Why Gmail May Not Be the Safest Choice for Your Business Email
At the time of this writing, Google is about to go under investigation for antitrust violations…after the EU has sued Google for $10 Million.
According to this article on TechJury, 5 million Gmail account logins were leaked in 2014.
Even Cross-Fit has suspended the use of Facebook and Instagram for their promotions due to Facebook’s alleged sharing of information and surveillance of public activity.
With all of the unethical practices happening with these tech giants, are you really going to trust Gmail with the ongoing hosting of your business email accounts?
If your website is the heart of everything you do online, and your domain name is your brain, I would say your email is your mouth. You speak from your mouth just like email is sent out from your account. Your mouth also receives food just like email receives content of value through your inbox.
My question for you is this: Where would you be if all of a sudden you couldn’t open your mouth?
Google has a long history of shutting down AdWords accounts without warning or cause. They remove videos from your YouTube account if you have certain words in your video like what happened to one of my clients just this past week when she posted a practice speech as an “unlisted” YouTube video that included the word cannabis. After a few days, it was simply removed without reason or warning.
Money is the Motivation for Gmail Dominance
At the heart of all security concerns on the web is “money.” It’s about money. It’s ALWAYS about money. The rising of Artificial Intelligence (AI) used in advertising was the original reason Facebook started gathering all of those details about you and what websites you were visiting. It was then able to use your traffic history to put ads in front of you. Facebook made money and advertisers made money through your purchasing.
Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, has also appeared before Congress to defend Google’s involvement with bias, security, AI, and a variety of big data concerns.
With seemingly every big search engine and social networking company tied to pay-per-click advertising for revenue and heavy use of data collecting for use of AI to help assure advertising results, the next logical question must be asked:
What about Gmail?
As reported on Statistica, as shown in the image at the top of this post, more than 1.5 BILLION email accounts are registered on Gmail, Google’s free-to-the-public and paid commercial email product. Everyone I know has at least one Gmail address and everyone assumes everyone has a Gmail account. Even the word “Gmail” has become its own noun. For example, at a networking event last week, a person I met asked me, “What’s your Gmail?”
Nobody has brought this up on a newscast yet, but you and I have every right to believe that Google is sucking us into their scheme by inspiring us with insanely low monthly company email prices so that we will use Gmail for our paid company email accounts as well as personal free accounts.
Email is So Common…It’s Easy to Overlook
I started my first online business in 1996. Receiving emails and sending them, for me, has been as common and routine as breathing.
Clients, friends, relatives, and strangers alike have confided in me through email over the years. I’ve learned of cheating spouses, divorces, bankruptcies, dishonest marketing practices, sexual experiences, depression, and even anger that those senders would not even share with their closest friends.
Do you really think Gmail hasn’t stored that information to their benefit?
Gmail Knows Everything About You
Sending and receiving email is one thing. But, now think of all the tools you use that Google conveniently urges you to use with your Gmail account.
- YouTube
- Google Analytics
- Google Drive (Formerly Google Docs)
- Google Calendar
- Google My Business
- Google Maps
There’s just one problem with that.
Do you really want your Gmail account to have that much power over you and store that much about your personal and professional life?
You’re Stuck with Gmail
I continue to use Gmail as much as the next guy. So, I’m not suggesting you ditch your gmail account completely.
What I am suggesting is that you continue to use your Gmail account for YouTube, Google Analytics, and your personal (free) email. For your business email, where you really need to have your company domain name in in your email address, we suggest you use our Secure and Private Business Email.
