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Gmail Alternatives
- Thread starter BigMcGuire
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I have no problem with using Google, but I have a pair of Yahoo email accounts that I still use after all these years.
No issue with Google, but, simply don't like the whole 'bucket' thing that GMail offers.
So, I use Outlook.com and I also have a personal domain, with Office 365
So, I use Outlook.com and I also have a personal domain, with Office 365
I use iCloud for everything (Contacts, Calendar, iCloud Drive, Photos, and Sync) except email.
I have an Outlook account, which works really nicely in my iPhone and iPad (because of ActiveSync), although it can be a pain to make it work seamlessly with the mail.app on macOS. Otherwise, spam filters are nice, folder management is much more clear than Gmail's, and you get Skype integration as well as Office 365 if you really want to go the extra mile.
I have an Outlook account, which works really nicely in my iPhone and iPad (because of ActiveSync), although it can be a pain to make it work seamlessly with the mail.app on macOS. Otherwise, spam filters are nice, folder management is much more clear than Gmail's, and you get Skype integration as well as Office 365 if you really want to go the extra mile.
Anyone use Cotse.net? I'm thinking of using this. I have an iCloud account, Outlook, used to use Yahoo before Google was a thing, and am looking around still.
Old school, privacy focused, based in the USA, the ability to use any client I want on any device I want, no ads, etc. What are your thoughts?
I've thought about switching away from Gmail, to something secure and private like cotse (and there are others), or by setting up my own email server on my Mac Mini. The thing about email though is it's not secure nor very private no matter how you set it up.
If you're emailing people that have gmail, Google still sees the conversation. If you the emails are routed outside of the country, even if for a fraction of a second, the various governments and agencies can still sees the conversation. So in practicality, switching away from gmail would not improve the security or privacy of 99% of my emails. Maybe, 1% of my emails would be more secure or private.
On the other hand, I have been using gmail since a month after it launched, and it has had almost no downtime that affected me and has otherwise been a pleasure to use. Is securing 1% of my emails worth giving that up?
Instead, for the very few times I want to send a secure message, I use the https://encipher.it/email-encryption extention or something similar to encypt the message, and share the password in person or via a voice phone call.
Yeah I don't think I can ever leave gmail - my work uses it. But I figured I'd give this Cotse thing a try. Was curious what all the anti-gmail'ers were using too - seems like the #1 complaint is privacy. lol.
Thanks for the posts
Thanks for the posts
In case you haven't looked through these yet, there are a few email provider threads that might provide more suggestions and details that could be of some help:Yeah I don't think I can ever leave gmail - my work uses it. But I figured I'd give this Cotse thing a try. Was curious what all the anti-gmail'ers were using too - seems like the #1 complaint is privacy. lol.
Thanks for the posts
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/your-default-email-service-is-provided-by.1849665/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/who-is-your-current-e-mail-provider.1748603/
Like many of the other posters I use gmail and have no issues with it. I also use my old Mac.com (iCloud) email and the email that came with my ISP. I have no issues with any of them.
Hmm, I feel I'd get a better service from the likes of Office 365, and simply get my own domain, too. Office 365 personal subscription is around $4.95 a month. The only additional cost is your yearly domain, on average $20...
Better service for sure. Wow. I've been using email clients (Apple Mail, Outlook, iPhone, Android) and wow. Grass is always greener on the other side. Yes, I may have offline copies of my email and I may be more "Secure" but wow it's like going back 10+ years vs gmail.
Biggest gripe I'm having is lack of spam or overly active spam guards where every message gets marked spam. Also, my friends say email I send gets put into junk mail and they miss it because they never check their 500+ junk mail folders.
After this experience, I'd definitely recommend iCloud, Outlook, Gmail, or any other webmail of the like. Wowie. Was fun to see the other side for awhile.
Biggest gripe I'm having is lack of spam or overly active spam guards where every message gets marked spam. Also, my friends say email I send gets put into junk mail and they miss it because they never check their 500+ junk mail folders.
After this experience, I'd definitely recommend iCloud, Outlook, Gmail, or any other webmail of the like. Wowie. Was fun to see the other side for awhile.
That can happen with even the big webmail providers. Seems to happen to Yahoo a lot in particular ever since they changed their spam identification policy about 6-12 months ago.
Your friends could have simply whitelisted your email address as a one-time step instead of having to repeatedly check their 500+ junk mail folders.
Correct - however, walking each one of them through something that they've never done before nor know how to do. (Well not ALL of them, lol).
I look at this as a learning opportunity. Was fun using Apple Mail (Mac), Outlook, Thunderbird, Mail on iPhone for the first time. But man, no wonder why everyone is going web based.
I added my cotse.net email address to my gmail's pop (heresy I know, but I paid for a year) so it won't be wasted.
Mailbox.org is an excellent email provider. It is run by one of Germany's leading Linux software companies. I know the company and its owner since more than 15 years from the time I worked as a designer for the German "Linux-Magazin".
Because it is a German company, it adheres to all German and European privacy laws and regulations (and is protected by them), and its servers are all located in Germany.
Mailbox.org is not free. The entry level account costs €1 ($1.10) per month. The website is in German and English.
Since we're at it: Wire (wire.com) is a very good alternative to Whatsapp. Offers basically the same services and is also free. It's a Swiss company that also adheres to all European privacy laws and regulations (and is protected by them).
Gmail has been my main one for about 10 years. Also have iCloud and one from my ISP which is Sonic.
No issue with Google, but, simply don't like the whole 'bucket' thing that GMail offers.
So, I use Outlook.com and I also have a personal domain, with Office 365
What exactly do u mean by "bucket" ? like they give u over 17Gig's of storage which is shared amount their services? or heaps of products offered by?
These other companies like Yahoo, Microsoft all do the same thing. The only difference is they don't advertise it to you the same way Google does.
Bucket - Google use a Pie type system. ALL emails are actually in the All Mail folder (view). Each item on the left, Inbox, Sent, Archive etc. is merely a filtered view to All Mail.
Ask yourself, who has an interest in reading my email. Google, for example, has a huge interest in doing so. Their entire business runs on advertising.
Apple, for example, doesn't have this interest. Switch to iCloud.
And Google will still read my email because 75% of my contacts use gmail, ~10% probably use Google Apps for Work, and the remainder are on Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail, or Live, all of which have just as much an interest in reading my email.
If you truly want to avoid having Google read your email, you have convince all your friends, family, and acquaintances to stop using Gmail or any Google services. Good luck with that.
Well, you have to start somewhere. If you don't become the agent of change then you're part of the problem.