Comment by john_strinlai
5 days ago
i am very skeptical of most vpn companies, and while i haven't looked too hard at obscura, it is worth noting the official partnership with mullvad (https://mullvad.net/en/blog/mullvad-partnered-with-obscura-v...) which is certainly a positive signal
side note: i really wish more companies did the no email + randomized account number flow. there is a certain popular "pro-privacy" product beloved by many here that requires an email address and refuses to offer a similar account number method, which has turned me off the product.
(Carl from Obscura here)
Yeah we thought the randomized account number flow was an ingenious idea, so we did that and made the last digit a Verhoeff checksum to check for mistypes!
Though sometimes people forget to write the number down and... There's not much we can do.
> there is a certain popular "pro-privacy" product beloved by many here
Please don’t speak in riddles. Just say what you mean.
They’re almost certainly referencing Signal.
Signal is worse, with phone numbers, no?
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for what purpose? there is nothing to be gained from pointing fingers, and takes the discussion in an even more unrelated direction.
although i guess people's curiosity is also dragging my comment in an unrelated direction anyways. lose-lose situation.
my main point is that the account number method is really nice, and a great selling point for such privacy-conscious products. not offering it in a privacy-conscious product is enough signal that it has made me choose not to purchase the product. that's the important bit, and where i was hoping to drive the conversation.
Incorrect. Pointing out bad products is a warning to other people to not waste time on it. We should be doing it more, not less.
I also have no idea what company/service you're talking about
There is even less to be gained by issuing vague unactionable warnings and/or accusations...
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Because it creates confusion as proven by the responses mistakenly assuming that you were referring to proton.
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> ... a certain popular "pro-privacy" product beloved by many here ...
If you're talking about Proton VPN, they do support "credential-less accounts" through their official apps, I believe? At least, on Android since 2024: https://www.androidpolice.com/proton-vpn-works-without-accou...
i am hesitant to really narrow it down, but it is not proton (i am a very early proton customer)
Then why comment at all? This is the danger of speaking in riddles.
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I am a little surprised people jump to Proton as beloved by HN. Proton has a lot of detractors and tends to be a target of some conspiracy/controversy. HN darling definitely suggests Kagi, who are not significantly impressive in terms of privacy-tech which I assumed was why pro-privacy was in air quotes.
In case you're alluding to a certain metasearch engine, they do not verify email addresses.
privacy <> anonymity
Proton VPN ensures privacy.
Privacy without anonymity is just privacy with a backdoor waiting to be unlocked.
i am not talking about proton.