Remove dependance on google play services
Protonmail android app is dependent on google play services and that is obviously against privacy and security.
Users who removed/disable google play services or used vanilla "lineageos" without gapps cannot get the mail client work properly.
Google play services collect every possible piece of info about the user; location, body sensors, application usage, and every other possible thing. So telling the use to enable/install google services you compromise his privacy and security by 3rd party app which is clearly against the idea if Protomail.
I hope you can correct this and have no dependence on google at all.
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Gorg
commented
please also migrate from play services fido2 api to Android Credential Manager for Security Key auth. Its the recommended API and also works without play services. https://developer.android.com/identity/sign-in/fido2-migration
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Anonymous
commented
Having to depend on Google for notifications, has me question my support of and use of Proton.
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TaperingOFF
commented
They talked like they were a while back. I used to be so dedicated to proton. I truly believed they were the truest ever. But the more I see the more I give up. From there new AI adoption. To know I have pinpointed an proven Cross app trackers inside our suppose to be encrypted proton drive?? Yeah. Bugsnag 3rd party software pinging from inside proton drive... wtf is the point in a encrypted drive? Now googles stopping sideloads on droid 2025 is a bad tech year.
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Loko
commented
If there is one thing most important for me, its this.
Anyway, your app portfolio is pretty wide now. It could make sense
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Denny
commented
This is very important to me also. I have been using an Unplugged device for almost 2 years now, and of course there is zero gogle services on them. I do not get notifications for any of my Proton services.
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Anonymous
commented
Please implement this. I have Graphene and therefore don't have any idea of any potential emails, but more importantly, potential account takeover as I don't get a notification about a "successful login".
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John Doe
commented
I wish Proton would take this feature request onboard. This is a massive issue for degoogled users...
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[Deleted User]
commented
UnifiedPush seems the standard about the best alternative to Play Services?
I guess this should be key and all the "privacy providers" (proton, tuta, mullvad, signal...) should all agree on implement the same pattern and not doing what the like, otherwise we are lost.
Please Proton try to choose the best pattern on doing this (I vote for UnifiedPush but I may be wrong) and try to establish relationship with other providers to do the same (signal or tuta for example).
The GOS community in which i include myself will appreciate this please -
Bird
commented
This should be prioritized if we (the community) want to be really fully private and own our lives and lifes.
I am not against censuring the current notification system, but extend it, like for example Signal does by supporting FCM (Google), Websockets and UnifiedPush.I will share my most honest opinion:
- FCM is efficent and I think proton does not want to quit/remove it because many users still use android stock system. I'm ok with this.
- Websocket is trash (at least used by Signal). When I used websockets with Signal my pixel battery seemed being drained. For me it is a no-go this way.
- UnifiedPush is suprisedly efficient, I am currently using Molly on a GOS pixel and the battery usage of Molly/ntfy is almost none on background.Please Proton, I'm not against removing FCM, but please think about extend efficient protocol like UnifiedPush on your applications so users like me who are not being notified with new emails or login account attempts can benefit of all your features (since with the current status we only benefit of half/partial features, i am missing critical email notifications constantly...).
Also IMO it would be a "bang one's fist on the table" to all the privacy community (not only Proton) and a smart "reason to join Proton"
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udyam
commented
It sounds like you're frustrated with ProtonMail's reliance on Google Play Services, which contradicts its privacy-first philosophy. While ProtonMail is one of the most privacy-focused email providers, this dependency can be an issue for users who choose de-Googled devices like LineageOS without GApps.
You might want to consider:
Using ProtonMail's F-Droid Repository – Proton offers an alternative installation method via their own F-Droid repository, which provides a version that does not rely on Google Play Services.
Using ProtonMail Web App – If the mobile app doesn't work without Google dependencies, using the web version (mail.proton.me) in a privacy-focused browser like Firefox or Bromite might be a workaround.
Reaching Out to ProtonMail Support – If you haven't already, you could send your concerns directly to ProtonMail’s team. Apply for udyam registration - https://udyamregisteration.org/. They do take privacy concerns seriously and might consider removing dependencies on Google services in future versions.
