Gmail
Google's web-based email service with labels, search, filters and spam filtering.
Liked for spam filtering that usually works well,123 flexible labels, filters and search operators,456 and sending from a custom domain while staying in Gmail.789 The most common complaint is a web interface and app that commenters say have become slower, more bloated and worse over time,10111213 followed by privacy concerns and fear of automated account bans.14151617
Why people recommend it
Custom domains · 3
Commenters use send-as or Google's SMTP to send from their own domain while staying in Gmail.
“Then I use GMail's send-as to remain in gmail but still use my name@mydomain.com mailbox.”
“I use Google's SMTP to send mail as that domain”
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“I just forward all email to my GMail address and use a custom reply-to in GMail”
Organization tools · 3
Labels, filters, search operators, + aliases and auto categorization help commenters manage high email volume.
“the one thing GMail got right vs. the real world analog of a folder”
“I also learned to operate Gmail purely via the keyboard with the built in keyboard shortcuts.”
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“I use Gmail’s auto categorization so it just goes in the “Updates” folder”
Spam filtering · 3
Several long-time users say very little spam reaches their inbox.
“the GMail spam check works usually exceptionally well”
“I use my gmail address for everything and I don't really get spam”
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“Google might be too strict in its filtering but it does serve a legitimate purpose.”
Ease of use · 3
Commenters praise easy-to-read threads and say alternatives felt worse after switching.
“Gmail had sepearated the logs into separate emails in a very natural way.”
“People use GMail because it makes email easy to use”
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“I recently switched back to GMail.”
Reliability · 3
Commenters call it a stable, reliable service that costs essentially nothing, with mail that reliably reaches recipients.
“they're however a stable entity which offers a very reliable service for essentially free”
“If I use Gmail/proton etc, then I can be pretty sure that the other person got my email.”
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“Gmail, Search, Docs/Drive, Maps, Street View, Chrome, all solid but old consumer apps.”
Free forwarding · 1
One commenter switched from Yahoo because Gmail did not put forwarding behind a paywall.
“This is one of the big reasons I switched to GMail when it was new.”
Caveats and dissent
Interface quality · 3
Commenters complain of a slow, changing web UI with no infinite scrolling, a bloated app and the removal of basic HTML.
“Gmail.com still has no infinite scrolling”
“I only ever use Gmail's backend.”
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“But unless there is a "Gmail app" alternative, e.g., a 12MB version, this does not leave the computer owner much choice.”
Privacy and AI · 3
Some commenters object to paying with their data, possible LLM training on email, and intrusive writing suggestions.
“now...what they are saying is that...we are going to use your email to train our LLMs. I'm not okay with that.”
“I still have a gmail account because I'm skeptical it won't be reused in a potentially-harmful-to-me-or-others way”
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“I now write emails in notepad, and copy-paste them into Gmail when I'm done, that's how much the suggestions annoy me”
Account bans · 2
Commenters warn that accounts can be banned suddenly and that appeals are fully automated.
“Google for me died when they banned my many years old gmail account out of blue.”
“until I still host my main gmail account there”
Spam misfires · 3
Some say marketing mail gets through, while others find legitimate mail in the spam folder.
“I've also noticed Gmail spam filter became useless for anything but the most obvious scam/phishing”
“the GMail spam check works usually exceptionally well”
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“if mails I wanted ended up in the spam folder I'd not use gmail”
Email search · 2
One heavy user says search often fails to find emails they know exist.
“all of them are pretty terrible at search as it pertains to email”
“I also learned to operate Gmail purely via the keyboard with the built in keyboard shortcuts.”
Bulk deletion · 1
One commenter says deleting mail in bulk from a sender has become harder.
“I think Google really doesn't want you to delete emails. They made it harder to delete emails in bulk.”
