"I always hated Gmail." I love the Gmail service. I hate that it is spyware. I use FastMail as a similar service. I'd rather pay Fastmail in dollars than pay Google with my personal data! I also use the paid ProtonMail ... that I bought in an alias name ... and paid for in anonymous BitCoin :)
"Thank goodness we can wipe the hardware and add Graphene OS (and others) for a private experience". I do agree that Graphene is the most privacy -oriented OS. Be aware that it becomes "unsupported" on a similar timeline as mainstream Google-Android. By unsupported, you can't load it onto an older phone (like a Pixel 3 and some 4's). I'm still using Graphene on a 3a with an existing installation. Before you throw out that old phone, consider putting another OS on it. CalyxOS is my 2nd place pick for an OS. You can still load it on a Pixel 3. 3rd place is LineageOS that you can load on a Pixel 2.
"I always hated Gmail." I love the Gmail service. I hate that it is spyware. I use FastMail as a similar service. I'd rather pay Fastmail in dollars than pay Google with my personal data! I also use the paid ProtonMail ... that I bought in an alias name ... and paid for in anonymous BitCoin :)
"Thank goodness we can wipe the hardware and add Graphene OS (and others) for a private experience". I do agree that Graphene is the most privacy -oriented OS. Be aware that it becomes "unsupported" on a similar timeline as mainstream Google-Android. By unsupported, you can't load it onto an older phone (like a Pixel 3 and some 4's). I'm still using Graphene on a 3a with an existing installation. Before you throw out that old phone, consider putting another OS on it. CalyxOS is my 2nd place pick for an OS. You can still load it on a Pixel 3. 3rd place is LineageOS that you can load on a Pixel 2.