show themselves fed-friendly? Also what "fed" are we talking about? The Swiss Federation?
I guess he's referring to this
Proton's statement from the linked article