[WhatsName]

Is this a automated bot response? The main critique of the parent comment isn't that Proton engaging in many project, because of investors/ad revenue, but the act of doing so.

I'm a active Protonmail subscriber too, who downgraded to the mail business plan, because I too want Proton to focus on their core business and not engage in becoming a clone of Microsoft 365.

There used to be a regular vote on what users are mainly interested in. Maybe I missed it, but I too think that the risk of engaging in too many ventures will be the ultimate downfall. One last argument is, that hosting files and text and whatever is planned in the future weakens the legal ground to protect user privacy, as the (legal and technical) attack surface of hosting services is greater than just end-to-end encrypted email.

[blackeyeblitzar]

Looking at other responses posted by that account, I think they might be a bot or just pasting AI-generated responses.

That said, I think privacy oriented people are desperate for exactly what you said you don’t want - a Microsoft 365 equivalent that is privacy oriented. I’d be willing to pay for it personally, and don’t think it automatically follows that launching a new product makes existing ones worse. Maybe they’ll get a lot more users that purchase the overall bundle and help them fund all these ventures better than ever before.

[jddj]

I think you're right, and it's an angle that it seemed like Mozilla were taking too, though they seem to have lost interest since.

[protonmail]

No, we don't use bots to respond to questions here. Automated messages from us (which we sometimes use in our support ticketing system) are always marked as such.

[protonprivacy]

Hi there, the above is not an AI response. We were just sharing that creating privacy focused tools without the backing of big tech takes time and effort. We have a lot planned for 2024 to round out our suite of privacy products, and we're excited for what we can accomplish with the support of the community.

You can also check out our feature request platform and change the category to planned or completed to see recent activity https://protonmail.uservoice.com

[bityard]

Just a tip, here on HN we like talking to _people_ in the comments. Founders and senior managers, for preference. But anyone willing to give their name and role in the company will often do.

Your comments so far read as detached and impersonal, especially with the more than conspicuous usage of plural pronouns.