Fastmail changed my Gmail and I am by no means going again

I had the digital equal of an epiphany the opposite day. I opened my inbox and noticed…electronic mail. Solely electronic mail. There have been no advertisements, no AI-generated summaries, and no prompts. It was a wierd, but welcome, feeling after years of utilizing Gmail. Checking my inbox not felt like an argument with an algorithm. That’s as a result of I switched to Fastmail earlier this 12 months.

All of it started after I began distancing myself from American massive tech platforms, the place Google sits excessive on the record. I wished one thing extra personal and extra private, with much less bloat. Fastmail, an Australian firm, caught my eye as a well-regarded various to Gmail. Six months in, I’m assured I made the fitting selection.

It wasn’t solely as a result of Gmail is a part of a giant monopolistic American tech company. It wasn’t solely the insane quantities of knowledge it collected. It was the cluttered UI and the push in direction of AI-driven options I by no means requested for.

Google Calendar, in the meantime, does its job, however has begun to really feel prefer it’s attempting to be one thing greater than it’s. Gemini is snooping increasingly more in Calendar, attempting to be useful however getting in the way in which.

All of it felt extra company than private. What I wished was a quick, personal electronic mail that revered my time and let me work. I wished a calendar that synced reliably throughout platforms with out changing into one other vector for distraction.

I significantly thought of Proton Mail. I’ve nice respect for what the corporate is constructing. Nonetheless, I’ve heard from others about occasional supply hiccups, and I can’t afford to overlook an interview with a topic or an necessary follow-up with a consumer. Reliability was non-negotiable. Proton was out.

Fastmail handles all my electronic mail wants. The interface is clear and responsive. No tabs, no promotions. Simply electronic mail.  I can select between a folder or tag construction, and I went with tags. It’s one of many issues I take pleasure in about Gmail.

The Fastmail app is extra than simply electronic mail. There’s a dropdown within the high left that permits me to modify to Calendar, Contacts, Notes, and even a cloud drive. The bottom plan comes with 50GB of storage, which isn’t unhealthy for $60 a 12 months.

The built-in calendar has been surprisingly sturdy. It syncs completely with the e-mail aspect of the app, so appointments and conferences might be shortly added. I can share calendar occasions with others, even when they don’t use Fastmail, and it seems nice, as properly.

One characteristic I didn’t anticipate to understand a lot was the filtering system. I can management precisely how messages are sorted and what will get archived and flagged. It’s like Gmail’s labels, however with the consumer in thoughts.

Notes are easy, however they work, and sync immediately between all units. Nonetheless, they’re not as highly effective or fast as Google Hold, so I nonetheless use that as my main notetaking app. That mentioned, I wasn’t on the lookout for a notes substitute.

The largest acquire in my life has been peace of thoughts. Fastmail isn’t monitoring me. My messages aren’t being profiled, and Fastmail isn’t attempting to promote me something. I pay it annually, and it delivers my emails.

I additionally gained reliability. Every thing feels sooner, with messages loading immediately and folders responding instantly. The search works nice. There’s no AI engine or good options getting in the way in which.

Fastmail provides me management. I’ve management over my electronic mail and my calendar, and I can resolve how issues look and behave. That form of possession is preciously uncommon in fashionable digital companies.

Nothing is ideal. Notes are barebones, and like I mentioned, I don’t use it usually. It’s actually not a substitute for Hold. There’s no deep integration with voice assistants, which might be a dealbreaker for some. I’m okay with it myself.

There’s additionally a studying curve in the case of setting it up. I take advantage of a customized area and needed to fiddle with my host’s MX data, one thing I do know little about. As soon as arrange, nonetheless, it stayed out of the way in which.

And it’s not free. On this case, I’m completely happy to pay for one thing that works. I don’t like being the product, in any case.

It’s a personal and dependable various to Google’s suite of apps. Positive, it doesn’t have all of the AI bells and whistles, however I see that as a promoting level.

I nonetheless use Google Hold, and I’m superb with that. I didn’t got down to substitute it, and the built-in notes characteristic that comes with Fastmail is extra of an added bonus than a core characteristic for me. This was about discovering instruments that weren’t American and revered my time and privateness. Fastmail has achieved precisely that.

Fastmail is greater than succesful if you happen to’re seeking to step away from the large tech oligopolies. You don’t must sacrifice usability, as a result of Fastmail isn’t attempting to be intelligent. It simply does its job properly.