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I think it's a far stretch -- and frankly downright rude -- to classify those of us who care not to be bombarded with advertisements as being paranoid conspiracy theorists.
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Sure, block the ads just like I do for better functionality. But not using Gmail has nothing to do with preventing you from seeing ads. Gmail's data gathering is to determine what ads you see, not the quantity of them. For example, you can use Gmail but use an ad-blocking and anti-tracking browser like Firefox or Brave. For most people using Gmail means a reduction in the dangerous ads you might see because their spam filters and security are so good. The tinfoil hats are for those who think that somehow or another not using Gmail makes them safer, when in reality for the vast majority of people it does not. I think Fastmail is great and have a subscription currently, but they have to comply with their local laws just like every other email service provider including Gmail. But, FM might be one of the few smaller providers that has the spam filtering, security, and functionality that can provide a good alternative to Gmail. Most smaller providers are just not capable of defending themselves against things like DNS attacks, or attacks by serious state-level hackers. Look at the recent attacks on Tutanota, and in the past few years on FM. Or, take a look at the data-stealing attacks on major companies like T-Mobile. That's the kind of real attack on your privacy and security that people need to worry about. Losing access to my main email account would be very disruptive to my life even though I mostly use my own domain. Having my email actually stolen because the provider's security team is one guy in his basement somewhere could be really bad. With smaller providers how do you know they aren't just sitting around reading your emails?