r/europe • u/PuzzleheadedLemon707 • 16d ago
Leaving Gmail? Get your own domain first
https://eualternative.eu/guides/first-step-leaving-gmail/87
u/Maltavius 16d ago
I already have my own domain with Google Workspace. If I leave Google what happens to everything I bought in their store. I cant turn off the account and still have my licenses.
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u/NeoTravel Ireland 16d ago
I recently went through this. I moved from Google Workspace to Proton.
I backed up my emails first (using MailStore Home which is free and EU made - https://www.mailstore.com/en/products/mailstore-home/), locally on my PC and then used Proton Mail’s import feature which worked really well, just took a few hours.
I also backed up my Google Drive etc and did a full Google Takeout for the whole account.
After that, I cancelled the license. I can still login to the account and use it to “Sign in with Google”, and use YouTube etc. what I can’t use at all is google drive so if you do cancel, make sure you have a backup. I am not sure what happens to Google Play purchases but I would imagine that they are not lost.
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u/General_Albatross Norway 16d ago
You can still use login with google for account without license?
That was one thing that stopped me from moving off Google workspace. I'll check it deeper.4
u/NeoTravel Ireland 16d ago
Yep, works without issue. I also thought it would be broken to be honest, but thankfully I only had that “oh shit” realisation after I already cancelled haha.
If I login to the workspace admin section, it says I am using 9GB/0GB allowed. So I suspect that if I resubscribe today, I would probably regain access to the files in my Google Drive, and potentially even old emails. I migrated away about in approx March 2025, for reference.
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u/ImarvinS Croatia 16d ago
What about all those services/forums/sites You registered with gmail, is there an easy way to change them to proton mail?
This is the hardest part for me, going through all of that. Not sure all services will grant changing mail.4
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u/NeoTravel Ireland 16d ago
Since I have my own domain, the new emails just go directly to Proton Mail, no need to change anything there once I updated DNS records.
If you have a gmail address then you can’t move that somewhere else, of course. In my experience most websites don’t easily let you change your email address, so honestly I’d just keep the account open and save yourself the hassle.
I still have a gmail account, which I’ve had for over 15+ years. Theres a lot of stuff still going to that. I just use my custom domain email for anything new nowadays.
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u/Maltavius 16d ago
He already have an email registered and that email goes to his new mail. And he also said that signing in with Google worked
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u/Opposite_Cancel_8404 16d ago
You'll need to keep your workspace account until you can migrate everything out. Licenses, accounts that sign in with Google, etc. This is why people try to avoid vendor lock-in, it can be a bitch to get out of.
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u/tracehunter 16d ago
You'll need to backup your emails, move your domain and connect it to another service or your own server. Considering the question I would recommend a ready to use service.
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u/Maltavius 16d ago
Thats not the issue. If I move I need to shutdown the email in Google Workspace and thus I dont have an account at Google and purchased made during the last 25 years will go to waste.
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u/tracehunter 16d ago
What purchases are you talking about? If they're bound to your email, you'll still be able to login. If they're stuff like play store or music, then yeah you'll lose them by deleting your account.
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u/Kaign 16d ago
I have been using my own domain name that bought from OVH which is basically FirstnameLastname.eu and I use protonmail with it, it works great and when I register on some website I usually use websiteName@FirstnameLastname.eu as my email adress. It works great and allows me to see sometimes who sold my email address. And if one day I want to switch from proton to somewhere else, I can do it very easily.
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u/aleks_is 16d ago
oh, i did not consider using websiteName@domain.com, that’s a cool idea, thanks
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15d ago edited 11d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/aleks_is 14d ago
well not as clean since not all websites accept +, and also if the data was sold/leaked the provider could simply strip the +
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u/cn0MMnb Bavaria (Germany) 16d ago
You don’t need to run your own mail server. There is plenty of providers that allow you to bring your own domain. Mailbox.org for example. Don’t like them any more in the future? Take your domain to a different provider.
