Replying to Avatar Delta Charlie

The purpose of what part exactly?

When an Internet user is online, in a web browser, and usually signed into various sites, doing their usual thing, surveillance companies (Google, Apple, Facebook, etc...) are collecting data points.

One of those data points is your browser (Chrome, Firefox) the size, screen resolution, operating system, all this can be taken from your browser fingerprint.

These data points are in the 10s of thousands. So every day, a phone or computer can send out about 50000 data points to these companies, which build a profile about you by linking all these data points together. This data is then sold on the open market.

People who care about their privacy protect themselves from most or all of this surveillance. Browser fingerprinting can be prevented with various tools.

Please share this with anyone you know who wants to protect their privacy and security, or reach out to us directly for more help.
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a182d627... 2y ago

Why does the protonmail use it?

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Delta Charlie 2y ago

You should email proton directly about that, or read their privacy policy. We can offer an opinion, and will tag proton to weigh in.

Proton's policies are very different than most companies that collect data. The main point, at least to our understanding, is the blatant selling and sharing of customer data. If they are being honest, they are using whatever data they do collect to create better service, properly identify customers, and secure sensitive personal information from employees, in case they get a rogue employee one day.

Ultimately, if you feel Proton is not being genuine, you have to weigh the lesser of the evils.

What private information does Proton actually have about you? If it is minimal, such as an alias name, paying with bitcoin, or a private credit card, then fingerprinting your browser is not invasive at all. Especially if you use something like Firefox with containers. There is a difference between being anonymous and invisible.

Your screenshot is from the Tor browser, which has extensive privacy and security. So the tiny bit of information gleaned from a browser fingerprint would not leave you vulnerable.

We would actually like to hear Proton's response to this nostr:npub1mea2vwcu06qf7e4x00wd902vj54qnn2jacq76ldntrgfhtvhlpqqrvqane@`Proton VPN / @Proton...`