It took me going to their GitHub to find out, but it’s GPL 3.
What does this mean practically
It means it can’t ever become proprietary closed-source software (not without a major lawsuit).
Any new open source software is always a net positive.
But, there are a few small caveats to the way they’ve done it (depending on how cynical/cautious you are):
- Because Proton are not accepting contributions, they own all the copyright, so can make the code closed source again if they want to (that wouldn’t affect the already released versions, but future versions)
- They could likely take down any derivative on iOS, since Apple will always take instruction from the copyright holder, for GPL’d code
- Since the builds are not reproducible, there’s no guarantee that the binaries they distribute are built from the source code
Will they be now on FDroid? I think only one Proton app is there and it’s a little bit sad.
Proton VPN and proton pass
IRRC they even removed all telemetry from pass but not VPN.
They should definitely push drive and calendar there too.
Why the fuck does their VPN have telemetry?
Telemetry is not bad in itself. It can be used for bug/crash reports, or usage statistics, without tracking or personal data collection.