Email is never *free*, which means you have to either pay by viewing ads or pay by sending money. If you have a problem with the lack of privacy at Google, you can always use a provider that can better respect your privacy through the use of a more traditional business model. Most paid providers offer generic domains that don't stand out as much as `yourname.com` in addition to having the option of custom domains. A generic, paid-provider domain will, in my opinion, come off as less pretentious than a custom domain. It might also imply better stability as it shows your email system is professionally managed.

Having had the same concerns on more than one occasion, I have researched email hosts thoroughly over the years. Two very well regarded providers dedicated to email are [Fastmail.fm][1] and [POBox.com][2]. Both have massive client bases and will probably be around for a very long time.


  [1]: https://www.fastmail.com
  [2]: https://www.pobox.com/