I’m an Unlimited subscriber, but even so I receive promotional ads in the Proton VPN app for Android (e.g., “Limited time offer…” or “x% off…”), which is something I find distracting and weird, since my subscription is active. These promotions don’t always appear in the app, but it was really bad around the turn of the new year. It made me feel like I was using some sketchy crapware I accidentally downloaded from the Play store vs. a legitimate VPN app.
Let me make this clear: I am not talking about emails! I know how to manage emails, but for some weird reason, it’s all anyone ever responds with. If one more person replies with information on how to manage email subscriptions, so help me…
I am specifically talking about promotions that appear to be baked into the app itself and are indismissable and perpetually visible within the app. (See my examples above, if you’re still confused by what I mean. I wish I’d taken screenshots last time it happened.)
If you check my comment history, you can see multiple instances of my asking the Proton fediverse account (I think they’re on Mastodon) about these things, and every time without fail, they reply telling me how to manage email subscriptions, which (to be clear) IS NOT AT ALL WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, IN FACT I WAS VERY EXPLICIT ABOUT THIS.
So I finally contacted them via support. Here’s what I said:
How can I disable notifications for promotions in the Proton VPN app for Android?
I’m not talking about emails, but about the “50% off now!!!” or “Try our new product!!!” style advertisements that I keep seeing.
I am a subscriber to Unlimited, and I do not want to see these self-promoting ads from Proton.
Let me just quote this one more time. I said:
I’m not talking about emails
So here’s the response I got:
I … I can’t fucking believe it.
I’ve sent one last message about this, but I don’t feel very hopeful at this point. If they replied with something like, “Unfortunately, we don’t allow users to dismiss promotions,” I could probably live with that … but this total dodging and ignoring simple questions is a huge red flag. Do I trust these people with my privacy when they can’t even answer a simple question?
Fortunately, all of these services have viable alternatives, so if they are unable to answer me this time, then farewell to Proton. I’m sick of this shit.
This was the thing they were advertising. It appeared to be something actually baked into the app that was promoting this deal. It ended on January 3. Maybe I can try downgrading to the version of the app from that time period? I’m pretty sure it was hard-coded into the app itself during that time. I frequently open that app throughout the day, and it was there every time.
Then tell me that? If that’s the case, then why would Proton be so dodgy about answering my questions? I clearly and repeatedly described the issue I was talking about, and they continuously sent me information on subscribing to emails.
If it is an issue, then I would want to submit it on github. If it’s a non-existent feature, then I’d want to request that. But I can’t proceed with any certainty when they don’t answer simple, direct questions.
So my issue at this point is not even so much the ad as it is the bigger problem of the dodgy communication from Proton.
I am fed up with Proton! And I’m also overwhelmed with comparing alternatives, so I truly appreciate the recommendation.
You don’t happen to know any alternatives to Proton Drive that don’t require a self-hosted server? (I’m not very techie.) I was looking at CryptDrive, but its 100MB limit might be difficult.
I don’t really use cloud storage at all. The most I ever used was mega, and I know that’s encrypted.
And that used to have gigabytes of free storage, let me check it out real quick.
Yeah, mega still does 20 gigabytes of free cloud storage, and it’s all encrypted. Just don’t lose your password or you’re f*****, haha.
And yeah, I had no issues with astral for 7 years or so, although I haven’t used it the past several years when I switched to proton.
No particular reason I can recall, I think I had just been using astrill so long， I figured I’d see what else is out there, maybe proton had a sale or something I don’t know.
No. I’m kicking myself for not getting a screenshot when it happened. I’ll double-check on my phone in case I accidentally took a screenshot, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have one.
Is it only there right after you open the app or does it show up randomly?
Is it always the same ad or does it seem like it’s being updated as time goes on?
The characteristics of the ad might help us narrow something down.
Are they full page ads?
And are you on Android or Apple?
Try and get a screenshot if you see another one. And this is definitely the official app that you downloaded from their site, right? Or from the Play store or whatever?
No. It was a box that appeared about 3/4 up the screen with information about the promotion. If I clicked it, then it took me to a page with information about subscribing to the promotional deal, which was super confusing since, as I said, I already pay for Unlimited.
