Gmail doesn't pretend to be private.

It sure seems to.

> When you send an email or text message, send attachments, or record video meetings, it is stored securely in our world-class data centers. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. If you choose to access this data offline, we store this info on your device.

> We do not scan or read your Gmail messages to show you ads

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10434152?hl=en

> while using Gmail and drive for everything

I don't.

What alternatives do you recommend for someone trying to move away?

ProtonMail is not bad. iCloud works fine with imap (ie mutt, thunderbird) and does custom domains too.

I have multiple email accounts. My website hosting company has email service. Fastmail is also good.

You’d be in the minority.

I'd also be the author of the submitted article.

I admire your work greatly then. I definitely appreciate uncovering this sort of telemetry, but I feel the reaction from some may be a little more Tin-foil-hatted for my taste. I do thank you for doing the work though!

I also applaud you for not using the mainstream thing. That’s good too.

I don't either. My main issue is some of my recipients are so it sadly doesn't help much.

Email needs to die.

To be replaced by what?