AaronWeiss
HI AW,
Free VPNs could be worse than no VPN at all. (when someone offers you a valuable service for free, this should raise quesrions in your mind regarding what they're driven by - and it's not good in case of VPNs, TOTP apps, etc.)
That said, Proton is one of the exceptions, IMO. I won't mention others.
One note, however. It is in the domain of morality/philosophy rather than anything, but, if you have used a service that offers you a great value, and is free, consider donating/contributing in a tangjble manner. There are countless people who work hard to create these services. They often do it in spare time, perhaps due to their vision of a better world (as opposed to The Facebook Model, where you're being uaed like a rag).
If these projects dicontinue, because devs need to feed their families, that would put pressure on them to find an alternate source of income. Where do we want these brilliant people to turn? Options aren't good... MAGFA, scamming, hacking, menial jobs? I firmly believe in supporting those who offer real value - please consider this once you have used a service and appreciate what it offers.
Welcome to the better world!
(Amd thank you once again to GOS team, and those who create/contribute to FOSS projects!)