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Ask HN: Email Provider for Main Account?

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Re: Ask HN: Email Provider for Main Account?

#21

Post by KomoD »

brokegrammer wrote: post #20

Just use gmail because using your own domain or something weird like pm.me can freak some companies out depending on where you live. I tried using my own domain at a bank once and they started questioning whether it was a fake email or something. Use gmail then setup a tool like imapsync to sync all your mail to another mailbox.

"something weird"

There's nothing weird about pm.me

> I tried using my own domain at a bank once and they started questioning whether it was a fake email or something.

So just say "Yes, that is my actual email" and the issue is solved.

Re: Ask HN: Email Provider for Main Account?

#22

Post by KomoD »

svennek wrote: post #4

I have my own domain (that I share with relatives), and use mailbox.org for hosting it. I chose them after a rather lengthy search. Reasons for choosing them(pros) - multiple "payment accounts" can share the same domain (securely), which was my primary reason for choosing them. I.e. I cannot access my brother's mail in any way, even if we share the same domain, because he is his own admin. - you can pay extra for mor…

How long have you been using them for?

I've been with Google Workspace for a few years now but I feel like it might be time to move.

> - multiple "payment accounts" can share the same domain (securely), which was my primary reason for choosing them.

That's a cool feature

Re: Ask HN: Email Provider for Main Account?

#25

Post by andyjohnson0 »

burgerzzz wrote: post #24

[flagged]

I get the rationale, but I feel that this is bad advice.

A well-run, reputable domain registrar will give you plenty of warnings when a domain is coming up for renewal. And when the domain expires there is usually [1] a period afterwards when it can be retrieved before anyone else can buy it.

Set the domain to auto-renew, make sure the registrar has your payment details, set calendar reminders. Its not difficult.

The alternative is gmail or similar, where you can lose access to your email, and perhaps the root of your digital "identity", at the whim of some hair-trigger algorithm [2] and be left unable to even communicate with the provider to get it fixed.

So get a domain from a decent registrar. Pay several years in advance. Keep your payment and contact details up to date.

[1] based on my experience of Cloudflare and other registrars

[2] plenty of examples of this on HN and elsewhere

Re: Ask HN: Email Provider for Main Account?

#26

Post by aprilnya »

burgerzzz wrote: post #24

[flagged]

I completely disagree… the upsides of having a domain completely outweigh the downsides for me

Domains are cheap, $10 a year, and you can set up auto renew, or renew them for years in advance.

Most registrars also send you alerts (e.g. the registrar I use, Porkbun, sends alerts at 60, 30, 5 days before expiry)

Migrating to a new email service is a colossal task if you don’t use your own domain which you can just point at the new one, and if your email service decides to kick you out, you lose access to all the same accounts as if your domain expired.

My domain expiring is totally within my control. My email provider kicking me out is not.

Re: Ask HN: Email Provider for Main Account?

#27

Post by aprilnya »

I was using Proton Mail for a while with a custom domain, which was great as a single user with a single domain. Phenomenal email service and the other apps they offer are cool too.

I ended up switching to Migadu however, as nowadays I need to have multiple domains, and multiple people might need to have accounts on some of them.

- Pros of your own domain: migrating to a new provider is really easy (don’t need to change your email address everywhere), your email provider can’t kick you out and make you lose everything

- Cons of your own domain: if you forget to renew it, you lose your email, but it’s pretty hard to forget to renew it IMO

Re: Ask HN: Email Provider for Main Account?

#29

Post by HenryBemis »

I will echo what (almost) everyone else wrote. Get your own domain. Lock it every way to Sunday, so you don't lose it. Extend it 10y at a time. Use gmail as a backup.

In both Gmail and the Domain Registrar give them 'everything' passport, etc. so even if you manage to lose it somehow, you can prove yourself to be you/the real owner, and get it back (no more "oh I used a free online SMS website to register").

If you got a best-friend-in-the-world, and they have the same setup (their own domain) you can crisscross and be each other's recovery 'email'.

Re: Ask HN: Email Provider for Main Account?

#30

Post by palata »

First, I would suggest you get your own domain. That way you are not bound to a provider. I had Proton, then moved to Fastmail, and finally to Migadu. I didn't have to tell anyone because I owned my domain, therefore the address did not change.
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