Hi, Im thinking about moving from gmail elsewhere but Im wondering if I should use my own domain for it, I dont have the domain yet but how to deal with whois lookup privacy? (Im EU based) are there any other issues I may run into if I chose my own domain over opening a account on posteo.de or mailbox.org with their domain. I know owning my domain will give me freedom to move my email elsewhere if I would want but I dont know if its worth it.
Yes, it’s worth it. I own mine for just the reason you give. You can take it to any other provider. And there’s no danger of the email provider deciding to close your account or cutting you off unexpectedly. Imagine losing your email access. At least with your own domain, you can switch it that same day to someone else.
Unsure about whois lookup privacy. My registrar hides my details as an option. Anyone looking up the domain just sees them as the contact for the domain.
Keep in mind that in some tld’s (like .nl) the whois data actually dictates who is the legal owner of the domain. If you get into an argument with your registrar, and the whois data shows their name, you can’t take action to move it or reclaim it without their approval.
Also if you let it expire, for the cool off period, only the original owner can reactivate it, that means you can’t reactivate it through another registrar. Maybe your current registrar allows it, bit that’s a maybe.
Same for me. Although I accepted the apparent potential of it when I was asked to provide all my contact information, I’m happy to not find any of my information public.