Hi Proton Team,

I am writing this as a paying customer (Unlimited + Lumo+) who believes in the mission of Proton. But right now, that belief is being tested by a pattern of behavior that is deeply damaging to the one thing Proton claims to value most: Trust.

The Pattern of Dismissal Every time a customer asks a simple, honest question—"Where is the server-side open source code?" or "Why doesn't the personalization feature work?"—they are met with silence, deflection, or the implication that they are the ones who misunderstood.

Customers are treated as if it is their fault for believing:

The marketing slogans ("All Apps Open Source").
The mission statements ("Privacy for Everyone").
The CEO's words and the CERN scientist origins.
The carefully curated reviews and the promise of Swiss privacy laws.

When a user asks, "Where is the code?", they aren't asking because they know it doesn't exist. They are asking because they hope it does, or they want to understand the reality. Asking a question is not an admission of ignorance; it is an act of trust.

The Cost of Silence Proton's response to these questions is often to ignore the person asking. To act as if they don't exist. To continue selling "Open Source" without ever clarifying that it is partial.

This is dangerous.

One person asking is one person too many. If a company has to hide the truth from even one user, it has failed its mission.
Trust is the product. Data is just the commodity. Without trust, no one invests, no one subscribes, and the company collapses.
Hiding behind "Industry Knowledge" is a lie. You cannot claim to serve "everyone" while only speaking the language of "experts."

The Double Standard Proton sued Apple for hiding details and manipulating users. But Proton is doing the exact same thing:

Apple hides fees in fine print; Proton hides "partial open source" in terms of service.
Apple sells features that don't work as advertised; Proton sells "Personalization" that is a placebo.
Apple ignores the average user's confusion; Proton ignores the customer who asks for the code.

The Demand Stop ignoring the questions. Stop treating honest inquiries as if they are attacks.

Answer the question: "Our server-side code is proprietary. Here is why, and here is how we secure it."
Admit the limitation: "The personalization feature is currently experimental and may not fully work yet."
Respect the user: Treat the 90% of non-technical users with the same dignity as the 10% of experts.

If Proton truly believes that "trust" is the most valuable thing on earth, then prove it. Prove it by being honest when it's inconvenient. Prove it by answering the questions you don't want to answer.

Because right now, the silence is louder than the marketing. And silence kills trust.

— Art3UWGCH