Often compared with
1 moved from Fastmail to Gmail
15 moved from Gmail to Fastmail
1 moved from Proton to Gmail
5 moved from Gmail to Proton
3 moved from Gmail to mailbox.orgApple Mail4 comments mention both
1 moved from Gmail to Apple Mail
1 moved from Gmail to ThunderbirdHotmail2 comments mention both
1 moved from Gmail to Hotmail
1 moved from Gmail to iCloud MailMicrosoft Outlook4 comments mention both
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Gmail thinks I'm stupid, so I left 5 mentions
- An Update on Leaving Gmail for Fastmail 4 mentions
- Thunderbird for iOS 2 mentions
- Attention is all you have 2 mentions
- Gmail to end support for "Send as" for third-party addresses, such as @yahoo.com 2 mentions
- iCloud+ Hide My Email addresses will remain on icloud.com 2 mentions
Data: gmail.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 48
“free Gmail as my mail client”
“I now write emails in notepad, and copy-paste them into Gmail when I'm done, that's how much the suggestions annoy me”
“I used "the + extension" with Gmail for practically every site”
“Google Mail for email”
“If I use Gmail/proton etc, then I can be pretty sure that the other person got my email.”
“I just forward all email to my GMail address and use a custom reply-to in GMail”
“until I still host my main gmail account there”
“Unfortunately it doesn’t sync properly with Gmail.”
“On the go I use a web browser on my phone for gmail or outlook.”
“I use a combination of gmail as my mail agent”
“I use Gmail exclusively for my actual real identity”
“the one thing GMail got right vs. the real world analog of a folder”
“Then I use GMail's send-as to remain in gmail but still use my name@mydomain.com mailbox.”
“I use Google's SMTP to send mail as that domain”
“Google for me died when they banned my many years old gmail account out of blue.”
“I use my gmail address for everything and I don't really get spam”
“if mails I wanted ended up in the spam folder I'd not use gmail”
“Gmail is the other way around.”
“I just had to keep my gmail logged in most of the time.”
“This is one of the big reasons I switched to GMail when it was new.”
“I still use gmail for SSO for a lot of things”
“they're however a stable entity which offers a very reliable service for essentially free”
I have a firstname.lastname@gmail account and sometimes get emails for firstnamelastname@gmail too. Mostly, it’s accounts being setup using that address then ending up in my mailbox. I assumed they were typos but, if I’m reading this blog correctly, is Google leaking emails from the other account into mine? If that the case, I’m pretty alarmed, as I use my Gmail for a lot of my accounts. Back to Hotmail, I guess?
“Gmail.com still has no infinite scrolling”
“The only thing that Google has me with right now is YouTube and Gmail.”
“I still have a gmail account because I'm skeptical it won't be reused in a potentially-harmful-to-me-or-others way”
“People use GMail because it makes email easy to use”
“Looked at the same email in Gmail and Thunderbird, it's just a PDF attachment, no message”
“moved off Gmail about five years ago”
“I used the basic HTML version when I was working at Google”
“Gmail, Search, Docs/Drive, Maps, Street View, Chrome, all solid but old consumer apps.”
“I use Gmail regularly and did not experience anything like that”
“I use IMAP to access my GMail.”
“I only ever use Gmail's backend.”
“I've also noticed Gmail spam filter became useless for anything but the most obvious scam/phishing”
“personally I use gmail for exactly the following things: account recovery, system notifications, and b2b email threads”
“there are only 2 things I can think of that I use them for anymore, and that's 1) gmail, and 2) google maps.”
“I still keep a gmail account, but I pay for an email account also.”
“Gmail had sepearated the logs into separate emails in a very natural way.”
“I share it with an email”
“I use Gmail's support for aliases, by putting a '+' symbol after my user name”
“Gmail is fine, imo.”
“now...what they are saying is that...we are going to use your email to train our LLMs. I'm not okay with that.”
“the GMail spam check works usually exceptionally well”
“I also learned to operate Gmail purely via the keyboard with the built in keyboard shortcuts.”
“I use gmail, and with similar posts, after marking it as spam a few times they just go to the spam folder.”
“Gmail (which I've been using for 22 years) is just crap nowadays.”
“But unless there is a "Gmail app" alternative, e.g., a 12MB version, this does not leave the computer owner much choice.”