Why I’m Never Going Back to Gmail

When I was in high school, only those in the know used Gmail instead of AOL or Yahoo, and I relished getting an invite to try out Google’s approach to email. It’s a different world now, one where I feel like the odd one for not using Gmail. But it’s true—I haven’t used Gmail for years. I’ve found something better, at least for me.

The Problem With Gmail

I lost my enthusiasm for Gmail as I got older and came to understand the business model Google was operating under. The knowledge left a dirty taste in my mouth—I was disgusted by the way Google profited from analyzing and generating information from every character of every email I’d sent, even though I was too young to fully understand what I was opting into. I had so many deeply personal and nonsensical conversations as a teenager and young adult that I found upsetting to think a corporation had a record of.

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I’ve used them, and I just don’t get the hype.

Now Google is introducing products I personally have complete distaste for, like its Gemini generative AI, which may generate the company billions of dollars from information it gained from everything it ever learned from us.

All of this, and I don’t even find Gmail to be all that good anymore. Whenever I see a Gmail tab, typically for a family member, I’m taken back by just how cluttered it has become. The mobile app is better, but I’m still a bit shocked to see ads.

I can’t say I’m completely free of Gmail. Gmail is ubiquitous. Individuals use it, and companies do, too. Even though I actively avoid Gmail, I still have a couple accounts. You are required to have a Google account in order to access the Play Store, and all Google accounts come with email. It’s also pretty common to be given an official Gmail address when joining a company. Nonetheless, I don’t use my personal Gmail, not even for spam. It merely exists, unloved, on a server somewhere, existing solely because I want to purchase things from Google Play.

Here’s What I Use Instead

Google may be dominant, but it’s hardly the only abuser. According to Consumer Resorts, Yahoo and AOL continued to scan email for ads, even after Google announced that it was stopping the practice. Ultimately, most email is susceptible to someone’s abuse. Email consists of plain text and HTML sent between servers that, more often than not, giant companies own. Any of them could look at the contents if they choose to. That’s why I sought out end-to-end encrypted email instead.

Gmail and ProtonMail logos with an arrow indicating a switch.

How to Switch From Google to Proton

Want to de-Google your cloud life?

Proton Mail is an email provider that keeps my messages private by encrypting my email before it leaves my machine and decrpyting the messages only after they leave Proton’s servers. Messages sent to other Proton Mail users remain encrypted up until the point that the recipient opens them, and they remain encrypted when closed. Proton only sees the email in its encrypted state, and they don’t hold onto the key necessary to view them.

Encrypted email isn’t new, but using it used to be highly technical, requiring you to learn terms and tools like GPG. Proton Mail is as simple to use as any other web service. It’s accessible through a web browser, there’s a program that makes it compatible with email clients like Outlook or Thunderbird, and there are mobile apps.

Peace of Mind Over Features

The messages between my wife and I are private, since we both use Proton Mail. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for most of my other messages. Those still end up on Google servers, since the recipient is typically a Gmail user. But at least those messages are scattered about in different inboxes. Mine isn’t actively being scanned and monetized.

When I do need an email to stay private, Proton also gives me the option to send mail that requires the recipient to enter a password to view. I can even set the message to self-destruct after a certain amount of time.

I don’t concern myself with whether Proton Mail is 100% secure. Anything can be broken into by someone with enough motivation, time, and resources. What matters to me is that Proton isn’t trying to swoop up as much data as possible. Just the opposite. The company’s business is built around making our data as difficult as possible for them and others to access. Plus, much of the code in Proton’s products are open source, providing additional reasons to trust them.

Proton Mail Has Served Me Well for Years

Privacy is important and all, but is the experience any good? Personally, I find it preferable to Gmail. I’ve used Proton for much of the past decade, and my inbox hasn’t become cluttered with added features even as Proton continues to add new functionality. My inbox still looks like a simple inbox.

I can search through email easily enough, but searches are limited to the titles of messages and not their contents. This hasn’t been an issue for me, and other features I care about more are present. I have plenty of automated filters applying labels and sending messages to dedicated folders. I have multiple aliases and domains all tied to one account. Proton has suffered the occasional outage, but they’ve been rare.

Even if Proton weren’t encrypted, I’d still prefer the experience over Gmail. It’s a great service from an organization actually trying to do the right thing by its users and their data. That’s enough to keep me as a paying user, even if Gmail eventually adds end-to-end encryption.

These days, Proton has expanded its offerings in its effort to be a fully-featured private, end-to-end encrypted alternative to Google services. I won’t say each offering is stellar, but I like most of them. These days, I’ve even come to rely on Proton Pass, my preferred password manager, just as much as Proton Mail.