Post by @enki_2931@mastodon.uno
So here’s the thing. My entire life is on Proton: email, calendar, documents, VPN, all my passwords, all my ID, all my important data.
My annual subscription is up at the end of January.
If they don’t oust Andy Yen by then, I’m out. The question is where?
Infomaniak seems to offer most of what Proton does but they also use AI.
What other options are there? I’m seeing people suggesting email alternatives. But I need a whole lot more than that.
@clacksee For the email + calendar side, Tuta (formerly Tutanota, German, open-source) is solid: end-to-end encrypted email, calendar, and contacts, all encrypted by default. If you want something broader with a drive too, Infomaniak kSuite is a Swiss alternative — email, calendar, drive, contacts, videoconferencing.
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@enki_2931
I’ve been looking at @infomaniak_network . They have almost everything I need. But they do AI too. I don’t want to move and then have to move again.
@clacksee @infomaniak_network Fair concern. From what I've seen, Infomaniak's approach to AI is quite different from Proton's. Euria (their AI assistant) is opt-in — it doesn't scan your emails or data unless you explicitly ask it to help you write something. They've been vocal about being anti-surveillance and pro-privacy from the start, and their whole business model is built on not monetising user data. That said, I can't guarantee they won't change direction in 5 years. Nobody can.
@clacksee @infomaniak_network But right now they seem to be doing the opposite of what Proton is doing — growing slowly, staying independent, no VC money pushing them to scale at all costs.
@clacksee @infomaniak_network Something that's been nagging me about Proton: why is a Swiss company so obsessed with US politics? Their CEO publicly praised Trump's antitrust nominee on X — "Great pick" — then Proton published a statement saying "we must always be politically neutral". Privacy isn't left or right. It's technical. It's universal. You don't need to take a side in American politics to implement end-to-end encryption.
@clacksee @infomaniak_network That post was the crack in the wall for me. Not the AI issue — that came later. But watching a Swiss privacy company look so hard at Washington made me ask: why? What's the angle? Marketing to US users? Positioning for whoever's in power? I don't know. But neutrality isn't something you declare in a press release after making a political post. You practise it. Every day. In every line of code.
@globcoco True, Infomaniak does use AI, but in a completely different way from Proton: it’s optional, hosted only in Switzerland, and not used for training. If you’d rather avoid it altogether, Tuta has publicly stated that it won’t add cloud-based AI to its email client, and as far as I know the same goes for Tuta Drive. Posteo, as far as I know, doesn’t offer any AI features either. As for cloud storage, it depends on what you need.
Eurio is not opt out. It is very much present.
And does weird thing (like a blob appears and blocks everything)...
I have been with them for 10 years now.
@globcoco Honestly I might have this wrong, I only use Infomaniak for SwissTransfer and kPaste, nothing that needs an account. I’d been wanting to leave Proton for a while because it kept cosying up to US politics, and when all this blew up I had a read through Infomaniak’s docs. They say Euria is optional, runs in Switzerland and isn’t used for training, and that you can switch the assistant off in Mail and kDrive.
I use email, calendar, kdrive, I have my domains there and I used to use Kmeet too.
I don't see how Eurio is opt out.
I really feel AI is a big part in their business now so even if they say that (Proton did too), not sure anymore that it is trustworthy
@globcoco No idea if that gets rid of that pop-up though, and after ten years you know it far better than I do. I’m moving my important stuff to Posteo (account’s open, cash goes in the post this afternoon) and I’ve been on Tuta for ages and love it. As far as I know neither has AI, so they might be worth a look if Euria keeps getting in your way.
@globcoco I don’t use a cloud myself, as I run my own NAS at home, and even an older PC can do the job. If you’d rather use a service, Tuta Drive, Filen and Ente Photos (for photos only) are all end-to-end encrypted. Ente’s AI features run only on your device and are optional, and Filen, as far as I know, has none. Everyone’s needs are different, so it’s worth checking what suits yours.
@enki_2931 @clacksee I’ve been seeing a lot of posts saying “oh no not Tuta too!”, none of which say what Tuta did, but I gather they’ve done something to drive people away as well
@ShadSterling @clacksee I haven’t heard anything about this, so I can’t say what it’s about. I did my research before opening my account, and I went by what Tuta officially states: no ads, no AI, no tracking. I’ve been using it for a good while and haven’t had any problems myself. If you know of something specific, do share it, I’d be interested to see it.
https://x.com/TutaPrivacy/status/1936430908489531810
https://tuta.com/blog/no-ai-email
@enki_2931 @clacksee looks like Tuta has started using LLMs to generate their code. And Fastmail has started enabling “AI” integrations, as well as union-busting.