SimpleLogin (Proton) Drama: Paid User Locked Out, Data Held Hostage

We all know SimpleLogin and Proton – the poster children for privacy and security. You'd think paying for a Pro subscription would buy you some decent support and peace of mind, right? Think again.

A user recently took to Reddit to vent after getting absolutely shafted by SimpleLogin. Despite being a paying customer, their account was locked, and their data held hostage. The self-hosted community is currently having a field day with this one.

Paid, Banned, and Ghosted: What Happened?

Here’s the breakdown: The OP (Original Poster) is a Pro subscriber using a custom domain. Instead of routing emails to the usual suspects like Gmail, they point their MX records to forwardemail.net – a legit encrypted IMAP storage provider.

When the OP tried to update their mailbox, support slammed the door shut. The reason? They claimed forwardemail.net is a "temporary/burner" service that causes mail loops. The OP tried to reason with them: "Look, I OWN the domain. This is my permanent inbox. Just because a provider offers aliases doesn't make my domain a burner. By that logic, you should ban Gmail too."

Instead of escalating the ticket or actually reading the explanation, the "anti-abuse" team went nuclear: ACCOUNT DISABLED.

The aftermath:

• The yearly subscription renewal bounced because the account is locked.
• Impossible to log in to update payment or export aliases.
• Data is effectively held hostage.
• Password resets are useless.

Basically, the OP is punished for using non-mainstream infrastructure. They are trying to migrate to addy.io, but they can't get their data out. It's a classic case of "guilty until proven innocent."

The Community Reacts: Roast Mode On

The Reddit thread turned into a roast session pretty quickly. Here are the highlights:

• The Irony Award: User gradientByte pointed out the massive hypocrisy: Proton is complaining about a service that offers aliases/relaying, while... being a service that sells aliases/relaying. It's the "Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man" meme in real life.
• The Leak Strategy: People are urging the OP to leak the support emails to shame the company. But the OP is playing it safe (for now), hoping to get their account back before burning bridges.
• The "Google is Evil but at least they work" take: User Dev_Sniper shared a similar horror story with a free account. Sent a few emails to hotels -> Banned for spamming. It highlights that while we hate Big Tech, sometimes these niche privacy providers trigger-happy banhammers are worse.
• The GDPR Nuke: One smart commenter suggested the nuclear option: Send a GDPR data request. They are legally required to comply and provide a data export. If support fails, legal takes over. It's probably the OP's best bet to salvage their alias list.

The Takeaway for Devs

This drama is a wake-up call about vendor lock-in, even with the "good guys" of the tech world.

1. Trust No One: Your data on someone else's server is never truly yours. Automated filters and lazy support agents can ruin your day instantly.
2. Backups are Mandatory: If you use an alias service (SimpleLogin, AnonAddy, etc.), export your alias mapping regularly. Keep a local copy. Don't let a banhammer wipe out your entire digital identity.
3. The "Power User" Tax: Using niche, open-source, or self-hosted infrastructure often flags you as a "suspect" in the eyes of automated anti-abuse systems. Be prepared to fight for your right to compute.

Proton/SimpleLogin really dropped the ball here. Protecting a platform from abuse is necessary, but treating paid power users like spammers is a sure-fire way to kill your reputation.

Source

• Reddit: Warning: SimpleLogin (Proton) is locking paid accounts