Here's a hypothetical (although as of right now admittedly VERY unlikely scenario):
It's 2035. Google has continued a worldwide decline with the invention of several highly accurate AI drive search systems deeply integrated into technology. Their video streaming service, which started declinging in the mis 2020s has just closed down following years of losses.
To try and regain its financial footing Alphabet has decided to slimline its offerings, closing several loss making services, including Gmail.
Most users of Gmail have been using it for close to decates, and are only given a couple of months notice that they'll lose their email addresses that they've relied on for thousands of online services, banks, businesses, etc. With no secondary account recovery process, billions of online accounts will become inaccessible for millions of users across the world.
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Sensationalist? Absolutely - but you get the picture. Relying on a free 3rd party email address vs paying ~$10/year for at very least your own domain with free forwarding to a basic free gmail account is worth it.
Not to mention, it seems Gmail is the overwhelming choice for pretty much everyone; over 75% of users on my service have a Gmail email. If Google did actually sunset Gmail I’m sure every website would implement an email change system pretty quick to make sure their own users aren’t left out on in the cold, unable to log in post-shutdown.
It's 2035. Google has continued a worldwide decline with the invention of several highly accurate AI drive search systems deeply integrated into technology. Their video streaming service, which started declinging in the mis 2020s has just closed down following years of losses.
To try and regain its financial footing Alphabet has decided to slimline its offerings, closing several loss making services, including Gmail.
Most users of Gmail have been using it for close to decates, and are only given a couple of months notice that they'll lose their email addresses that they've relied on for thousands of online services, banks, businesses, etc. With no secondary account recovery process, billions of online accounts will become inaccessible for millions of users across the world.
----
Sensationalist? Absolutely - but you get the picture. Relying on a free 3rd party email address vs paying ~$10/year for at very least your own domain with free forwarding to a basic free gmail account is worth it.