How I took control of my email address with a custom domain

"Over the past three years, I've changed email providers three times without ever changing email addresses. That's because my address is entirely under my control. Instead of relying on an email that ends in gmail.com, yahoo.com, or the link, I can send and receive mail from my @jarednewman.com domain, which I can transfer between email providers at any time. This is called using a custom domain for email, and it's one of the most liberating tech things I've ever done."

"When Skiff Mail shut down in 2023, I simply packed up and moved to Proton Mail instead. And after getting frustrated with Proton's limitations, I migrated over to Fastmail and took my address and messages with me. After I mentioned custom domains in my story about Proton and Fastmail last month, a bunch of folks asked for more details. Fair warning: Setting this up can be intimidating, but it's worth the effort it you want to control a core piece of your online identity."

Using a custom email domain lets a person send and receive mail from a domain they control and transfer that address between email providers at any time. Custom domains eliminate provider lock-in because the same address can remain in use when switching providers, avoiding the need to notify contacts or set up forwarding. Custom domains preserve control over account logins tied to the email address and reduce the risk of losing access if a provider shuts down. Migration examples include moving addresses and messages between Skiff Mail, Proton Mail, and Fastmail. Setup can be intimidating but is worthwhile for control over online identity.

Read at Fast Company