Any preference for free email providers? Google? Yahoo? Hotmail? ?? ??

[progressoid]

I'm thinking of dumping Cox internet because of the cost, but that means a new email address. So, I'm looking for something that isn't tied to my provider.

I have a hotmail address I use for signing up for crap, or posting on craigslist, that kind of thing. It seems kind of clumsy. Although the upgrade helped a little I suppose.

Any recommendations?

[TygrBright]

1. Opera Mail

It's clean, free, blessedly low-key with the adverts, etc., and very secure.

helpfully,
Bright

[hlthe2b]

2. I have had five or six aol accounts---dating waaaaaay back to the stone age...LOL

Yes, they are still around-- Free and certainly as reliable as the others...

I'm no AOL fan, in general, but it has been reliable and you can have multiple accounts.

[Dan Ken]

4. AOL has distinct weaknesses. Won't let you save thousands of emails.

Won't let you search emails for key words in the body of the email, (only by title).

AOL also serves up a heap load of spam NOT sorted into the spam folder, and also mistakenly puts some of your subscription mail into the spam folder, like notices from big banks, insurance companies, etc.

I dumped AOL 5 years ago and never looked back.

Gmail, is fast, efficient, enables you to keep tens of thousands of emails from years and years ago, and search for them when you need to. It enables sorts by topic, sorts by searches by ANY WORD IN the full email text, (for example, "2009 tax exempt" ) sorts by sender, as well as sorts by date. Allows one to label and color code mail from favorite people, etc, for easy retrieval.
One can block advertisements, and the massive data mining Gmail does is all done impersonally, by computer. Google doesn't really "know" you, they know your keywords, etc.

Gmail can link with a Google Plus account, (a sort of Facebook for Google people), Gmail will link you to your Youtube account if you want it to. Google will tell your mobile phone if you're near a bargain, or near your favorite types of restaurant, etc., if you want that feature.

[hlthe2b]

7. Really? I have >12 year old emails

& several thousand "old" emails I've never bothered to clear out from an old account.

But, yes, their spam filter could be better. i import to Outlook and use my own filters so, that isn't too much an issue for me.

Gmail and Google are too much a security risk for me. AOL isn't perfect, but better by comparison. I value my privacy.

[Dan Ken]

8. If you think AOL keeps your privacy, think again

They send you travel info if you mention Italy or Spain or California in your email to someone. They do what Google does.

I really doubt AOL allows you 10 GB of storage of pictures and videos and 50 page reports. I used to try to find pictures someone sent me 4 years earlier on AOL, and AOL said "no longer available"...

[hlthe2b]

10. So you know bettter than I--the person who has had an account for 20 years?

I am not a big AOL fan and I already pointed out that it, as all providers have issues, but you have NO right to suggest that I am lying as you clearly have. Enjoy a very very short stay at DU if you are going to behave in that manner.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

9. Yes, gmail is the best one I've had so far.

It also integrates with Outlook.

Also, if you have an android phone, everything is linked via Google and backed up automatically to the cloud.

[AgingAmerican]

12. I love gmail, but...

They sell your information. This bothers me. They are becoming famous for digging through your emails for keywords to bombard you with advertising, etc, or flat out selling your info to companies. Google is becoming very greedy the bigger they get.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

13. I don't get any of that ...

... but it could be my AntiVirus.

[steve2470]

3. I love Gmail personally

Gmail

Of course, the data mining Google does is the main drawback to Gmail.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. I use gmail for online actvities,stuff I don't mind anyone seeing

like Google alerts deliveries, online activities I do not need much security for.

I also use opera mail for when I order somethings, I have that set to dump directly into my home email.

Hotmail is getting a lot of complaints, I dumped it several years ago.
Yahoo went into a new beta and locked me out of my address there.

Overall I recommend myopera.com

[Phillip McCleod]

6. i have one of each of the above..

..but i'll start with my suggestion, since what follows would just confuse the issue.

..

you want free, secure and non-commercial?

try hushmail.com .. the free webmail of choice for paranoid geeks and other security conscious dorks. comes with built in encryption just in case you wanna send secret messages to your friends. one of a kind service.. been around for *ages*. clean and simple, no frills free webmail that bites back.

..

as for the rest of my more than a dozen email addresses?

my hotmail account pre-dates hotmail.. it's one of the first round of '@msn.com' accounts. had it for more than a decade, tho now it's being forwarded to my gmail account along with my '@yahoo.com' and my '@mail.com' (aol) ..

these three free but not commercial-free emails are my 'spam magnets' in increasing levels of fluffery.. strictly for online accounts (like for facebook, yelp, etc.)

i use @gmail.com to centralize my online free emails for one reason: it's faster and basically ad-free. plus i have an android phone and it syncs seamlessly with other google services i use (like google voice, talk, and drive).

..

then there's my dedicated email addresses hosted on my server, for work, family and friends only. these never ever ever get entered into any online forms. when you own your own url(s) (.. like mywebsite.com) and server space ($4-10/mo) you get unlimited email addresses for '@mywebsite.com'. great for personalizing your email address and making it extra memorable.

***

long story short? there's a plethora of options. if you're picking *only one* freemail address, i'd pick @gmail.com, hands down, no question.. but keep in mind the googlebots will read every single one of your emails.

if you can only pick *two* then pick gmail.com and hushmail.com and use gmail for spammy stuff and hushmail for more sensitive missives.

three? i'd pick hotmail.. yahoo and mail.com (aol) are slower than either gmail or hotmail.

***

and then there's mozilla thunderbird.. if you're not using it, then.. um.. you must not have tried it yet.

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird

[gejohnston]

11. I was an early adopter to Gmail and still love it

I use my yahoo account for "sign up crap" and write-brain.net for business.

[MannyGoldstein]

14. I've heard good things about outlook.com

The successor to hotmail, I believe.