Switching to Fastmail

I've used Google Workspace for about 15 years now, and it's been great. The Google ecosystem is comfortable and works well. But more recently — and AI may well be the trigger here — I've wanted to have more ownership of my own data. To know where it is and what it is being used for.

To this end, I've started to build a personal database. I'll share more on that another time, but I'm opting to capture books, films, wines and coffee beans in there rather than use and maintain four different social services that are all essentially just advertising platforms. AI can now provide answers to the "based on my profile, what would I next enjoy" question, so I can trim away the rest.

It's a common saying that if you're not paying for the service, then you and your data are the service. So much of the Google ecosystem is shared, analysed, surfaced and optimised around keeping you inside it, rather than simply providing a requested service.

Email felt like the obvious place to start. Not because I think it's the most at risk, but because it sits underneath so much else. It’s a 15-year archive of messages, receipts, logins, family admin, travel plans, account recovery. A boring utility, until you stop and realise how much of your life passes through it.

I’ve had my own domain for years, so my email address itself isn’t changing. That makes this a much lower-risk move than it would otherwise be. I don't need to ask anyone to update contact details (my parents still try and email my university address!) and I’m not breaking old accounts. I’m just moving the plumbing from Google Workspace to Fastmail.

In theory, this is exactly the kind of internet I prefer. Open standards. A paid service with a clear business model. IMAP, SMTP, custom domains, boring reliability. Less “ecosystem”, more utility.

There’s something quite appealing about that. So let’s see how long this phase lasts.