Step 02 — Create 2nd Email Account
This action plan made the promise that the steps would start out very easy and then get more difficult as we get deeper into the list. This one might require a little more effor than it should for only number 3, but it’s so important that it couldn’t go any later.
We’re talking of course about email — a technology that is almost impossible to hide from. It’s too bad that we can’t because it’s inherently flawed and almost the perfect surveillance tool. However, most people get too caught up in the content of the email rather than focusing on the other equally important aspects to it.
More important than its purpose of communication, it’s vitally importnat because it’s the primary tool used to identify you on the internet. For this reason, we need to be very careful with it.
What is it?
We all know what email is so there is no need to get into that. However this is the first of many steps in this plan about email. The first step in the transformation of how you handle email is to create a new email account.
Chances are, you use gmail, icloud, outlook or one of the other free email providers. This plan recommends that you create a new email account with a paid email provider. You do NOT have to drop you’re current one. But depending on what you use, that will likely be recommended later in the SAP.
Not only are we recommending that you pay for an email service, but also pay for a custom domain. So instead of @gmail.com, your email will look something like “you@myowndomain.com”
Why does it matter?
As mentioned before, email is used to identify you. Everything you do on google funnels up to your email as the primary source of identify. The same goes for many other technologies out there. Whenever you sign up for something, your email is used to identify you and match your account with others on the internet.
Why a paid email service? While a paid email service will not offer much in terms of private communication (privacy does not exist on email), it does do the trick of removing all of the data contained in your email out of the grasps of Google and other big tech providers.
The amount of data in your email is so dangerous that you simply can’t leave it with Google et al when they make money off it not only by profiling what type of consumer you are, but also selling the data outright to state entities (yes they do that!)
But why a custom domain? This gives you a couple advantages. The first is that it does not lock you in to the email provider. If you decide you don’t like the company, you can change it at any time and take your email address (with your custom domain) with you. You can’t do this when your email is you@gmail.com
Furthermore, it allows you to create unlimited email aliases. This way you can create a new email alias anytime you sign up for something new online. We will talk more about this later in the plan.
How do I do it?
As mentioned before, this step will require a little more effort than it should for only the 3rd action in the SAP. There are two parts to it:
- Purchase a paid email service
- Purchase your own domain
For a paid service, we recommend either Tuta.io, Proton Mail, or Start Mail. Which one you choose is not that important because email simply isn’t private so the goal is simply to get it out of big tech’s hands and then slowly reduce your dependency on it over time.
Furthermore, because you will have your own domain, you won’t be attached at the hip with your email provider. So don’t overanalyse which one you choose, because it’s not that important.
Signing up is the easy part but getting a custom domain might be a little harder. Some of these companies let you buy a domain together with the email service which makes it easiser. Otherwise, you will have to buy your domain from a domain company (like GoDaddy).
If the email service does not offer the option to buy your own domain, we recommend Hostinger for buying domains. They seem to be the cheapest.
Lastly, you don’t have to buy a domain that ends in “.com” The cheapest domains end in .xyz .tech or .online and they usually only cost about $2/year.