Email provider

@Podge said:

And what email provider would you recommend?

Do the research.  Read the terms of service of the ones that appear attractive.  Read reviews.  Consider pay email service providers (ESPs) which is where you do get decent support and more features (that's what I recommend, they're all pretty cheap IMO).  Many have free trial periods to test them out.   Most have webmail but if you use email client apps make sure they also support POP/IMAP/SMTP.   Here's some suggested articles and/or google searches:

General:

Choosing Private & Secure Email | What To Look For

Privacy-Conscious Email Services

What to Look for in a Private and Secure Email Service Provider

What’s the best email service that doesn’t scan emails for ad-targeting?

Google searches for "best" ESP lists:

email service providers

best paid email service providers

Comparison of webmail providers

List of Secure Email Providers that take Privacy Serious

The google searches have links to various lists of providers.  As you do the research and review the ESP lists you will find some of the ESPs keep appearing across multiple lists.  Eventually a few "bubble up to the top" as more attractive and are worth further detail investigation (like reading their reviews and their terms of service).  That prunes the choices down to a manageable set worth trying if they have free trial periods (or at least looking at their websites for what's provided as a function of cost).  Eventually you will find a "favorite".

Note, I didn't just produce the above references for this post. I went through this exercise.   But I am not going to post my choice on a public forum.

Surely AT&T has the necessary expertise to run their own Email service.

They did once upon a time but they found a way to save a buck to make their shareholders feel better!   And now att no longer has the "expertise" to run an email service.  They would have to hire and create a whole new department to start up email support again.  So it's over permanently.  I keep recommending if you want a decent email service provider, i.e., one that actually knows how to run an email service, takes privacy more seriously, and support personnel you can contact, find one and switch .  They do exist.

And what email provider would you recommend?  Apparently AT&T is good with paying their competitor Verizon to provide Email.

Thanks