Man, I feel old remembering when Gmail first came out. I was just a kid but so excited when I snagged one of the early invites. Everyone I knew thought I was crazy cool for using this new "cloud email" thing before it blew up.

Looking back, it's neat being part of tech history like that. But times change and so do we. After all these years of emails flying around online, I'm ready for something different now.

I've decided to make the switch to Proton Mail. It's based in Switzerland and really cares about privacy, which is important to me these days. Sometimes you've gotta know when it's time to move on from old habits, you know? I think Proton Mail is the future and I'm ready to check it out. Later Google - there's a new privacy-focused email guy in town!

Time for a Change

Man, after all these years it's crazy how much info companies like Google have on people. Don't get me wrong, they've provided some great services. But should any one place really hold that much power over users' data?

We've seen a ton of privacy issues explode into the spotlight over the past 20 years too. Google definitely isn't alone in stumbling, but when you're behind Android, search engines, Play Stores and more - that's an insane amount of leverage.

At this point I think it's time for alternatives that put people first, you know? That's why I'm pumped to try out Proton Mail. Their focus on security and privacy in Switzerland seems like a much-needed change of pace these days. Competition is good and I'm ready to see what Proton's all about.

I'm nowhere near as paranoid as some people about privacy and security online. But I still like using a VPN to hide where I'm surfing from - you never know what sketchy sites might be up to.

Plus the digital giants these days totally freak me out. Not only does Google run like half the web through Gmail, Search and all that, their Cloud and AWS basically are the internet behind the scenes. There's no escaping them!

While I can't ditch Big Tech infrastructure, I can control what platforms I personally use. And Gmail just doesn't sit right with me anymore. I'm ready to try something new and safer like Proton Mail. If it means one less tech giant scooping up my info, sign me up. Time to boost my security even if I'm not overly paranoid!

See Ya, Creepy Scanning

Google's old Gmail practices still give me hives. Can you believe they were auto-scanning all our emails, including non-Gmail ones, juuuust so they could target ads even better? And it went down for years before we found out!

When Microsoft and others called them out back in 2013, Google's solution was laughably vague. Who knows what else they've had their fingers in without telling us. Now that's just plain spooky if you ask me.

I know Google will always have their hands in something everywhere online. But I'm bailing on Gmail at least. Proton Mail is the perfect contrast - totally private and underground servers in Switzerland. Might not be totally free of Big Tech, but it's one less creepy company parsing my emails, so sign me up!

Switching to Proton Mail was Breezy

I've actually had a Proton Mail account floating around for a couple years since testing out their VPN (which has apparently gotten way faster now). But I finally made Proton my daily driver due to their pro-privacy approach and sweet features.

Right off the bat, I love how much they value keeping data private instead of selling it off to ads. As a Swiss company, they also avoid US surveillance laws. And it's near impossible for anyone else to peek at your emails - if you forget your password it's all gone for good!

There's end-to-end encryption when messaging other Proton users too. Plus built-in cloud storage, calendar, and options for further encrypting external mail. It's constantly improving too.

Overall the switch was insanely easy and now I don't have to worry as much. Proton Mail is hands down my new fave email because privacy is their number one priority.

Switching to Proton Mail was Effortless

Man, moving over to Proton Mail from Gmail turned out to be a total breeze. It only took me a few clicks and then I never had to look back at my old Gmail page again.

Proton has come such a long way since I first checked it out years ago too. Forwarding my messages and getting the calendar hooked up went super smooth. No issues with alerts on my phone either.

Honestly I'm perfectly happy just using their basic paid plan. I get 10 custom email addresses, can use my own domain name, even shorten it to make it easier to remember. Oh and 15GB of storage? More than enough for me.

It has all the features I need and keeps my stuff away from Google, which is the most important thing. Switching was simple and now I've got an email situation that actually feels private - doesn't get much better than that!

Proton Mail is Worth the Cash

Proton offers some free basics, but it's limited to like 150 emails a day and only 1GB of storage. Free doesn't get you the calendar, password manager or unlimited VPN either. But even the free version blows Gmail out of the water for security alone.

If you commit to a year, their cheap paid plan drops to just $4 a month which seems super reasonable. Or max out for $10 a month and score 500GB of storage, 15 email addresses, 3 custom domains, and unlimited VPN/password manager access.

They even have an affordable family plan option too. Plus some business focused choices for companies.

Now I'm not trying to shill for them or anything - this is about taking back control of my data that I lost years ago when Google took over. A few bucks a month is nothing for that kind of security and privacy. Using Proton full time lately has left zero regrets so far.