wouldn't using a proton email + APK achieve the same result? why would you want to tie your nostr identity to orange pill app? isn't it safer to keep them separate?

No. We need to normalize throwaway identities. Also, have you tried to make a protonmail recently? Don't make your users need to jump through hoops to try to be anonymous. There's literally zero a reason for it now that NOSTR exists.... Do better! It's a cool concept, but a terrible implementation as is.

There's also a ton of (now unnecessary) friction in needing to create a user + password. You don't need to have a database of accounts anymore. The era of walled gardens is over.

It's about defaults. By default, and by your own admission above, you are creating a honey pot of KYCd users.

It takes no work to create a new npub. You don’t have to give up any personal information at all. That’s powerful.

Agreed in theory. In practice most people would use their regular npub to sign up for OPA reducing their opsec. Btw, we don’t require any personal information.

The only thing we require to sign up is an email address, email addresses are not KYC. as for the need for walled gardens, we obviously disagree.

To be fair, in many cases email addresses are at a minimum 'Light KYC' or let's just more accurately call it personal identifiable information. Unless you're getting a temporary phone number to verify with, most peoples "private email addresses" are most certainly linked to their identity. I don't think you understand the concept of nostr login... Your private thing can exist nearly exactly as is, without the need to own the user profiles / account list / social graph of future billionaires using your thing.