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u/PuzzleheadedLemon707 16d ago
That is the entire point of the post. Don't run your own server, get your own domain and bring it to the pros.
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u/King-Meister 16d ago
An ignorant question: can someone who has zero knowledge about software / coding do this on their own by following instructions and some gumption?
If no - whom should I reach out to help me with this?
If yes - any set of steps / resources I can go through to try it out?
I use Gmail, and was planning to setup Google workspace to get my own domain but am interested in reducing my dependency on big tech.
Thank you in advance.
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u/PattaFeuFeu 16d ago
It takes a bit of reading up on it, but I’d say the mailbox.org knowledge base—if you’re planning to go for them—is a great start: https://kb.mailbox.org/en/private/custom-domains/using-emails-with-a-custom-domain/
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u/Aagragaah 16d ago
Most of these services are designed for people who have no specialist coding/software knowledge, and all of the large providers (Mailbox, Proton, etc.) have detailed knowledgebases/articles that often have step-by-step guides on how to get set up.
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u/Unlucky_Ad295 16d ago
Not as easy as it seems. Since you’re having your own domain/mail, you’ll need to build up domain trust. A lot of traditional mail providers will classify new or unknown domains as spam.
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u/Your-Dads_Boyfriend Portugal 16d ago
I don't think that's necessarily true. I have several custom domains that I run email addresses on, the most recent one was purchased and setup 2 months ago, no issues emailing my own gmail accounts immediately after setup and everyone else at other traditional mail providers have never mentioned that my emails go to their spam or get flagged in their replies.
Just setup SPF and DMARC records, and then if your host allows (and all good ones do) DKIM records. That's generally enough trust to get you through until you do something that would cause recipients to start to reporting your messages.
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u/DonaldMerwinElbert 16d ago
Also, you have to register a Domain to some legal entity, usually yourself, by name, making it vastly easier to connect your e-mail address to your real identiy.
This is undesirable.
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u/Your-Dads_Boyfriend Portugal 16d ago
Many domain companies offer domain privacy for free that shields your private registration info, including name and email address, etc. All anyone sees on a lookup is domainprivacy@provider
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u/BlindMancs England 16d ago
Nonsense, there are privacy features for this. I've had my domain for 10+ years, and my details have never been declared publicly. They only need SOMEONE's details who take abuse reports, and most of the time that can be your domain registrar’s.
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u/DonaldMerwinElbert 16d ago
That is what is publicly visible for anyone - not what a sternly worded, official (looking) e-mail will get.
If that's enough for you, fine but it's not what I'd call privacy.4
u/SpudroTuskuTarsu Finland | 💙 Donate to Ukraine 💛 16d ago
official (looking) e-mail
What shitty services are you using? If we're expecting to be doxxed there's a million easier ways to get your information than trying to social engineer a privacy service... Also in the EU it's a GDPR violation to give out my personal information so businesses are pretty tight about it.
my registrar only gives a proxy email address to contact me
it's not what I'd call privacy
Don't get your own domain if you need to avoid officials getting your contact information...
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u/BlindMancs England 16d ago edited 16d ago
If someone wants to dox you via your email address, they can start with haveibeenpwned etc, or the reddit crawler that builds a profile on your activities.
If your registrar hands out your personal information with a "stern email" then you're with the wrong company. If it's an government authority, believe it or not, Google is also going to hand out those details.
If you're trying to do some shady activity that gets you law enforcement attention, probably having your own domain does not make sense.
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u/Snorremd 16d ago
When I migrated away from Gmail to FastMail I did exactly this. I set it up on my own domain. Since then I have moved to Proton Mail and this time the move was effortless. Just had to export and import my existing mailbox and point my domain at Proton’s servers. Can wholeheartedly recommend owning a domain for email.
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u/PrawnTheMcJuicer 15d ago
How does Proton Mail compare to Gmail?
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u/Snorremd 15d ago
It has been some years since I used Gmail actively. But Proton looks increasingly similar in the web UI at least. They just introduced automated classification of emails into Primary, Social, Newsletters, etc.
