Some long overdue changes online. Getting back to the CS community and moving from gmail to Proton. I feel better already.
I have used Protonmail and the VPN service for a few years now and will never look back. My old Gmail account is used for no more than gathering junk mail and has been since I switched.
Why the move away from Gmail?
I don't like being spied on, and that is what Google does. Then, it tries to insinuate itself into every part of one's digital life, and I will have none of it. Google doesn't need to know what I do or what applications I use. Screw them.
I moved away from them years ago and have never regretted it.
I should also say I don't use it for web searches, either - I use either DuckDuckGo or Startpage, neither of whom track you online.
While it's true you can't completely escape being "followed around" by various advertisers and so on, I refuse to help them out and, instead, put as many privacy measures and browser plugins in the way that even if they were able to track me, they're gonna earn it; I'm not gonna ba a fool and just hand over information to them .
I get it.
I've just decided it's not a fight I need to have in my life right now. I'm no fan of all that stuff but in the grand scheme of things in my life, it's at the bottom of the pile. Maybe someday I'll decide to deal with it. 🤷♀️