zlacker

>>benhur+(OP)
This makes me anxious about my long time Gmail address. Back then I got it just because it and Google was cool, and their services had a good reputation. It was a different Google back then. If they had launched it this year I would never have got one because chances are it would have been cancelled by 2025. Gmail is really the only valuable thing that actually ties my life to Google. And it's not that hard to replace, but just a bother to inform some people and update account details.

>>jug+36
Start the process of getting out right now.

Get an email address that you own, on a domain you control. Switch to a provider that takes your money for whom you are the customer - not the product.

I did this with Fastmail and Iki.fi, a Finnish non-profit[1], who have been selling people "permanent" email addresses since 1995.

[1] http://www.iki.fi/

>>theshr+Jd
> Switch to a provider that takes your money for whom you are the customer

Google now sells domains, as well as email through GSuite.

I use them a lot on new projects, because I find them so insanely convenient, but I can't help shake the feeling that now I'm both the product and a paying customer.

So I'd probably nuance your words with: "select a provider whose livelihood depends on your custom".

>>arctur+qh
If you want to get your own domain to take control of your identity, do NOT under any circumstances register it through a hosting package. Ideally keep it separate from everything, including your email provider.

And do NOT register it through a provider whose only support is Machine Learning!(tm).