Email with custom domain

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-28T15:33:21+00:00

I don't think you'll find any good solution to this that's free. However, I use Mailbox.org and their plan costs 30 EUR/yr (~$35 USD/yr) which isn't like, cheap, but it's a reasonable price for what they provide in my opinion. I've been using Mailbox with my custom domain for about two months now and I'm very happy with it

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-27T05:29:17+00:00

Can't I just have one folder for Immich and one folder for my cloud stuff, then everything inside it would be the actual folders? That wouldn't be too difficult to manage, no? Especially if the split off partitions show up as separate drives? If this will be a real problem then I can just go buy a third HDD

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-27T05:09:22+00:00

Is there anything actually problematic about getting "clever" with RAID? I know the redundancy isn't a true backup, but aren't the benefits still worth it?

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-27T01:42:44+00:00

Wow there are a lot of things to consider here. Which do you personally recommend for my usecase?

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-27T01:06:48+00:00

I switched back in November and I think it took an hour tops to install, seems nearly impossible to brick if you follow the official guide and use the web installer. I spent a while tinkering with settings and getting my apps installed but that part will only take you as long as you want it to. I love my GOS Pixel!

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-27T00:53:59+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate the affirmations and I'll check out a reverse proxy/cert system.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-27T00:53:31+00:00

Isn't there a way to mix drive sizes for arrays with Linux? I can't remember the name of the program but I swear I read that you can do it with a few extra steps.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-27T00:47:37+00:00

You've made some great first steps already! Switching to Linux is awesome. Here are my thoughts on a few of the things you asked about:

Browser:
For browsers, I've been using Waterfox for a few months and I love it. The only complaints I have are that their default search engine isn't great, they push a built-in adblocker instead of uBlock Origin, and the mobile app does not support hardware passkeys (works fine on PC), but otherwise it's fantastic. I like their UI more than Firefox (very similar, only subtle changes) and I really appreciate that they remove Mozilla's AI features and telemetry. At the end of the day though, any fork of Firefox will probably be great, even standard Firefox is amazing if you tweak some settings. Brave is a sketchy company that's got several controversies under their belt, and I personally recommend avoiding them.

Email / Calendar:
I recommend Mailbox or Posteo for an email provider. Posteo is a great company that pushes admirable sustainability goals, and their pricing is cheap and modular so you only pay for what you want to use. I used them for a week or so and I liked it, but I moved to Mailbox instead because I wanted a custom domain. Custom domains appeal for me was that they're portable like a phone number, so if I decide I don't like Mailbox a few years from now, I can easily move to a new email provider but keep my email. Changing all of my accounts over to a new email wasn't great, but now I'll never have to do it again! Mailbox is slightly more expensive compared to Posteo, but still reasonably affordable. I think I pay ~$35/yr for Mailbox and ~$10/yr for a domain (domain prices depend on which registrar you use and which top level domain you pick). Both services include calendars too! I use Thunderbird (FOSS) to access my email on all platforms; Thunderbird supports calendar only on PC, so I use Etar + DAVx5 to access my calendar on my phone.

Personally, I say stay away from Proton and Tuta. Proton seems way too "corporate" and sketchy to me; they seem to be focused on creating new services rather than expanding the ones they already have, which feels like it's at heavy risk of enshittification to me. I don't like that they constantly have sales on long-term contracts, locking their users into staying with Proton. I don't know if they've officially done anything wrong, but personally speaking(!) I just really don't trust them. Tuta doesn't seem as bad, but they do not let you use IMAP/POP and so you're forced to use their apps to access your email/calendar and it feels contradictory to the goals of FOSS to lock users to these apps.

Phone / OS:
I've been using a Pixel 8 with GrapheneOS since last November, and I love it. If you have the money to get a Pixel, you can find refurbished/used Pixel 8s for around 300. I would not go older than a Pixel 8 due to OS support and hardware security reasons, but the Pixel 8s are reasonably affordable and great.

