Email Privacy through Self-HostingĪ radical alternative to using Gmail and other providers is eliminating a third-party email service by hosting your own mail server. Many users choose therefore privacy-focused email providers that – as a minimum – do not treat their user data as a product and – ideally – have no access to their inbox, while those with advanced skills may even choose to run their own mail server. Thus, privacy as offered by Google and Microsoft is defined as privacy between you and them – and not as your unmediated privacy. In contrast, privacy-friendly email clients and apps normally require only diagnostics. Their privacy philosophy is well reflected in what data their email apps collect: More generally, both Google and Microsoft are also online advertising giants whose revenue heavily depends on tracking their users and collecting user data, even if mainly aggregate and meta. Only large enterprise clients have the option of end-to-end encryption. Their email only supports standard transmission encryption (TLS) but not encryption at rest and end-to-end encryption. While Gmail and Outlook are secure email services, they are not zero-knowledge. Also many allow setting up multiple custom domains and aliases either as an extra add-on or on higher plans, for example ProtonMail*.īut of course the main reason to migrate your email from big tech has to do with privacy.
Many alternative email services for one domain name cost as little as $1 a month, for example Namecheap Private Email*. These plans include only one custom domain and one user. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 Personal each cost $6+/month. There are many reasons, starting with pricing. So, why do so many people choose a variety of Gmail and Outlook alternatives?
Besides its ad-free email and calendar, the entry Microsoft 365 Personal plan includes 50 GB of mailbox storage and a whopping 1 TB of OneDrive storage. Similarly, Microsoft has bundled its Premium Outlook, formerly Hotmail, product with its signature apps such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel. With 30 GB of cloud storage and great support on top of the familiar ad-free Gmail platform, even the basic Business Starter plan offers mind-boggling value. Google Workspace, formerly G Suite, is by far the most popular and feature-rich professional email service that includes such collaboration tools as Calendar, Meet, Drive, Docs, etc.
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