Reading time: 4 mins
So here’s the thing, I’ve had my Gmail account since at least December 2007 (so just the 19 years then) and I’ll happily admit it’s been great; open enough that I can use other email clients, smart enough that I can use some of its features whilst ignoring others, it’s handled spam well, and for a while it was my only email address.
I primarily moved to Gmail when Virgin bought Telewest (in March 2006) and whilst I could’ve kept my old blueyonder.co.uk email address (Blueyonder was the broadband offering from Telewest) I wanted to separate it from the broadband provider to future proof it. Not a bad idea at the time and since I’ve changed broadband provider many many times, it’s proved wise (by luck, I am not wise).
That said, I bought this domain (gordonmclean.co.uk) in 2004 but mostly for vanity reasons as I was, at the time, blogging from snowgoon.co.uk. Hindsight now suggests that I had an email option prior to Gmail but hey, Google was new and exciting, and I’ve always been a sucker for a bandwagon!
So I’ve been using Gmail for 19 years, and only really started using my own domain (the current one) for email about 6 or 7 years ago and even though the goal back then was to move away from Google/Alphabet, I never really followed through and so ended up with a mishmash of accounts, some with Gmail, some with my own domain.
Sidenote: I have, and am still, tracking mclean.co.uk and while I missed out on that back in the day, I’m still hoping to snag it!
All of this means that I’ve used my Gmail account for over (checks) 500 accounts and online services over the years. Which is bonkers in its own right at first glance but given how long it’s been… yeah it’s still mad.
But that’s not why I’m moving away from Gmail.
Mostly, the move fits with my thoughts on a variety of similar desires that I’ve mentioned in passing before; simplifying my tech stack, worrying about my digital footprint, and not wanting to be completely tied to BIG TECH (he says, typing on his Apple MacBook).
I’ve been using DuckDuckGo in my browser for a while now, and don’t use any other Google products any more (I’ve deleted all the docs and sheets from, er, Google Docs, and Google Sheets already), so only Gmail remains.
How I’m doing it
As I’m in no big hurry to make the switch, I’m just working through the accounts manually, one by one. Yes, it’s a slightly laborious process but I feel it’s worth doing so that I can kill two birds with one digital rock.
One is to change my email address, the other is to tighten up my password security (another issue 19+ years in the making!).
Alongside changing email address, I also have a lot of older accounts (mostly using my Gmail account) that are, ahem, using the same password (oops) and so are flagged, rightly, as a security risk in the Apple Passwords app (about 240 of them, which is about half of the online accounts that use my Gmail email address).
So for each service I have three choices:
- Update the password/security and change the email to my own one
- Delete the account if I no longer need it
- Delete the entry in the Passwords app because the service and/or website no longer exists.
I’ll then do a pass through those listed against my Gmail account that aren’t flagged as a security risk (some 260 odd) and update the email address to my own.
After that, job done, I’ll no longer be using Gmail.
Security is never simple
One thing I am learning through this process is just how different an experience it is to update your email address depending on the service.
Some I expect to be a bit more heavy-handed (hello financial service apps) but others are catching me by surprise, and that’s before we get to the myriad ways of confirming my details, the fact that I am a human, and all the two step verification loops involved.
I am probably suffering a bit because, for the services I want to retain, I’m usually logging in, changing my email AND my password, so there’s a double loop of verification to step through but, overall, it’s been very hit or miss.
And it’s not like there is a common theme across the type of service, as I said I was expecting a lot of hoops when jumping through changes to my financial services yet one of the easiest was my Natwest account.
I logged in to the app on my phone (using FaceID), found the settings page, changed my email, and that was it. Granted FaceID is doing the heavy lifting here yet the same simplicity is lacking in other services.
Here’s an example from PensionBee.
I logged into the app (again using FaceID) but there is no email listed in the app, instead I had to go to the website, find the FAQ I needed which told me to email my nominated contact to request a change of my email address.
I sent the email and an hour or so later they set up a verification process with a 3rd party. That process that included having a photo of some valid ID, and an up-to-date selfie. Once submitted, I got a confirmation email saying that it had all been verified and my nominated contact from PensionBee would be in touch. They were, another hour or so later, to confirm that the ‘data request’ had been passed to another team to process which could take a few working days.
Natwest, 3 mins. PensionBee, 3 days and counting…
In the grand scheme of things I’m not fussed at how long this might take, and I appreciate the security steps required to change some crucial information on may account but I guess what was so glaring was the complete difference in approach, especially between two financial institutions.
Mostly though it’s been straightforward enough. Login, find my account settings or profile, edit my email address, click Save. Done.
Anyway, I am about 50 items into a list of 500 or so places where I want to change my email address, so I really should stop writing and get on with it!
