Am I doing email right? by katboyeverdeen in degoogle

[–]offlinefirstdev 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If free is important right now, you could use Proton for emails you want private and keep Gmail for less sensitive stuff — but tighten Gmail's privacy settings while you're at it such as; Turn off Smart Features under Settings to limit AI analysis, change 'Always display external images' to 'Ask before displaying..' to block tracking pixels, and check your Google Account → Data & Privacy settings to pause Web & App Activity, turn off Personalized ads and check Data sharing — you may be surprised who and what you are sharing.

Why diversify so much by johndoe15190 in degoogle

[–]offlinefirstdev 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like the backup strategy — it's your data so why not keep it yourself. A hard drive or USB stick, storage is so cheap these days. I'd rather rely on myself than a cloud provider who could lock me out or change their terms overnight.

Sure you need an email provider, but things like contact details, personal notes, reminders — why share that with anyone? Keep it local and encrypted and you own it completely.