[tjoff]

Use a custom domain and don't use google for email.

And if you do use your gmail address just forward it and start to transition to something else. With time everything of importance has been transferred.

[aliljet]

How do you even pull away from a Gmail address? I'm nearly twenty years into that service. Getting banned would be absolutely devastating...

[calcifer]

Use your own domain to sign up for a paid email service, provided by a company that focuses on email. I use Fastmail, but there are many other options.

Set up forwarding in Gmail to your new address.

Then, whenever you log in to a website or app with your Gmail, take a moment to change it to your new address. In a few weeks, most of your important accounts will be covered. In a few months, almost everything you still actively use will be done.

I did this ~5 years ago and the only thing that still arrives at my Gmail is spam.

[ikidd]

I just sold a domain I had for 25 years and used for everything including API endpoints, email, authentication, etc. It took a couple weeks to transition myself and my family/friends.

Pretty sure just moving emails would have take a lot less effort. I had the advantage of keeping the domain until I was ready to move, now imagine Google just turned it off one day and what your workload would be. I shudder to think about having to deal with that.

[ptero]

Register your own domain, use a third-party provider to handle actual sending and receiving (I use proton, which makes the setup very easy), forward your Gmail to your personal domain address and as renewals and reminders come in switch your email on services to your personal domain.

After a year or two losing Gmail becomes an inconvenience; after a few more years it is nothing. As everything is now on your own domain name you can switch providers without affecting anything.

That's what I did about 5 years ago and my only regret is not doing it earlier.

[cadamsdotcom]

I just migrated to Fastmail (on my domain), it’s fantastic. It works just like Gmail in every way I need, haven’t missed Gmail or Google Calendar one bit. It’s clearly made by people who know Gmail well and understand why it works the way it does. I thought it’d be a huge migration but it was actually boring. Search works, 20 years of emails just magically migrated over. Spam detection is better. Couldn’t be happier!

Accidentally typed gmail.com the other day, it took 4 seconds to load (Fastmail is instant) and when it finished loading there was an ad to try some paid Google service. Felt like a flashback to an abusive ex.

[ok_dad]

Just start changing addresses. Forward the rest. It takes about a year. Changing your name is way harder and tons of folks do that all the time.

[Gareth321]

I had my Gmail for almost 20 years and made the transition. It's annoying and time consuming but I think well worth it. I bought a domain and host it on iCloud. It's like $3/month for 6 email addresses (you can use it with the family). That includes a little cloud data and other services like hidden email addresses. DNS is handled by Cloudflare for free. Then start moving each service/login to the new email address. Every time you log into something, change the email address. I took the opportunity to update passwords and passkeys too, using Vaultwarden. I was lazy and had used similar passwords for a lot of services. Passwords are all long and unique now.

Now, even if Apple bans me, I can move my host within minutes. I never lose access to my email domain. It's much more professional and I can do catch-all. E.g. netflix@[domain.com]. This way I can see who sells my email address to spammers and block it.

[bhuga]

I moved away from a gmail address that was that old, dating back to the invitation-only days. It had become more spam than not, mostly other people who share my initials not knowing their own email addresses. But the possible devastation you mention was more worrying. It had become too much of a risk for my banking and identity generally to not own my email address.

I got a custom domain. I still host it on google, because I know how impossible it is for small companies to have a reasonable program to deal with insider threats. Because of that, I think only one of the giant companies can realistically provide secure email. And the google app suite is great. Now that I pay for google workspace, there's support and appeals available, and if they ban me anyway, I still control the domain and can regain access to everything.

I have not been able to delete the old address, even after 3 years. There are some things like Google Fi that can only use a non-workplace google account. Very, very rarely, I still get an email that matters on it. But I got to the point where I could stop checking it in about 2 months, and now I look at it about once a week quickly, more out of habit than anything else.

The switch was annoying, but not "hard". It was worth it.

[cube00]

Get your own domain so you can easily change providers in the future. Start with your password manager and change the address on all the accounts you have in there.

After a few years you'll notice you stop bothering to check your Gmail and you can delete it to close the address.

If you need motivation, skim the /r/GMail subreddit and see how many people are getting locked out daily.

[teyopi]

buy a domain.

create icloud account.

use their custom domain email setup (free btw) - https://support.apple.com/en-us/102540

Start replacing important account emails with your custom domain.

Every time you get an important email in gmail, login and update.

Bonus: icloud let's you create catch all emails, so you can create many burner emails such as [e-mail]

[danielheath]

I switched to my own domain ages ago; it only took 2-3 years to stop getting relevant mail to the old one (I put a forwarding rule in place and just used the new one for everything).

Imported all my past mail on day one, forwarding meant I had one inbox only, and I only sent mail from the new domain. A few gentle “please stop using my old address” conversations with family.

[nextaccountic]

Begin with making a list of all services where you subscribed using gmail...

[simonjgreen]

It will never be easier than right now. Every day you stay, you dig their moat around you even deeper

[svilen_dobrev]

gmail uses IMAP.

make another mailbox (another provider - migadu, fastmail, proton, whoever) that has IMAP as well. (selfhosting.. is PITA. only if u really need it).

install some standalone mail-client - thunderbird, clawsmail, applemail, or k9 , aqua on android, whatever. Attach both mailboxes into that. Find out how to copy an e-mail from one folder into another.

Folder by folder, select all mails, copy from one mailbox into the other. Will take time.

(Beware, some clients (apple) will fuckup the mail-date, anything older than 5 years becomes 5 years old. or it shows like that. YMMV.)

i have made this multiple times, for 20+ years of mails...

[benhurmarcel]

I just went through all accounts in my password manager, logged in and changed my email. It takes a little while but not that much.

[gmerc]

took about 30 minutes to switch to proton mail

[akhilchaturvedi]

Google Takeout :)

[ForHackernews]

Sign up at fastmail.com, set up forwarding, change your "reply-to" address. A year later, you'll have nothing arriving in gmail except marketing cruft.

[andrepd]

It's really not that hard. I switched about 10 years ago. Just every time you log in with your old email, replace it with your new one. Every time you email someone, email them from your new one with a note: "this is my new email". In a few months I had migrated everything to the new email.

[8cvor6j844qw_d6]

Same. I still have an old Gmail address that receives forgotten but still considered important emails from various services.

What's the playbook for migrating away in this situation?

[Hikikomori]

Just have to get started and suffer for a while and make it a practice to switch emails when you log into places.

I switched to fastmail with my own domain.

[bilalq]

This has its own risk factors. If your domain renewal lapses due to credit card expiry or something and you fail to notice, it's catastrophic. This is just not realistic advice for the average person.

[sowbug]

You can usually purchase 10 years up front. But then you should set a reminder for every 3 years or so to keep topping up, or else you'll forget how to even sign into the registrar.

You're right that having a vanity domain for your primary email address isn't for the faint of heart. There isn't any realistic advice for the average person because it's not for the average person.

[cyberax]

Not really? You just jump in and fix the domain name. You have 75 days before a lapsed domain is released into general availability.

Sure, you'll likely miss some emails, but otherwise it's safe.

[rzerowan]

There was a time back when we could get generic LoginWIth OAUTH butons along with the social media roster , allowing one to use whichever provider they wanted.

Current state of OIDC should be pretty much standard across most providers - it put it that devs need too make the push to support alt login providers for preventing vendor lockin in identity like were currently barreling towards in hardware/software.