so today i got around to making a proton mail account mainly to communicate to rambler but it seems burnerben@protonmail.com is already taken. im confused by this because burnerben is a alias exclusive to me. i know the NSA has been tracking me for years now because of my experience in encryption and anonymity and ive been placed on the domestic terrorist watchlist but im not sure why its taken. im most likely overthinking this but even paranoid people have enemies.
update: i tried using another alias of mine and that worked but my phone number was already in use.
furry wrote (edited )
Burner and ben are two common words, almost 100% sure it is just coincidence. Also if you're making an psuedo email you probably shouldn't use the alias you go by; I recommend using a random string generator.
An another note, Protonmail doesn't let you use the standard recaptcha verification if it sees you are on a vpn or tor node so you either have to use your actual IP, verify with phone, verify with non-proton email, or make a donation. Proton claims that they don't log phone or email but it's up to you if you trust these claims.
If you're ultra-paranoid , I suggest getting a prepaid visa using cash and then signing up to Protonmail over tor and spend five dollars to verify your account (I believe the money goes towards one of the subscription plans they have, it doesn't just go to the void). Make sure to also use a long randomized password and change it often :3