I’ve been using Gmail for what feels like forever. It’s my go-to for personal stuff, government forms, and pretty much everything else. Now I’m thinking about moving to Proton, but the thought of switching is giving me a headache.
I mean, we’re talking about two decades worth of online accounts, websites, and services all tied to my Gmail. There’s so much to consider:
All those shopping accounts
Gaming profiles
Two-factor authentication setups
Government-related stuff
Has anyone here made the switch from Gmail to another service? How did you handle it? Did you move everything at once or take it slow? Any tips for making the process less painful?
I’m worried I’ll miss something important or mess up access to critical accounts. If you’ve been through this, I’d love to hear about your experience and any advice you can share. Thanks!
hey, i switched from gmail to proton last year. took me about 2 months. started with important stuff like bank accounts n work emails. kept both active for a while, forwarded gmail to proton. used a note app to track what i changed. dont forget those random accounts u rarely use, almost lost my spotify cuz of that. good luck!
I’ve been through this transition myself, and I can tell you it’s not as daunting as it seems. My approach was to tackle it in stages over a few months. I started by updating my most critical accounts first - banking, government services, and primary social media. Then I moved on to less crucial ones.
One thing that really helped was keeping my Gmail active and setting up forwarding to my new Proton address. This way, I didn’t miss any important emails during the transition. I also created a spreadsheet to track which accounts I’d updated and which ones were still pending.
A word of caution: don’t forget about those rarely-used accounts. I almost lost access to an old cloud storage service because I forgot to update the email. It’s worth doing a thorough audit of your online presence.
Lastly, I found that many services now offer the option to use a phone number instead of an email for account recovery. Where possible, I switched to this method to reduce my reliance on any single email address.
Take your time, be methodical, and you’ll get through it without too much stress. Good luck with your transition!
I recently made the switch from Gmail to Proton, and I can share some insights from my experience. The key is to approach it methodically. I started by creating a comprehensive list of all my accounts linked to Gmail. This included everything from social media to banking to obscure forums I’d signed up for years ago.
Next, I prioritized the list based on importance and frequency of use. I tackled the critical accounts first - financial institutions, government services, and primary communication platforms. For each account, I not only updated the email but also reviewed and strengthened the security settings.
One crucial step was setting up email forwarding from Gmail to Proton. This ensured I didn’t miss any important messages during the transition. I also kept my Gmail account active for several months as a safety net.
The process took me about three months to complete fully. It required patience and attention to detail, but it was manageable. My advice? Don’t rush it, double-check everything, and use this as an opportunity to clean up your digital footprint.