> The idea that we use our email accounts, attached to huge corporations which siphon every detail about us for their advertising engines is absolutely absurd.

> The idea that we use our email accounts, attached to huge corporations which siphon every detail about us for their advertising engines is absolutely absurd. That's what the companies want, though. Facebook and Twitter don't trust me because I have an email address, they trust me because I have a _Google_ email address. Having a Gmail account means that Google trusts you. Google only trusts you if you provide a reputable phone number. If you host your own email, you can't do anything because nobody trusts you. Changing the protocol from email to crypto won't fix that. I either have to be reputable ("Yes I'm wealthy, Google trusts me, I have a phone number which means I have a bank account, which means I'm a legal citizen with a government ID, and this is my legal name") or I can't get in. Standing up my own throw-away identity will be as useless tomorrow as a Mailinator address is today. For you and me, email auth is a dark pattern. For the companies, it's a feature. It keeps out freeloaders, spammers, and criminals.