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Did the same thing a few weeks ago. The original reasons were that gmail was incredibly slow in FF, and I wasn't really comfortable with Google reading my mail.
by yogthos 8y ago
Did the same thing a few weeks ago. The original reasons were that gmail was incredibly slow in FF, and I wasn't really comfortable with Google reading my mail.
People point out that the email is read by an automated system, but that doesn't change the fact that Google is building a profile of me and selling it to advertisers.
With Fastmail there's a business model I can understand. I pay them money and they provide me a service.
The really dark side of all this is that we're quickly moving towards a world where you only get privacy if you can afford it.
- kmlx 8y ago>> I wasn't really comfortable with Google reading my mail. Neither G Suite Gmail nor regular Gmail have been used and/or scanned for ads personalisation since back in 2017: https://blog.google/products/gmail/g-suite-gains-traction-in-the-enterprise-g-suites-gmail-and-consumer-gmail-to-more-closely-align/ https://blog.google/products/gmail/g-suite-gains-traction-in...
- 0x54D5 8y agoIt's not even about that. Gmail gets scanned for things like airline or event tickets to help with travel and navigation so I assume that data is then mined further once it's outside of Gmail.
- yogthos 8y agoEven if they stopped using the data for ad personalisation, they're obviously still scanning it. The new auto reply suggestions feature relies on that. While they might not be using that data for anything nefarious at the moment, there's nothing stopping them from changing their mind in the future. Personally, I just feel more comfortable paying 4 bucks a month to a company that isn't trying to monetize me.
- kmlx 8y agocorrect me if i'm wrong, but doesn't every email service scan emails? be it for spam, security, viruses. they have to scan them. i thought this is standard industry practice.
- yogthos 8y agoTypically, that's based on the email metadata such as the sender address, or mime types of the attachments as opposed to the actual content of the email.
- joshuamorton 8y agoI think that's only correct as of like 1995. Even simple tools like spam assassin read the body, and you can bet that almost any public provider is doing more than spam assassin.
- hn23 8y agoBut they do not sell it or analyze it for advertising...
- joshuamorton 8y agoNeither does Google.
- JohnFen 8y agoSo they claim.
- hn23 8y agoSo you think Google gives it for free? Thought it is common sense: If you are not paying for it, you are the product.
- joshuamorton 8y agoThere are ads on Gmail. They just aren't based on emails. Not to mention all kinds of actually free services. Think colab.
- andrei_says_ 8y ago> selling it to advertisers If you’re in China or occupied Tibet it may be not only advertisers but also an oppressive and adversarial government. Maybe not today but next year. And, if available in one place, eventually available elsewhere.
- yogthos 8y agoThat applies even if you're in US given what we now know from Snowden.
- Vinnl 8y agoThe other dark side is that half of the email you send from your fastmail account will still be going to Gmail and hence can still be used by Google to build a profile of you, if they so desire.
- yogthos 8y agoSome is better than all, and most people I interact with are technical who either already switched, or are considering switching.