Proton is taking its privacy-first apps to a nonprofit foundation model

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Proton is taking its privacy-first apps to a nonprofit foundation model

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/06/proton-is-taking-its-privacy-first-apps-to-a-nonprofit-foundation-model/

Because of Swiss laws, there are no shareholders, and only one mission.

Proton is taking its privacy-first apps to a nonprofit foundation model
  • Proton, known for its secure email and productivity services, is transitioning to a nonprofit foundation model, ensuring it remains mission-focused without reliance on external subsidies.
  • The Proton Foundation, now the primary shareholder, is located in Switzerland, which mandates that foundations act according to their established purpose, bolstering Proton's commitment to privacy.
  • Proton has expanded its offerings to include cloud storage, password management, calendars, and VPN services, all designed with end-to-end encryption and hosted in Switzerland, enhancing its privacy-first approach.

We believe that if we want to bring about large-scale change, Proton can’t be billionaire-subsidized (like Signal), Google-subsidized (like Mozilla), government-subsidized (like Tor), donation-subsidized (like Wikipedia), or even speculation-subsidized (like the plethora of crypto “foundations”)," Proton CEO Andy Yen wrote in a blog post announcing the transition. "Instead, Proton must have a profitable and healthy business at its core."