What alternatives do you suggest, besides running your own mail server? I'm in the invite list for Protonmail and have also used the infamous cock.li for informal stuff, but I was looking for something a bit more established, that I can count on long term stability. It's bad enough to switch email addresses once, to be switching every time a service goes kaput is unacceptable.

What do I suggest in lieu of Gmail or some other large provider that may scan your email? If it really matters to you, your only choice is to run your own mail server. If you don't control your endpoint, then I think no matter what you profess, you don't really care. Personally I just use a combination of Gmail (because I don't care) and a POP/IMAP account at my local ISP (which is not free).

If you want free email, expect to pay in some other way. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Obviously every third-party service is trusted, that doesn't mean one "doesn't care". By your logic even a private mail server isn't enough, you'd have to use PGP. If you don't have any recommendations just say so.

> Obviously every third-party service is trusted, that doesn't mean one "doesn't care".

No, I'm serious about this. I wasn't trying to be flippant. If you care enough about the integrity of your email content and it not being used to further a company's profit, the only way to be sure of that, to the extent that you can (which may not be much), is to run your own mail server. If that seems like it's way too much trouble, I think a you should take a close look at your motives for wanting a gmail alternative. Is it about the integrity of your email, or sticking it to Google? If it's avoiding Google because they specifically cause you concern, that's fine, and there likely plenty of choices, but I'm not sure what they are (as I said, I just use Gmail because I don't care).

> By your logic even a private mail server isn't enough, you'd have to use PGP.

Well, by my logic you have to do enough to make yourself comfortable. Depending on your reasons for avoiding some other companies that will be different things.

> If you don't have any recommendations just say so.

I don't have any recommendations for Gmail if you consider a good UI, responsively web based, and free as major components of that. If you are willing to give up one or more of those, there are options. The local ISP I mentioned is Sonic.net. By all accounts (including mine, I've worked there multiple times in the past), a great company, and with great EFF ratings. An email account there is not free though.

They don't appear to be scanned for Ads, but talk with the Google Marketing team and they will be able to tell you what domains are sending to your competitors if they use Google Apps.

I don't believe that for a second. It would be an outrageous violation of privacy and would lead to mass outcry against Google Apps.

Do you have any source for that claim, or is it just pure libel?

The only source I have is a call with them when they told us they could do this. Down vote me all you like, I was shocked when I heard this as well. They suggested this to us, not something we would have ever asked for. Nobody else has ever had this experience?

You said 'using' or 'sending to' which imply that by my action I somehow consented to be tracked by using email as it was designed to be used. But there is also received from, i.e. I receive a message from a gmail user and now Google associates my address with some advertising keywords.

Are you assuming that's the case, or is there evidence that this is so?