I've been using Proton's family of digital tools for a decade. I started back when all the company offered was Protonmail and stayed on with them as VPN, online storage, calendar and access to an encrypted word processor were added to what I get for my annual subscription fee.
I don't have much to hide these days, but I take a lot of comfort in the thought that prying eyes will have a much more difficult time doxxing me or demanding my data, as it's all protected by end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and zero-access encryption. That the company is based out of Switzerland, a nation with cybersecurity laws that favor user privacy? Win!
Right up to the point where you lose access to it all.
A few days ago, a new OnePlus 13 appeared on my doorstep. Nice phone. Good camera. As part of setting it up, I plopped all of the Proton apps I use onto the handset. I flicked open 1Password and retrieved my wicked-long credentials to access my Proton account. For whatever reason, the good folks at Proton decided that I was up to no good. Suspicious activity was detected. I would have to reset my password… in 72 hours. Until then, I wouldn't be allowed to access any of the data I entrust Proton with. What was suspicious about my throwing my credentials into a new piece of hardware? I have no idea.
As I write this, there are still 37 hours left on the clock before I can get at my files and email again. It was a little embarrassing having to tell my clients on LinkedIn and Signal what had happened and that I wouldn't be able to answer any emails until the weekend. More stressful than this is the fact that I would be missing new opportunities fired into my inbox. My finances rise and fall on the speed I'm able to respond to clients. There are thousands of other writers out there who'd love to have my gigs. An impatient editor might just give what was supposed to be mine to one of them.
You might think that this 72-hour hold on my digital life would be enough to make me look for a different way of doing things. But nah, I'm good. As much as it freaks me out to be missing out on the tools I most rely on for my work, in a world where governments and corporations want to be so far up your ass they can taste what you're eating for breakfast, I'm willing to trade inconvenience for security and privacy, even if it costs me a client or money.
Of course, I say this now, without having seen what messages are waiting for me at the end of the week.
