I have been using gmail/google for a long time now (decade or more). But the systems I have come to rely on have been getting enshitified. With their new AI advertisements popping up like crazy…Im just done.

Anyone have a good alternative to gmail? Im looking for something that will not break the bank.

For a bit there, I was running my own email server, but spam and issues with my internet provider (other email servers kept thinking my domain was spamming others) made it hard to keep up. I just dont have the patience anymore for that.

I was thinking of trying out proton or namecheaps offerings and seeing if I like them.

I am used to working with thunderbird but can use online portals if needed. If they have ac alendar that might be a bonus. Personally, I want minimal or no AI. And I want the company to be trusted and in business for at least 5 years.

Any good recommendations?

  • TheMadCodger@piefed.socialEnglish
    7·
    4 days ago

    Seconded. I came from Proton after a number of years. I got frustrated that because of their encryption, I couldn’t use their service outside of their ecosystem. With Fastmail, it just works and comes with easy access to card/caldav, SMTP, etc.

    They just added an api for interfacing with LLMs, which I support because it gives everyone the choice on what to do with their own data. Want to pipe your emails and calendar through a LLM, go for it! Think AI has no place in your inbox, that’s the default. Instead of forcing a shitty AI into their product that no one wants, they enable those that do the option while letting everyone else not have to deal with it. I respect that.

    The price is right, it’s fast and has been around forever. It is hosted in Australia, which while better than the US, is still a member of Five Eyes, so do with that what you will.

    • BL4CKP1XX13@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      5·
      4 days ago

      As a resident of the UK, the international Eyes coallitions are unfortunately unavoidable for me, so that is mostly moot.

      But I agree with everything else, especially the AI API, I would consider allowing a local open-source and open-weight SLM access to my inbox for summarisations / weekly digests, among various other ideas.