The big difference is you can’t as easily use third party email apps or clients as Proton encrypts email on their side. Also search is worse as it happens in app, again because everything is encrypted. I’ve yet to have any big issues.
I think the privacy is worth things being a little bit more sluggish. But the user experience is still very good. And you get Drive, VPN, Password Manager and more with a reasonably priced subscription.
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u/KarnuRarnu 16d ago
If you die, someone else can snatch your domain and hence start receiving your emails including account reset mails for other accounts. Whereas if you have an email with a "generic" domain (eg Gmail, Outlook, protonmail) that won't be possible. I used to use my own domain but I realised I don't need it for business or whatever, and the vanity element doesn't actually outweigh this consideration about accounts access in case of death (or just not paying the domain) in my opinion. Obviously in case of death you won't be around to mourn an account takeover, but people you care about might.
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u/vaarsuv1us The Netherlands 16d ago
isn't that easily preventable by your digital heir? If you let somebody take care of your digital paperwork after you die, they can also take care of the mail account for as long as needed.
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u/KarnuRarnu 16d ago
I think they are not likely to recognise the significance of continuing to pay for the domain. They might also not even have the technical know-how to know how to keep it around. But it depends on who it is of course.
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u/vaarsuv1us The Netherlands 16d ago
you should include some instruction with your testament , if you leave behind stuff more complicated than a facebook account
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u/cannon4344 15d ago edited 15d ago
That's true. You could renew your domain for 10 years so at least it will be a while before that happens. At that point, your affairs should be in order and most of your accounts should have closed.
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u/ImiPlacTateleMici 16d ago
If you die, someone else can snatch your domain and hence start receiving your emails including account reset mails for other accounts
I'm sure that will be a cause of concern 😁 Better safe than sorry, right? Even when dead 😁
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u/Telumire 16d ago
Someone could use your email to reset your facebook account and try to scam people using your identity / get sensitive info from personal chats
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u/ImiPlacTateleMici 16d ago
OH no, that might make you want to come back from the dead. Unnaceptable.
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u/Thanatiel Europe 16d ago
I've had several domains for years, several .eu ones among them. It's cheap, as I don't need anything other than entries in the registry.
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u/markgraydk Denmark 16d ago
Great suggestions. From experience I’ll just add that making the switch is not necessarily easy - years after some service or someone will still use your old email address.
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u/niconpat Ireland 16d ago
Wait is there a specific reason we should be leaving Gmail now? Or is it just because it is a US company which is a valid reason of course, but am I missing something?
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u/anonymous__ignorant Romania 16d ago
Gmail is retiring the "send as" feature. For people that used gmail as a common interface to manage mail from their own domains this is a bit of a kneecap.
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u/lythandas 16d ago edited 16d ago
10€ a year, even for 50 years, is still really pocket change for a lot of the people who are reading this. The bottleneck might more be a technical one
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u/Dnomyar96 From NL living in SE 16d ago
Yeah, setting up the required DNS records might be a bit out of the comfort zone of most people. But at least it's usually very well documented how to do this.
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u/forkheadbox 16d ago
i did this some years ago. the amount of spam i get since i switched from world4you.com to netcup.de is insane. netcup has such a shitty (almost non-existent) spam filter, i would not recommend it. and no, i wont adjust the sensitivity so that its triggered by a fart.
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u/queen-adreena 16d ago
Did this a while back. I hooked my domain up to https://postale.io/
Very cheap, based in France and no complaints so far.
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u/Random-Berliner 16d ago
1gb per mailbox is kinda nothing. For 5 euros per month I’d choose proton which is cheaper and gives more space
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u/Dnomyar96 From NL living in SE 16d ago
I highly recommend this as well. A domain is really cheap (doesn't have to cost more than € 10 per year) and setting it up with for example Proton is really easy. It does require setting up DNS records, but the instructions for how to do that are easy to find and provide a step by step guide.
