I’m pretty far into the degoogling process, and I’m thinking about purchasing a domain and using it for email. I realized I don’t want to be stuck with any one email service, so this is pretty much a necessity for me.

I wouldn’t self host though, because I understand that’s very hard to do.

For people who have already done this: are there any pitfalls or things I should take into consideration before I purchase a domain?

Also, does the tld matter? Are my emails more likely to be sent to spam with a custom domain vs an email provider’s?

  • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    pitfalls or things I should take into consideration before I purchase a domain?

    Make sure your chosen email provider supports DMARC. Since I’m sure someone is wondering, yes, Proton mail does.

    Are my emails more likely to be sent to spam with a custom domain vs an email provider’s?

    Absolutely, but only if you choose not to setup DMARC and DKIM

    Every mail provider, that I have encountered, that supports custom domain names, provides a detailed step by step guide for which DNS records to add. Follow the guide, don’t skip any steps, and make sure to finish.

    • BluOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      4 months ago

      I see some providers support DANE. Is that different than either DMARC or DKIM? I looked it up, but the description was very technical and didn’t clear up the differences for me.

      • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        4 months ago

        DANE helps protect the contents of an email.

        DMARC and DKIM help prevent domain origin spoofing (which is what spammers love to do).

        So no, DANE does not, to my knowledge, provide any protection against being treated like a spam domain.

        • BluOP
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          4 months ago

          Thank you! That cleared it up!