I give up.
I tried left and right to try to install an email server so I could degoogle my life.
But therechnical barrier is thick and Google keeps adding more to it. Forget it. I can’t even get thru the installation process much less trying to get my shit off Google.
I figure, I don’t actually have any need for my email addresses. Just like my phone number. I never call anyone. I’m going to discourage my kids from using email at all. I’ll remind everyone I know that I don’t use email at every opportunity I get just like I remind people to not call me and that my phone number is not available.
Between spammers and Google, I just don’t need this headache in my life. My mom is much less technically savvy than the average pet. So Google will just siphon her data and when the megabits are full then you just delete the old stuff.
You don’t need it. No one will spend their life reading your emails when you’re gone or watching your videos or listening to your recordings or viewing your photos. There’s no need to worry about just deleting the pile of shit you’ve accumulated. I’m this done.
That’s the first thing I tried. I could receive emails but not send. Maybe I’ll give that thing one more go.
If you have trouble with outgoing mails, you can use a hybrid approach.
Receive mails directly to your server but use a mail service to relay your outgoing mails. Configuration for that is very simple in mailcow and there are a few dozen (free) transactional email providers (e.g. Scaleway).
That way you can keep receiving your mails privately and only have to give up some privacy when sending mails.
If you’re new to it all, this is probably the safest approach. Getting mail isn’t hard, sending it is where the potential gotchas will getcha.