I'm going to stick with the landlord analogy. It needs to be possible to use a 3rd party service without them being allowed to spy on you, the same way it's possible to rent an apartment without the landlord being allowed to spy on you.

They're certainly able to, and have the keys, but they're not allowed.

Privacy laws should be created (or interpreted) to provide similar protection for the privacy of our data stored by a service.

If you rent an apartment, you pay for it. If you use Gmail, you don't. Google somehow has to make money from something, so there is a incentive to mine your data.

But the main point is: an apartment is not an information system. Throughout history, governments have spied on information systems and systems providers will too. Hell, spouses spy on each other, given the chance.

It is simply common sense to limit the attack surface you present by hosting your own mail server - or not to care.

I certainly pay google a fee for my Gmail account, as do most people I know who use Gmail, so don't be so certain of the "If you use gmail you don't pay for it."

most Gmail users dont.

I'm pretty sure that everyone who uses Google as the email manager for their domain now have to pay google - that includes business, universities, individuals, etc...

The only people who get "free" gmail, are people with an @gmail.com account, which in these days seems to be an awfully bad approach - makes it hard to switch your email to another provider if you run into issues with the old one.

I pay for my Gmail: http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/

NSA is a given if you are using the internet, and it seems like Google _may_ be a given depending on your circumstances (i.e. did you just steal their stuff, etc.). So what else should be stopping this person with high technological competence from using Gmail? And what alternative do you use that's better? Really curious.

End-to-end encryption is a possible solution. Assuming there is standard for encryption that hasn't been broken yet.

I mean, personally, I have nothing worth looking at.

in my case, alternatives and other solutions are generally too high-effort for me to bother with.

I'd bet most people who know but don't care feel similarly.

hosting your own email solves exactly nothing. Email still goes over (mostly) unencrypted channels and will, eventually, land in someone's gmail account anyway. Where Google and/or the NSA will read it. Worse still, you're now no longer hiding in the crowd. You have a giant blinking neon sign saying "I'm putting my mail where you can't get it."

Privacy and email do not mix, and maybe never will. Attacking the victims of the NSA spying does nothing to stop the NSA from doing the spying.