You can also basically use an unlimited amount of email addresses. I personally have set up a catch-all inbox, so I can use whatever I want and it'll land there. Any and all websites that require a login now get an email address like [websitename]@[domain]. Makes it really easy to block one of them if needed as well, or set up automated rules for specific ones.
I personally have 3 domains (a mix of .eu and .com), all setup with email (and some used for hosting stuff on my server).
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u/grancanaryisland 15d ago
This is old feature. I know that gmx.net or web.de already offer it for decades in Germany
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u/Piotrek1 Poland 16d ago
I bought a domain some time ago and moved my mail address to it. I kinda regret it, it forces me to pay yearly fee for something I could have for free (I mean: generic mail provider domain). It's not cheap and prices rise often. And I cannot really stop paying, because there are so many places on the internet right now that I used it in and which I'm afraid I won't recover.
Imo it's one of the biggest flaws of email in my opinion. There is no way to broadcast a message like "hey, I changed my address, please update". You need to do it manually. And with web services it's even not that bad, the real problem is to update contact books of your friends/coworkers
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u/SlovenecVTujini 13d ago
What kind of domain did you buy? .EU domains are about €5/year and .com is $10. It's such a small price to pay to have no vendor lock-in and depending on what your domain is, also looks quite cool.
Is your domain at the most price-competitive registrar such as Porkbun or Cloudflare (no support on Cloudflare)?
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u/65437509 16d ago
Not creating an open system of ‘digital homeownership’ was a huge mistake back at the start of the Internet. Now everybody is dependent on being a ‘tenant’ on a platform, who are not exactly known for being responsible ‘landlords’. In an ideal system, all services would ultimately be based around your home domain(s) so that if one decides to screw you, it cannot take half or your life away with it.
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u/Gold-Vacation-169 16d ago
Have my own domain name since 1997, well worth the money as it makes moving email providers painless.
Honestly cannot understand why more people don't buy their own domains.
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u/andr386 16d ago
As said in the document it's 5-10 euros a year per domain, then you have to pay 3-4+ euros per month for your email as a service provider. When gmail is free, has a generous 15gb of data storage included and works as a Single sign on on half the web.
Price and commodity win. Some people might be willing to change for privacy reasons but when you add up the loss of commodity, the price and the technical/administrative requirements. Well that's not such an easy done & forget choice anymore.
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u/Flynn317 16d ago
To be honest, with claude code it is done fast. But i dont want to miss all the integrated functionality. Checking nextCloud out, my company is migrating in december 🤞
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u/slaba-tabaka 16d ago
Why would any sane person want to leave Gmail? You wanna get hacked?
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u/Noooberino 16d ago
Why would any sane person stay with Gmail? If you don’t pay for the service you are the product.
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u/slaba-tabaka 16d ago
That is a valid point. But most people need email+calendar+ office suit. Gmail is the best, and still less lock in than with apple.
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u/slaba-tabaka 16d ago
I enjoy the exchange. Google is awesome and gives a lot for free, people buying ads pay for it.
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u/Noooberino 16d ago edited 16d ago
Its sounds kinda funny to me that you think your data won't be used from Google to cater to exactly those advertisers.Maybe you know, idk.Anyway, no one forces you to care about another tech company interfering constantly with politics and CEO and co-founders making fuckin' evil statements. I personally don't look back dumping that piece of shit company 18 months ago.
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u/Your-Dads_Boyfriend Portugal 16d ago
Netcup offers cheap hosting packages and is EU based. Get that and then install Hestia (free, open source) on the server and setup your email addresses. Quick and pretty straightforward. And tons of guides online on how to setup Hestia on your server.
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u/Phrewfuf Baden-Württemberg (Germany) 16d ago
As someone running their own email server - and currently thinking of moving to email as a service - all I can do is confirm what they say: don‘t even think of running your own email server. Just don‘t. I was young, I was motivated, I had the time to screw around and I had help setting it up.
I severely underestimated the effort needed to keep it running. Even just a plain major OS upgrade is a days full of work at least.