I heard that they require plaintext data to work. What are the other factors to this?

  • Steve@communick.news
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    2 days ago

    Of course they have to keep some basic account data. And I think the last IP you logged in from. Also email data outside the BODY can’t be encrypted. That’s just how email works. So law enforcement can get all of that if they convince a Swiss court to order Proton.

    But no they don’t keep or turn over anything that isn’t technically required for the service to work. I don’t know what you’d expect.

    • sanzky@beehaw.org
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      2 days ago

      in that particular case the people involved were identified through their recovery email which they did not hash like ‘safe’ other providers do. they have positioned themselves as safe even for activist and journalists and have failed to deliver in that account consistently.

      no surprise since their CEO is a MAGA guy

      • TehPers@beehaw.org
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        2 days ago

        recovery email which they did not hash

        How do you recover an account on the other providers? Do you have to provide the same recovery email you set before during account recovery? If you hash the email, you have no way of reading it anymore, so someone has to provide it to you again.

        • sanzky@beehaw.org
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          2 days ago

          you ask the user for it if they want to recover the account and hash it. if the hash matches your previously stored hash then you send the email

          other providers that position themselves as secure for activists or journalists do exactly that and they cannot handle that information

        • Steve@communick.news
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          2 days ago

          That’s the only way I can imagine it working.

          People frequently confuse privacy with anonymity. Proton never claims you can’t be identified. Only that your communications are as private a possible. Though they provide tools for you to ensure your anonymity if that’s important to you.

      • Steve@communick.news
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        2 days ago

        When you say MAGA guy, do you mean that one time he said a single little policy of Rumps, might possibly not be terrible for everyone? Does that make him MAGA?

        Am I MAGA for not hating the Space Force, because it gave us 2 seasons of a fun comedy show?