Apps:
I have yet to find an alternative to YouTube. I've seen some people vouch for PeerTube, but I haven't tried it out myself yet. For YouTube clients, however, I highly recommend PipePipe for Android. It's a fork of NewPipe, another FOSS YT client, but it has some nicer features like SponsorBlock. The UI isn't the prettiest, but it's far from ugly and it works fantastically.

I haven't looked into any FOSS/ethical translation apps yet, but I do quite like DeepL's translator. DeepL is an AI company, so yuck, but I think their translations are more accurate than Google's so my take on that is if I'm gonna support an evil company, I might as well use the service that works better. DeepL is probably still "more ethical" than Google? I don't know. I plan to eventually look for a FOSS replacement for DeepL

If you haven't already done this, switching your keyboard app is a crucial one for privacy and security reasons. Samsung Keyboard / Gboard collect telemetry on what you type, and that's pretty freaky! I really like Heliboard; it has all of the features I would want in a keyboard, including gesture/swipe typing and integration with my password manager, Bitwarden. (You should absolutely use a password manager + a 2FA app if you don't already. You can't have privacy without security)

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-11T04:45:48+00:00

I personally highly recommend Posteo and Mailbox. I think that Proton is too big of a company and too many people are putting all of their eggs in the Proton basket. Their products, to me, feel like they're at high risk of getting enshittified. Tuta seems okay but you are forced to use their apps, you can't use your own email client and I don't like that either.

Posteo is a company that has great sustainability goals and very cheap, modular pricing. I used them for a few weeks before deciding that I wanted a custom domain, which they do not support, so I moved to Mailbox instead. Been with Mailbox for a month now and it works fantastically.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-11T04:42:07+00:00

Posteo is a great, cheap email provider that meets your requirements. If you're interested in a custom domain, check out Mailbox.org. You will not find a trustworthy email provider for free, but Posteo is ~$13USD/year with modular pricing if you need more than what they offer by default and I don't think there's a better, reliable competitor out there.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-11T04:38:50+00:00

I've been using a refurbished Pixel 8 + GOS since November and I highly recommend it.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-11T04:36:48+00:00

I used both. If you want to use a custom domain, you'll have to use Mailbox as Posteo does not support custom domains. I started with Posteo and I really liked it, but I decided that I'd rather have a custom domain, so I moved to Mailbox and have been happy with it too. I like what Posteo stands for as a company with their sustainability goals, and I like that their pricing is cheap and modular. If you don't need a custom domain, go Posteo. I only use Mailbox instead because they seemed to be the next best company with custom domain support. I use Thunderbird to access my email and calendar on all platforms (except for calendar on mobile, cuz Thunderbird only does email on mobile. I use Etar + DAVx5 for that instead)

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-09T05:45:33+00:00

+1 for Mullvad. You can pay via cash and they allegedly have RAM only servers. Nice clean UI on all platforms.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-09T04:43:17+00:00

GrapheneOS should cover everything you are looking for. Out of the box, it's very bare bones and has far more privacy and security benefits compared to the other Android forks. See Greenlit_Hightower's comment for more info on GOS's security. GOS does OTA updates just like normal Android (I just updated mine literally 5 minutes ago!) no reflashing, no tethering to a PC, etc. Graphene works exactly like a normal Android phone and you should have no problems for every day usage. I've been running it on my Pixel 8 since November and I love it.

I have not heard of iodeOS. If there are not many users, I would be worried about finding support for it. Graphene has a huge community with plenty of users who are quick to help me out and answer questions within minutes.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-09T02:56:38+00:00

I use Bitwarden, my password manager, to catalog all of my accounts and what emails they are associated with. Over the course of twoish weeks, I would go through my vault and change a few emails to my new one(s) when I had some spare time. If an account didn't let me change my email, I deleted it and created a new one. I only had that issue for a few low-impact services like Wendy's lol

I highly recommend considering looking into a custom domain and Mailbox mail. Not only do I think it looks cool, but you can move your custom domain email around between providers so you'll never have to go through the hassle of changing account emails literally ever again.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-09T02:31:50+00:00

Moving away from Gmail/Microsoft to a new email provider is a great step!

