Post #2645674

2025-06-23 12:18 UTC

No, Proton email addresses do not. I have ProtonMail addresses using my domain. If tomorrow I point to another email provider, Proton can do nothing about it. Being paid feature vs free is not vendor lock-in. You are spreading misinformation, either by misrepresenting the situation or by not understanding what "vendor" (an arguable term since apparently you are focusing on the free version) is lock-in means.

Replies (5)

@masterspace@lemmy.ca 2025-06-23 15:02

I think OP is overblowing things, and is especially misguided in recommending gmail, but at the same time, they do have a valid point and I think you're somewhat misrepresenting what they said. For one, they specifically said that the proton domain email addresses are problematic (`protonmail.com`, `pm.me`), and weren't talking about custom domains that sit in front of Proton mail. For two, their point is valid. Auto-forwarding being paid, does create vendor lock-in and make it hard to switch away from Protonmail if you use the OOTB addresses. It's something worth considering. As you said, the recommendation should be to use a custom domain that sits in front of Protonmail rather than switching to Gmail, but paid auto-forwarding is a valid criticism.

Open ##2645701
@ReversalHatchery@beehaw.org 2025-06-23 14:27

their point is not the custom domain usage, who cares about that, for that you need a domain to begin with and its not that common to have a personal one. but that you can't set up automatic forwarding without continuously paying. that makes switching considerably harder for the everyday people.

Open ##2645702
@bl4kers@lemmy.ml 2025-06-24 23:58

> I have Proton Mail addresses using my domain. Those are your addresses then not Proton's. Hence why switching is easy and is irrelevant to my complaint which is specific to the domains listed Wikipedia says... > In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs. If I want to switch away I have to pay every month in perpetuity to deliver emails to my new provider. In other words, I'll always have to be a customer

Open ##2645703
@Ulrich@feddit.org 2025-06-23 17:14

Thank you

Open ##2645704
@Zoma@sh.itjust.works 2025-06-23 20:40

A while ago i bought a custom domain from namecheap but i don't seem to feel safe using it for banking, would you recommend using it for my bank instead of a protonmail email alias?

Open ##2645705