Would you like help crafting a more formal message to ProtonMail’s support team? -
Louis
commented
I haven’t read all 240 or so comments so I may be missing or repeating something, but the Protonmail app runs beautifully on my /e/OS phone. Has done for years. No Google.
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protonvoter
commented
Very sad that this isn't even planned. I am unable to replace TOTP with a security key on my proton account which would enhance my security. I appeal to Proton to implement FIDO functionality without Play services.
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Sonu sherazi commented
your websites are really good. I appreciate your work. Nové kancelárie
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pipe2null
commented
I'll repost a link from an earlier comment: https://grapheneos.org/faq#notifications
Push notification of new email can definitely work without Google being involved at all, but it needs to be implemented, and the dependence on play services completely amputated like the gangrenous appendage it is.
De-googling your life is critically important, especially for those people who are clueless about the constant gross invasion to their privacy. People talk about their "threat model", which at this point is ridiculous since gross invasion of privacy and corporate surveillance is so intrusive and pervasive that it is a violation of EVERYONE's so-called "threat model".
Please help make security and privacy easy for everyone, as it should be.
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V
commented
This is a must. Privacy and google don't mix well. Hope proton implements this soon.
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Dr. evo
commented
I back this up 100%. I believe that this feature request is not an optional issue, it is a must if Proton is claiming to be Privacy Focused. I've been a plus member for several years, as I believe in privacy. I hope that Proton is taking this as seriously as we do. Unfortunately, as this has been an open issue for 7 years and has not been completed, I start to think that maybe Proton does not believe in the values they advertise. Namely: privacy, freedom, and choice. There is no choice if people cannot choose between using Google Play services with better battery life, and a background service that checks the email with heightened security. There was also a project to publish an app on F-Droid, I thought would address these issues but it is dead now. I finally degoogled my android to find out Protonmail cannot push notifications, and found ways to get it done through a 3rd party app. To be honest, this might be the deal breaker for me to switch my email service to a service that works on degoogled phones.
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Midhun
commented
Will only work if you guys collaborate with phone makers and app makers
1) Google play store alternative - apps are the major reason why phone makers include Google services (though there are alternatives like samsung's or Amazon's app stores, they are way behind Google in number of apps and then again they're also big tech companies who spy on their users) - it would be awesome if proton makes an alternative platform for this. I want to see an implementation similar to obtainium but with apps already listed - like app makers would host their apps somewhere (in their own website or in GitHub, or proton could use fdroid implementation to let app makers make their own repos) which proton can make some guidelines for and list those apps in this platform, appmakers could use their own payment system this way (so I think they would be interested in this)
2) android push notifications - all the notifications that we get go through Google servers
3) Google location accuracy for reliable navigation - there was an alternative to this by mozilla which think got discontinued
If guys can figure out these then it's the end for Google's dominance of Android
I've only seen murena and fairphone doing this deegoogling of android (also murena could be considered a competitor to proton cuz of their ecosystem)
I can also see mobile Linux OSs (mobian, phosh, plasma mobile) needing these - i can see them being adopted once they are able to run Android apps perfectly in a compatibility layer (like SailfishOS) -
[Deleted User]
commented
I totally support this idea! It is an essential step to make all the apps available on F-Droid. This would make Proton apps much more convenient on DeGoogled phones
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Overuse
commented
I don't think this is a privacy risk because there is no sensitive data transferred, but at least give everyone a choice.
Make one version without Google's notification service and one with it for people who have less battery capacity.
Privacy is about being able to have a choice, and if I want a de-googled phone and still get all the notification, than Proton shouldn't be in the way of it.
(At least Proton is not dependent on google play services to work, just for notifications, which is still awesome IMHO and seems to be often forgotten here)
Edit: e.g. Proton Calendar has no notification problems at all without google play services, at least in my experience -
NaN
commented
ProtonMail should be using UnifiedPush or whatever even in fully googled phones.
Those constant pings to Google's Firebase server are ridiculous for a "privacy" service.