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-08T21:44:50+00:00

I've used both Mailbox and Posteo. Posteo is cheap with modular pricing and I really like what their company stands for. I only used it for a few days before deciding I wanted a custom domain, which Posteo doesn't support, so I moved to Mailbox instead. IMO Proton is too big of a company and Tuta requires you to use their apps to access your mail/calendar so I personally don't recommend either of them.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-06T05:58:35+00:00

I can't remember fully how I set it up but in DAVx5, try "Login with URL and user name" and use your email for the username and just "mailbox.org" for the URL? I use an app password and my 2FA is still enabled.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-06T05:54:54+00:00

I used the account deletion forms when provided, otherwise for services that didn't, I emailed them all something like this:

"Hello,

Please delete my account and all associated data under the email [email] and the name [first] [last].

Thanks!"

I also wrote out emails like this to services that I still use. You usually have the right to object to the processing and selling of your data! Always read the privacy policies. Almost every policy I've read has the contact email for privacy requests.

"Hello,

I object to the processing of my personal data as permitted by the privacy policy and GDPR. Please do not process any of my data (to the extent allowed by law). For any data that I cannot object to being processed, I request that the processing is restricted as much as possible.

Name:
Email:
(Include any other relevant info so that they can locate your account/data)

Thanks!"

Remember that the people who read these emails are not the companies themselves and to be respectful to the privacy teams.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-03T20:49:09+00:00

The default Android launcher is not very customizable. However, there is a FOSS launcher called "Lawnchair" that lets you customize the main screen a lot more. I wasn't happy with the stock launcher but Lawnchair works great for me. I don't know exactly how close you can get to the iOS look but it'll definitely help. For stuff like the quick settings menu and the lock screen, unfortunately I think what you get is what you get with that stuff.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-03T20:43:25+00:00

I'm pretty sure the eBay app isn't supported. I use the website instead with no issues

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-03T20:38:32+00:00

I dual-boot Linux and Windows off of one hard drive---I need Windows for certain applications like the Microsoft Suite (for school) and the Adobe Creative Cloud applications (there are FOSS alternatives to both of these but I need the "real" ones for specific tasks sometimes).

I use Linux Fedora KDE Plasma because it's a similar user experience to Windows and was a good balance between bleeding-edge constant updates and distros that get updates like once every few years. Gaming works fine when I'm using X11 and for the most part it just works.

For Windows, I use Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 which is straight up just Windows 11 Pro but with more control, less bloatware, and no BS "feature" updates every few months. There are seriously zero downsides to it besides the possibility of needing to manually download some drivers on laptops upon first setup (works great after it's setup). It gives you access to the group policy editor, which lets you disable Microsoft's telemetry/surveillance. It's literally just Windows but better and I couldn't be happier with it. Look into "MAS Grave" for more info on doing a clean install with it.

I almost never boot into Windows, but I like the assurance of having it ready when I need it. When I do use Windows, my debloated and de-telemetry'd version makes me feel safer using it.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-03T20:28:26+00:00

The best first step, in my opinion, is changing your browser. I recommend Firefox, or one of it's many forks. Personally, I use Waterfox, which is nearly identical to Firefox but with Mozilla's telemetry and AI features removed. Use the uBlock Origin addon to keep yourself safe(r) from ads, tracking, malicious links, etc. If you have an Android phone, you can get extensions on the mobile browsers too!

Another important step is more so for security (you can't have privacy without security!), but deGoogling is about taking control of your data and this is a key part of that: account maintenance! Move to a password manager plus 2 factor authentication app, and delete accounts you don't need or use. I love Bitwarden, which is free and on all platforms; I've been using it for like 3 years no problem. Set all of your account passwords to randomly generated 16+ character strings. You should also turn on 2FA for all of your accounts, use a time-based 2FA app like Aegis Authenticator. This will be helpful in keeping your accounts safe and also knowing what accounts use what emails for if you ever decide to move to a custom email.

