Since gmail is excellent why you choose a paid one?

[jeffpan]

I am the subscriber of both FM and Runbox.
b/c gmail is blocked entirely by GFW in China.
And the other free services are not as good as gmail.
So for better performance/security/privacy etc I choose the paid services above.
But what are your reasons to leave from gmail? most probably because of privacy?

[B4its2L8]

And customer service.

[jl66]

And even many more features (aliases, disk space, encryption in some paid email services, etc...).

[alvinh]

for own domain email... yes i don't want my important email change when provider change their condition org stop doing email.. who knows.

with own domain... i'm free to choose hosting, but always have same email address

[David]

Originally Posted by jeffpan

But what are your reasons to leave from gmail? most probably because of privacy?

I have a GMail address that I keep as a throw away address. GMail is very good for that

[kijinbear]

Because gmail is not "excellent" for me.

Gmail IMAP is completely broken, and they have no intention to fix it. This makes it a major hassle to migrate from Gmail to any other email service. In general, I try to avoid relying on services that I can't stop using at 48 hours' notice.

The app and webmail have gotten increasingly annoying over the last few years, and the broken IMAP implementation makes it difficult to choose generic IMAP clients that I like better. Labels seemed to be a good idea when they first came out, but I've found that the lack of interoperability makes them a bigger liability than they're worth.

Above all, it's "free", which is a negative point for me because I don't want to be someone else's product. Free email should be seen with the same level of suspicion as an excessively cheap used car.

I do have several Gmail accounts, but they're only for specific purposes such as signing up with spammy websites, using the Play Store on my Android phone, and subscribing to Google Groups.

[Bamb0]

GMAIL is not that good!! (They read everything you get and send)


I have a gmail acct but I do not use it!! (Do not trust them) -- I do know some ppl on gmail but I dont talk about very important stuff w/them let me tell you!!

[Tsunami]

Originally Posted by Bamb0

GMAIL is not that good!! (They read everything you get and send)

While I am not trusting Google 100%, let's not get too paranoid. they have bots scanning everything, not staff that reads through emails. They'd need to hire an entire country's population if they would want to have every email manually read by a staff member. It's just bots scanning the mails.

I would also say the interface is still very much OK, there is 2 step authentication if you want, an overview of previous sign-ins, ... It's far from perfect but also far from bad. And it's unlikely to ever cease operating.

[scott2020]

I am concerned with privacy as well, but I still use Gmail for all of my email. I am forwarding my personal domain to gmail. The integration with android is what keeps me around. It is scary, but I kind of like seeing shipping update and flight information pop up on my android phone. It has great search capabilities and has been very reliable. Also, the sorting of updates, promotions, and other things works great and keeps the inbox clear.

[nachoig]

Originally Posted by Tsunami

It's just bots scanning the mails.

Just bots? What about the aggregated information built by those bots?

Also, I don't want to have my mails scanned by bots for ad purposes. More than this, we should remember these bots scans e-mails from non-Gmail users too. Did you ask them to allow this?

[jeffpan]

For privacy stuff I won't use gmail. But for a free mail I trust nobody else than gmail.
outlook? yahoo? AOL? GMX? I think they are even worse on privacy issue.
So for me, if gmail is unavailable, a premium service is the choice.

[kaptitsky]

Originally Posted by nachoig

Just bots? What about the aggregated information built by those bots?

Also, I don't want to have my mails scanned by bots for ad purposes. More than this, we should remember these bots scans e-mails from non-Gmail users too. Did you ask them to allow this?

Google profiles users to make their experience using the service much better. By knowing more about you, Google can use algorithms to tailor what it displays to you to more effectively meet your needs.

If the idea that services watch what you choose when you use them and then use those choices to tailor a user experience to your preferences -- and yes, that includes showing ads that you find relevant and useful -- is disquieting to you, then I suggest you stop using the internet.

Privacy is not the same as anonymity. It never has been and it never will be.

Using a service permits them to track you, monitoring your choices and using that collected information for their own purposes.

Privacy means they won't disclose or share that information except within the bounds of their published policies.

Fearing "big brother" is fine, but if that means you don't want any big brother to help you find and manage the information you want, then I suggest you stop using the internet.

[kaptitsky]

Originally Posted by jeffpan

For privacy stuff I won't use gmail. But for a free mail I trust nobody else than gmail.
outlook? yahoo? AOL? GMX? I think they are even worse on privacy issue.
So for me, if gmail is unavailable, a premium service is the choice.

You use "privacy" two ways in this, which might be confusing.

Do you mean that for information you want to keep highly confidential and secure, you won't use Gmail? Instead, you use a secure service, with encryption and so forth?

For less confidential material, you have no problem using Gmail, because while they collect and use data, they seem to have a solid privacy policy which keeps the information collected about you secure?

Do I understand your meaning?

[somdcomputerguy]

Originally Posted by kijinbear

Because gmail is not "excellent" for me.

+

GMail is not 'excellent' for many people. I will say, just to make clear where I stand; if one likes it and chooses to use it and it's good for that person, then good for you. If one doesn't like and chooses not to use it, then good for that person. Whether one chooses to use that service or not is their own choice.

- Bruce

[kijinbear]

Originally Posted by kaptitsky

Fearing "big brother" is fine, but if that means you don't want any big brother to help you find and manage the information you want, then I suggest you stop using the internet.

I like it when Big Brother helps me find information that I have no idea how to find. Search engines are indispensible in this age of information overload.

But I don't need Big Bother to find and manage information in my own mailbox. I can do that perfectly fine without his help, thank you very much.

Which is another reason I refuse to put all my eggs in the same basket. I allow Google to customize my search results, I allow Amazon to analyze my purchasing habits, and I allow Dropbox to see some of my files, but I'm not going to give any of them access to my mailbox. The best way to take advantage of Big Brother's capabilities without becoming his slave is to keep him confined to specific quarters of your life.