I was just a teenager at the time, but I vividly remember snagging a Gmail invite weeks afterit launched 20 years ago. I raved about the free service, its novel cloud-based structure, and how it’d be the Next Big Thing online — insofar as an email account can really be a big thing. All my family members and most of my friends got beta invites from yours truly, as I was definitely the biggest nerd around.
While I’m tickled to have been an early adopter of now-successful technology, though, it’s important to know when enough is enough. For me, that time has come, and I’m moving my primary digital correspondence to privacy-focused Swiss provider Proton Mail. It’s been a long time coming.
Should I, or should I not be evil?
No one company should have so much leverage
We’ve seen a lot go down in the privacy and security realms over the last two decades. Google’s been far from the only culprit, but as the default search engine for most browsers and the curator of Android, the Play Store, Google Analytics, reCaptchas, and more, the Big G has more data on the average North American userthan any other corporation.
This Gmail competitor can now hide your email address
Proton Mail’s email alias can protect your identity in the event of a security breach
I’m as far from paranoid as any internet user, and even I use a VPN (primarily for spoofing IP geolocation); while I don’t do anything nefarious, and nobody’s tracking me for anything other than advertising, I prefer knowing I’m a little safer from bad actors that can hijack the content I’m viewing and thus possibly my hardware.
But Googlecreeps me out, and I’m no longer comfortable using Gmail. The successors to the FAANG stocks, the MAMAA companies (Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet) own a considerable amount of not just forward-facing web resources but also the underlying infrastructure most of the world’s internet relies on. I can’t avoid my data passing through the Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services, but I can limit what sites and apps I actively engage with.
Gmail’s interface is fine, I guess, if somewhat cluttered and not very attractive
Google’s always innocent until it’s not
Until 2017, Google automatically scanned Gmail accounts for keywords that it then used to personalize ads within the platform and probably outside it, too. Here’s why that should terrify you:
I’m under no misconception that I canextricate myself entirelyfrom Google’s clutches; It’s too ubiquitous, and tons of common apps and services rely on its wide range of services. But I’ll do what I can, which includes moving to Proton Mail, a privacy-centricemail providerwith encrypted, underground servers, practically the polar opposite of Alphabet Inc.
Google paid over $26 billion in 2021 to remain the default search engine in various browsers
The surprisingly easy switch to Proton Mail
Why Proton Mail is my new favorite email provider
My Proton account isn’t completely new. It’s been lurking in the background for a couple of years after I tested a trial of ProtonVPN a few years back (ProtonVPN was a bit slow back then, but I’m told it’s one oftoday’s top VPNs). But I made the jump due to Proton’s comprehensive set of features, as well as the policies it enacts to keep your data private. Among Proton’s consumer-friendly practices:
Best VPNs for multiple devices in 2025
It only takes one of these VPN subscriptions to cover your whole fleet of computers, mobile devices, and streamers
A few clicks, and I never have to access my Gmail page again
Compared to my first brief look years ago, Proton’s UI and general implementation have matured significantly. It was a breeze to forward my current Gmail messages to my now-primary Proton address, and the calendar appears to have integrated well, with alerts showing up consistently on my Android phone.
I’m perfectly happy with the features provided by Proton’s most affordable tier, the Mail Plus plan. I can create 10 separate addresses and even a custom domain, as well as shorten my existing domain to pm.me (because @protonmail.com is, admittedly, a bit of a mouthful).
It includes 15GB of storage, unlimited folders and filters, and can do everything I ever wanted my Gmail account to do. Most importantly, it keeps my permanent correspondence out of Alphabet’s umbrella.
Proton offers various subscription levels
You can actually use Proton Mail entirely for free, although it does have restrictions: You’re limited to 150 emails per day and 1GB of storage, can’t create custom addresses or domains, and won’t have access to the calendar, or theencrypted password managerand unlimited VPN offered by the Proton Unlimited subscription. But even the free tier’s a far sight better than Gmail.
Proton Mail introduces dark web monitoring to keep your credentials safe
Proactive alerts for compromised credentials
Committing to 1 or 2 years of the $5/month low tier drops the price to $4 or $3.50, respectively. The Unlimited tier will set you back $10 or $8 per month at those same subscription lengths and afford you 500GB of storage, 15 custom addresses, 3 custom domains, and unlimited VPN and Proton Pass (its password manager) access. There’s also a six-user family plan starting at $30 and three tiers of slightly more business-focused options.
But I’m really not advertising for Proton here. I’m just choosing to actively take my digital footprint back into my own hands in a way many of us haven’t done since Gmail’s massive rise over a decade ago. It’s well overdue, and over the few weeks I’ve used Proton Mail full-time, I can’t say I regret it or will ever look back.