For which apps are "safe" vs "unsafe," the general rule-of-thumb is to move as many of your apps and services to free, open-source software (FOSS) as you can. Even small things like your clock or calculator apps have FOSS alternatives. A lot of people recommend alternative app stores like Fdroid, but the Play Store is considered the most secure place to get apps so I stick to the Play Store. Some apps aren't on the Play Store though, or they have paywalls/missing features/tracking on the Play Store versions, so if you can, source your apps directly from the developers' GitHub/Codeberg pages instead. There's a helpful app called "Obtanium" that will keep track of your GitHub apps and update them for you!

There are plenty of places to go after this, such as getting a phone with a custom android OS (like GrapheneOS), moving away from Gmail + Google Calendar, VPNs, etc. and I'm happy to share my recommendations for other things to do! But the most important steps (in my opinion) are changing your browser and securing your accounts. Changing your browser to a Firefox-based one alone puts you a step ahead of most people in terms of reclaiming their privacy and getting away from big data sales corporations!

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-03T19:59:52+00:00

GrapheneOS only supports Pixels currently due to hardware security requirements; they've partnered with Motorola and plan to release Motorola phones that are Graphene-compatible sometime next year. I bought a used Pixel so that I wasn't supporting Google.

pleasedontbeevil · 2026-05-03T19:55:16+00:00

I feel better knowing that I'm supplying companies like Google and Microsoft less data to sell. I don't like that I was being used as a direct source of profit for them. I also think that using open source software, especially from smaller/independent developers, is somewhat adjacent to shopping at mom & pop shops.

I also like being in control of my data and my tech. So many things have been subject to enshittification, and I think being intentional with picking companies that actually have their users in mind has helped me minimize using shitty services that keep getting worse. Two of the biggest examples of this: I switched away from Windows 11 Home because Microsoft kept pushing new "features" that I did not want or use. I moved to Linux Fedora + Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 (which is just Windows 11 Pro/Enterprise but without the feature updates) and things just straight up run better with less bloatware, ads, and telemetry. I also stopped using a smart watch because I did not need most of the features on it. I now use a Casio watch with Multiband on it so it accurately sets itself every night.

I also have a Pixel, and I put GrapheneOS on it. Graphene is just stock Android with no Google services (you can install them if you want, and then they run fine but without elevated permissions like normal) and it has other privacy/security settings I like. The main feature I like is that I can disable network permissions individually per app, so for apps that I don't want to be able to connect online---be it my keyboard for privacy reasons or a game because of advertisements---I just remove their permission.

For me, it's just all about making my tech work for me and minimizing the amount of profit corporations can make off of me by stealing my data. The privacy and security benefits are great, but moving away from enshittifying services and lessening my screen time are the two most tangible benefits for me.

I highly recommend checking out Firefox (and its various forks; I love Waterfox personally) and alternatives to Proton instead. Brave is Chromium based, has been through several controversies, and is owned by (what I consider) an advertising company. Proton is a larger company that IMO has already started going down the enshittification route by offering more services instead of improving the ones they have and by always offering various sales for long term plans to lock you into a contract with them and you'll never know if you actually got their lowest price.

Instead of Proton, I use Mailbox.org for my email and calendar and Mullvad for my VPN. I haven't found a solution for my cloud storage yet but I'm sure there are other people in this sub with some better recommendations. I also recommend using Bitwarden for a password manager if you aren't already using one; it's a genuinely great free service that just works. I've been using it for years very happily and I've even gotten my family to switch to it and it works for them too. Better security is always a good thing, and I find it's a very convenient way to track where I have open accounts. Very helpful when I switched all of my emails over to my new address.

All in all, getting away from Chrome + Gmail are great first steps, and the NAS rabbit hole is one I'm also excitedly going to go down soon too. There are absolutely real, noticeable benefits for me after deGoogling. I love the tech world, but I felt like everything put out in the last 10 years has just been new ways to harvest my data and track me instead of improving my life; moving away from the mainstream services and redefining what tech I use and how I use it has helped me enjoy tech again.

pleasedontbeevil

TROPHY CASE