And are you on Android or Apple?
Android.
And this is definitely the official app that you downloaded from their site, right? Or from the Play store or whatever?
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !protonprivacy@lemmy.world
Empowering you to choose a better internet where privacy is the default. Protect yourself online with
Proton Mail, Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive. Proton Pass and SimpleLogin.
Proton Mail is the world’s largest secure email provider. Swiss, end-to-end encrypted, private, and free.
Proton VPN is the world’s only open-source, publicly audited, unlimited and free VPN. Swiss-based, no-ads, and no-logs.
Proton Calendar is the world’s first end-to-end encrypted calendar that allows you to keep your life private.
Proton Drive is a free end-to-end encrypted cloud storage that allows you to securely backup and share your files. It’s open source, publicly audited, and Swiss-based.
Proton Pass Proton Pass is a free and open-source password manager which brings a higher level of security with rigorous end-to-end encryption of all data (including usernames, URLs, notes, and more) and email alias support.
SimpleLogin lets you send and receive emails anonymously via easily-generated unique email aliases.
I’m also unlimited, for years now. I’ve never seen an ad in the app.
Do you have a screenshot so we can see the ads or where they show up and start troubleshooting?
This was the thing they were advertising. It appeared to be something actually baked into the app that was promoting this deal. It ended on January 3. Maybe I can try downgrading to the version of the app from that time period? I’m pretty sure it was hard-coded into the app itself during that time. I frequently open that app throughout the day, and it was there every time.
Yeah if it’s definitely just the same one over and over, then you might have just got unlucky and some bug has it stuck in the app there.
You could try to grab a new version after clearing the data/cache before uninstalling, downgrade and update.
If it’s just that one ad, it just sounds like you got a bum version of the app somehow, or some software glitch transformed the app somehow.
Then tell me that? If that’s the case, then why would Proton be so dodgy about answering my questions? I clearly and repeatedly described the issue I was talking about, and they continuously sent me information on subscribing to emails.
If it is an issue, then I would want to submit it on github. If it’s a non-existent feature, then I’d want to request that. But I can’t proceed with any certainty when they don’t answer simple, direct questions.
So my issue at this point is not even so much the ad as it is the bigger problem of the dodgy communication from Proton.
If you’re asking why customer service sucks, yeah, I think you’ll just find everyone shrugging since customer service sucks and they don’t listen.
If you’re fed up with protons or whatever reason, I can recommend astrill, I used that VPN for years also without any issues.
I am fed up with Proton! And I’m also overwhelmed with comparing alternatives, so I truly appreciate the recommendation.
You don’t happen to know any alternatives to Proton Drive that don’t require a self-hosted server? (I’m not very techie.) I was looking at CryptDrive, but its 100MB limit might be difficult.
I don’t really use cloud storage at all. The most I ever used was mega, and I know that’s encrypted.
And that used to have gigabytes of free storage, let me check it out real quick.
Yeah, mega still does 20 gigabytes of free cloud storage, and it’s all encrypted. Just don’t lose your password or you’re f*****, haha.
And yeah, I had no issues with astral for 7 years or so, although I haven’t used it the past several years when I switched to proton.
No particular reason I can recall, I think I had just been using astrill so long， I figured I’d see what else is out there, maybe proton had a sale or something I don’t know.
Great, thanks!
For sure. Best of luck
No. I’m kicking myself for not getting a screenshot when it happened. I’ll double-check on my phone in case I accidentally took a screenshot, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have one.
Is it only there right after you open the app or does it show up randomly?
Is it always the same ad or does it seem like it’s being updated as time goes on?
The characteristics of the ad might help us narrow something down.
Are they full page ads?
And are you on Android or Apple?
Try and get a screenshot if you see another one. And this is definitely the official app that you downloaded from their site, right? Or from the Play store or whatever?
No. It was a box that appeared about 3/4 up the screen with information about the promotion. If I clicked it, then it took me to a page with information about subscribing to the promotional deal, which was super confusing since, as I said, I already pay for Unlimited.
Android.
This is the one I have.
It’s the official F-Droid release. The version I currently have is 4.9.40.5.