> One of my concerns is that, if I were unable to renew my domain (e.g., in case of death), someone else could register it and start receiving my emails. This is a serious issue because your email account is as good as a password due to most websites using it as a way to reset your password.
Gmail won't help you here, since they will deactivate your account after two years of inactivity (See https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290 "When your Google Account has not been used within a 2-year period, your Google Account, that is then deemed inactive, and all of its content and data may be deleted")
But with custom emails, one can do what I do. I have a registrar which allow for a pre-paid balance. I prepaid €500, this will allow automatic renewals a few years after my death.
Good luck trying to talk to a human at Google the day you get locked out of your gmail.com account for "suspicious activity" (See https://uk.pcmag.com/old-hosted-email-providers/133220/not-e... )
> One of my concerns is that, if I were unable to renew my domain (e.g., in case of death), someone else could register it and start receiving my emails. This is a serious issue because your email account is as good as a password due to most websites using it as a way to reset your password.
Gmail won't help you here, since they will deactivate your account after two years of inactivity (See https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290 "When your Google Account has not been used within a 2-year period, your Google Account, that is then deemed inactive, and all of its content and data may be deleted")
You could argue that, until now, Google has promised to prevent deactivated account from being reused. https://webapps.stackexchange.com/a/90016
But with custom emails, one can do what I do. I have a registrar which allow for a pre-paid balance. I prepaid €500, this will allow automatic renewals a few years after my death.
Also, using your own domain for email allows you to change providers when they jack up the prices on you with little notice. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36321783