Proton and Mozilla Partner for Privacy | Hacker News Reader

Proton and Mozilla Partner for Privacy

protonvpn.com

35 pointsvabmit12 comments

The combination somewhat makes sense, and I can imagine this leading to Mozilla acquiring ProtonVPN like they did Pocket, if this experiment turns out to be a success. (Though perhaps that's not really an option if being based in Switzerland is a relevant selling point. Come to think of it - how does Mozilla collecting payments in this case influence that?)

That said, I wonder what metrics they are using to evaluate whether this is a success. Obviously, number of people switching to a VPN. However, the screen shots in Mozilla's blog post [1] look pretty intrusive and distracting from the browsing experience. I wonder if they will be able to capture user annoyance, if applicable.

[1] https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2018/10/22/testing-n...

am i wrong or is this really an endorsement/marketing campaign rather than some sort of integration.

You do not appear to be wrong. It appears to be Mozilla selling ProtonVPN services. Advertising them, too, in exchange for a chunk of the monthly fee.

Seems true.

Maybe this will eventually allow me to easily use the vpn in a specific window/tab/container, but what's actually making the biggest difference to me is that a third-party I trust has vouched for ProtonVPN.

I trust both, and I like that both are working together. I get my email through ProtonMail, and I've been a little skeptical of recent moves by Mozilla, but this is one I can really get behind.

Can anyone tell me why is it better for my privacy that all of my data flows through a 3rd party? A 3rd party who will now know everything about me (at least what pages I browse)

It comes down to trust. You already _trust_ your internet traffic to your ISP. If you trust a 3rd party VPN more than your ISP, then VPN is the way to go. You'll never be completely free of reliance on a 3rd party, except with TOR and the alike decentralized internet models. But, even those have caveats too

You also only need to trust this third party, rather than your home ISP, your work ISP, the ISP in the coffee bar you're working from today, the ISP that provides public transport WiFi, etc...

So proton has bought in-browser apps that cannot be blocked by ad-blockers because they're directly within the browser GUI instead of inside the HTML page.

I really love Mozilla and what they stand for, but for the love of God, sponsored ads within the browser proper don't sound like a good idea. Once you open that path, what's next? Imagine MS Clippy suggesting you drink a red bull because it noticed your typing is becoming slower. Plus all the greenwashing in the public announcement feels dishonest. Let's call this what it is: experimenting with in-app ads as potential revenue stream.

So what you're saying is that money from a paid service going to Mozilla's pocket could be a new potential revenue stream? I can't believe nobody noticed that.

desktop apps having pop ups like a website, that's the thing they're trying out here

> experimenting with in-app ads as potential revenue stream.

Not sure why you're getting downvoted. It's a conversation that's important to have. It's not unlike the Mozilla/Mr.Robot fiasco[0].

Yesterday (and related), I suddenly had a Mozilla extension automatically install on a Windows laptop I use very sparingly. I didn't take any screenshots but it's detailed on this medium article I just turned up: https://medium.com/@neothefox/firefox-installs-add-ons-into-...

Essentially, after I killed the main extension, another one displayed that wanted to make suggestions for extensions... based on extensions I am already using. It disappeared before I had a chance to finish my research on it. It was odd, in a backhanded sort of way.

I had all telemetry previously turned off (but the extension indicated that the install was based on my telemetry preferences), my workflow was interrupted, research I was forced to conduct about what was happening, etc...

I can see Mozilla treading carefully here by focusing on a product that aligns with a single entry of their mission statement (principle 4: Mozilla Manifesto[1]). But... it's clear that Mozilla is heading in a direction, ever so slowly, that will make their (current) core users question their commitment to one of their ten core principles. tbh, the other nine principles sounds like they're running for office...

[0] https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/16/16784628/mozilla-mr-robo...

[1] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/

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