Wouldn't that just be Proton Meet plus chat?

This would be pretty nice, but I think it would take a few different apps.

Slack is one thing, which is more of a team-oriented service, while Discord is more of a community-oriented service in most cases.

Maybe like Proton Team for an alternative to Slack and Microsoft Teams and Proton Community for more community-oriented services like Discord.

One thing they could do would be to use existing technology in something like Matrix, XMPP, etc. This way it would reap the benefits of being able to talk to existing communities through federation.

Proton can clearly see that Discord is awful with their data handling and everyone in the gaming community wants to leave. This is Proton's chance to get their foot in the door with the gaming space / community and younger generations. I see it everywhere that they want a better alternative to Discord but there is not one that compares in quality and privacy. I bet proton could do it, and I would switch my buddies over in a heartbeat if Proton would make something like Discord.

Hey, so I think most of you know that california is trying to make Age verification a requirement and Discord has been trying to introduce this too for a while now, so why not use this to Proton's advantage (and to help some people that might be willing to switch protect their data and privacy) by expanding Proton Meet into a programm that not only allows meetings but chatting and creating groups too. This would make the people waiting for a Proton Messenger happy and would give people the opportunity to ditch Discord for Proton Meet (which would give them more privacy while not asking them to verify their Age). Through this Proton would grow rapidly (even when only 10% of active discord users would join that would be about 1/4 more active users on top of Proton's current base maybe even willing to get a subscription; Discord has about 259 Million **ACTIVE** users (656 Million accounts in total) so 10% would be 25.9 Million and Proton has around 100 Million Accounts that would easily be 1/4), more people would get better privacy (again around 25.9 Million if only 10% of active discord users switch), the problem with Discord would be fixed, there would be a way to message and call through Proton Meet (personal or professional) and Proton would make a big jump in achieving their Goal/Mission to make the Internet more private.

(My info about the total/active users is from Grok since I heard it uses real time search)

I know it’s rarely popular to pitch new features while there are still bugs to squash and untapped potential in existing Proton services. However, given Proton’s recent momentum, the surging demand for privacy-centric European tech, and their aggressive hiring, I wanted to float the idea of "Proton Space."

Many organizations and public authorities are currently desperate to find Big Tech alternatives. One area where it is particularly difficult to find a viable replacement is in social and communicative channels, such as Microsoft Teams or Slack. You could also include Discord here, which is currently facing credibility issues regarding age verification. While some point to Telegram, it’s far from a watertight solution. The common denominator for these platforms is that they are closed-source, unencrypted by default, and fall under US jurisdiction.

As a journalist, I see this gap firsthand. My newsroom, like many others in the industry, relies on Slack for internal communication. While I wouldn’t say I feel inherently "unsafe" using it daily, using a proprietary, unencrypted platform under US jurisdiction and the CLOUD Act as a journalist is problematic. I think you get the point.

This is where I believe Proton has a great opportunity. By building a privacy-friendly platform that could replace Teams, Slack, and Discord in one go, Proton could cater to both organizations and private individuals. It would solidify Proton’s business suite and offer a seamless integration with Proton Mail and the upcoming Proton Meet. Furthermore, it could provide an exit ramp for those who only stay on platforms like Facebook for the "Groups" functionality. On a deeper level, such a tool would be invaluable for democratic movements operating under authoritarian regimes who need secure communication, sometimes via VPN.

I’m not the right person to dictate the technical architecture, but the Matrix protocol seems like a logical starting point to achieve the real-time flow that makes Slack and Discord so popular. To be clear: this shouldn't come at the expense of perfecting current services, but it would undoubtedly make it easier for many organizations to view Proton as a serious, all-in-one alternative.

I know not a lot of people are going to want Proton to shift focus, but this is most certainly an issue of global privacy concern. There are some alternatives like Matrix.org, but Proton is a well known company that would have everyday appeal. Matrix might be a bit intimidating for folks, but a Proton Spaces could be a lot more friendly and approachable to people who just want a "gaming sever" or a place to gather their friends to chat. I would most definitely love to see an official Proton Spaces product soon.