Google could offer a $20/month no-ads no-tracking email service. How many privacy conscious people are willing to pay that? Its not Google deciding to do this, its just ourselves.
No tracking is trickier, who would believe Google (or any business) if they claimed they didn't track their customers? The lack of ads you can verify for yourself.
Although I don't trust Google on privacy, this deal would benefit me - I get to take away the worst aspects of Gmail while keeping the better aspects.
However, I wonder if offering this service as an option would generally drive people away from free-Gmail: it would serve as an direct admission and reminder that ads and tracking are not really desirable.
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Google could offer a $20/month no-ads no-tracking email service. How many privacy conscious people are willing to pay that? Its not Google deciding to do this, its just ourselves.
Google does offer a $5/month no-ads email service called Google Apps.
According to their homepage, 5 million businesses have chosen that.
http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/
No tracking is trickier, who would believe Google (or any business) if they claimed they didn't track their customers? The lack of ads you can verify for yourself.
No ads is already free. Just you IMPAP or POP3. You are still tracked, but there are no ads.
Yes, but that's not an option for personal email.
I would pay for that.
Although I don't trust Google on privacy, this deal would benefit me - I get to take away the worst aspects of Gmail while keeping the better aspects.
However, I wonder if offering this service as an option would generally drive people away from free-Gmail: it would serve as an direct admission and reminder that ads and tracking are not really desirable.
I might pay not to be tracked, but I certainly wouldn't pay anything approaching $20 per month.
Exactly zero privacy conscious people would trust Google for that service.
Which is probably true but I can't tell if that says more about paranoia or Google.