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I'm not trying to compare gmail and fastmail. I'm trying get off gmail, and that is the top priority. However, changing email providers is relatively disruptive

by bbatha 7y ago

I'm not trying to compare gmail and fastmail. I'm trying get off gmail, and that is the top priority. However, changing email providers is relatively disruptive and I'd prefer to choose one that can last me 5-10 years. Fastmail was that choice but uncertainty about Australian encryption laws throws a wrench into that equation. My concern with encryption law is not necessarily that FastMail will respond to warrants (though total non-compliance in a non-5 eyes country would be ideal), its how frequently and do they need to otherwise compromise the security of the product in order to do so. FastMail seems to think that the new laws will impact them negatively.[0] FastMail's response to these claims has not been exactly confidence inspiring as the Australian government could compel the company to comply not just individual coders.[1] The real question I'm asking is, is fastmail my only real alternative to gmail? 0: https://reclaimthenet.org/fastmail-australian-encryption-law/ https://reclaimthenet.org/fastmail-australian-encryption-law... 1: https://fastmail.blog/2018/12/21/advocating-for-privacy-aabill-australia/ https://fastmail.blog/2018/12/21/advocating-for-privacy-aabi...

ocdtrekkie 7y ago
FastMail certainly isn't the only alternative, but it's a really good one. I don't blame FastMail for criticizing the law, and it does impact them negatively: Despite not affecting their service at all from a technical standpoint, it is scaring people away from their service. For the most part, any paid email service which has custom domain support and isn't owned by an adtech company should be, as far as privacy concerns go, likely pretty solid. You just tend to see FastMail brought up a lot because a lot of us have switched to it and are enthusiastic fans of it. ;)
newscracker 7y ago
There are several Ask HN posts about alternatives for Gmail. Apart from Fastmail, there are more privacy focused services. Some of them: posteo.de, runbox.com, mailbox.org and mailfence.com. These are a lot cheaper than Fastmail too, with full IMAP support. If you want a much cheaper service for many mailboxes, take a look at Migadu. For most people who need multiple mailboxes but don't send a lot of emails (but receive many), I'd find it hard to beat that pricing.

by bbatha 7y ago

ocdtrekkie 7y ago

FastMail certainly isn't the only alternative, but it's a really good one. I don't blame FastMail for criticizing the law, and it does impact them negatively: Despite not affecting their service at all from a technical standpoint, it is scaring people away from their service. For the most part, any paid email service which has custom domain support and isn't owned by an adtech company should be, as far as privacy concerns go, likely pretty solid. You just tend to see FastMail brought up a lot because a lot of us have switched to it and are enthusiastic fans of it. ;)

newscracker 7y ago

There are several Ask HN posts about alternatives for Gmail. Apart from Fastmail, there are more privacy focused services. Some of them: posteo.de, runbox.com, mailbox.org and mailfence.com. These are a lot cheaper than Fastmail too, with full IMAP support. If you want a much cheaper service for many mailboxes, take a look at Migadu. For most people who need multiple mailboxes but don't send a lot of emails (but receive many), I'd find it hard to beat that pricing.