| ▲ | john_strinlai 7 hours 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. |
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| ▲ | dongcarl 6 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| (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. |
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| ▲ | mulmen 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| > there is a certain popular "pro-privacy" product beloved by many here Please don’t speak in riddles. Just say what you mean. |
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| ▲ | john_strinlai 6 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | 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. | | |
| ▲ | bityard 6 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | There is even less to be gained by issuing vague unactionable warnings and/or accusations... | | |
| ▲ | john_strinlai 6 hours ago | parent [-] | | it's not a warning or accusation... this isn't some hidden feature you get caught with your pants down over. if you try to sign up to something and it doesn't offer an account number, you know that it doesn't offer an account number instantly. no time wasted for you. it's not some nefarious plot by the company. it's just a business decision. i was hoping to talk about the business decision of that particular sign up flow. |
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| ▲ | PunchyHamster 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | 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 | |
| ▲ | mulmen 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Because it creates confusion as proven by the responses mistakenly assuming that you were referring to proton. | | |
| ▲ | john_strinlai 6 hours ago | parent [-] | | and if i mention the company, the responses are all about the company instead of the feature. next time i will just keep my thoughts to myself and we'll all be happy. | | |
| ▲ | mulmen 2 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | You could have just ended your comment at: > side note: i really wish more companies did the no email + randomized account number flow. Everything you said after that added confusion and this tangent instead of the conversation you wanted to have. | | |
| ▲ | john_strinlai an hour ago | parent [-] | | actively not choosing a product because of the lack of a feature seemed relevant enough to discussing said feature. the problem was that i forgot how weird online conversations are. i cant imagine a person in real life latching on to a small detail so strongly, ignoring basically everything i said. |
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| ▲ | _bernd 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Yeap :/ |
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| ▲ | t-writescode 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | They’re almost certainly referencing Signal. |
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| ▲ | ignoramous 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| > ... 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... |
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| ▲ | john_strinlai 6 hours ago | parent [-] | | i am hesitant to really narrow it down, but it is not proton (i am a very early proton customer) | | |
| ▲ | mulmen 6 hours ago | parent [-] | | Then why comment at all? This is the danger of speaking in riddles. | | |
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| ▲ | baal80spam 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| privacy <> anonymity Proton VPN ensures privacy. |
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