diff --git a/config.toml b/config.toml index b5aeaa1..040be7f 100644 --- a/config.toml +++ b/config.toml @@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ pygmentsCodeFencesGuessSyntax = true enableEmoji = true [taxonomies] - category = "categories" series = "series" tag = "tags" author = "authors" diff --git a/content/posts.md b/content/posts.md deleted file mode 100644 index 454153d..0000000 --- a/content/posts.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5 +0,0 @@ ---- -title: "Blog" ---- - -This page is quite empty, huh? [Return home](/). \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/content/posts/why-i-switched-from-proton-mail.md b/content/posts/why-i-switched-from-proton-mail.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f7768ea --- /dev/null +++ b/content/posts/why-i-switched-from-proton-mail.md @@ -0,0 +1,103 @@ ++++ +draft = false +date = 2022-05-29T16:10:46+02:00 +title = "Why I Switched From Proton Mail" +description = "This blog post explains why I chose to switch away from Proton Mail." +slug = "email-provider-switch" +authors = ["Sam Al-Sapti"] +tags = ["centralization", "cryptography", "email", "pgp"] +series = [] ++++ + +I wanted to write this blog post (and by the way, this is my first) to +shed some light on my recent choice of email provider. You see, Proton +Mail is a great email service, and I've used them for years. but it just +doesn't fit my needs anymore. This is due to a number of reasons, but it +is primarily due to some issues with external PGP handling (I'll talk +more about this later on) and their recent change of direction. + +# Centralization and Proton's new direction + +One of the main reasons I chose to switch, is the new direction Proton +is going. Recently, they've revamped all of their products and their +website, to make it more clear that both Proton Mail, Proton VPN, Proton +Calendar and Proton Drive is under the same family/suite (notice how +there's a space now in their product names, that's one of the changes). +All of this is great for many reasons, now it actually feels like an +alternative all-in-one solution to something like Google's, and I'm sure +this will benefit them in the long run and appeal to more people. A lot +of people like these kinds of ecosystems, because it usually increses +ease of use and convenience. In fact, this change now allows Proton to +more clearly integrate their products together. For example, you can now +easily send large attachments via emails, by letting Proton Mail +automatically upload the file to Proton Drive and send a share link in +the email, instead of attaching it in the email itself. All of the +changes are outlined in +[this article](https://proton.me/news/updated-proton) by Proton's CEO, +Andy Yen. + +Personally though, this does not appeal to me. I'm not a fan of +ecosystems and having all my eggs in one basket, and I'm a huge fan of +self-hosting. You see, I'm a big proponent of decentralization. One +aspect of decentralization is to not have everything in one place, when +you don't control that place. For example, I wouldn't have both my +email, calendar, contacts and cloud storage with Google, and neither +would I with Proton. Instead, I self-host my cloud storage, calendar, +contacts, to-do lists, and notes with the help of +[Nextcloud](https://nextcloud.com) at home on a Raspberry Pi. This way, +even though it's all in one place, I'm the one in control of the server +hosting it and what happens with it. + +I can definitely see why Proton chose to go in this direction, and I +fully support them. But they should also expect, and I'm sure they did, +that some of their customers wouldn't want this change of direction. I +have nothing against Proton as a company, but having my digital life +centralized with one company is just not my cup of tea. + +# The way Proton Mail handles PGP + +Proton Mail offers zero-access encryption of your inbox, meaning all of +your emails are ecrypted, and only you have access to read them after +unlocking them with your password. Behind the scenes, this works by each +customer having a PGP key pair stored on their servers, with the private +key encrypted by the customer's password. This means that not even +Proton themselves can read your emails, and this is great for privacy. + +PGP has been a standard for email encryption for many years, and it's +widely used for sensitive communication via email. Proton has taken PGP +and integrated it into their email service, automatically providing +end-to-end encrypted emails between Proton Mail users (it also works +with other email providers, but it requires some setup by the +communicating parties). The thing is though, that you're not in control +of the private PGP key when using Proton Mail's PGP integration. Even +though it is encrypted on their servers, and only you can decrypt it, I +want to be in control of my private key myself. This also relates to the +centralization problem I described above. By using Proton Mail, I +entrust my email security with a central entity. + +This one is more on the technical side of things. I've had some not so +great experiences when trying to use my own PGP key on top of Proton +Mail's encryption. For example, my signatures wouldn't be recognized by +the recipient's email client due to the second layer of encryption that +is Proton Mail's PGP integration. Because I want to use my own PGP key, +that I'm in control of, this doesn't work for me. + +# Conclusion + +With all that said, I want to end this blog post by saying this: Don't +go ahead and delete your Proton account solely based on what I'm saying. +This is my own personal opinion. If you're someone who's not very +technical and/or are satisfied with what Proton is offering, then stay. +I'm not here to trash talk Proton and tell everyone to abandon them. I +think Proton offers some great privacy preserving services, and their +line of products is perfectly suitable for a lot of people, and their +work is important in the privacy world. I'm just someone who's a bit +more technical than the average person, and because of that, Proton Mail +is just not a fit for me personally. For the average person, Proton is +fantastic, and I can only recommend them if you're wondering which +email, VPN, calendar or cloud storage provider to use. + +You might be asking, what am I using now then? I'm now a happy customer +over at [mailbox.org](https://mailbox.org), and if you're like me, you +should totally check them out. If not, go ahead and keep your Proton +account (you have one, right?). \ No newline at end of file