Gmail is Google's free email service, launched in 2004 and now used by about 1.8 billion people. It runs on Alphabet's infrastructure and handles roughly 121 billion emails every day. The free tier gives you 15 GB of storage shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.

There's a reason it got this big. Search is genuinely fast, even across years of archived messages. Spam filtering catches most junk before you see it. Smart Compose speeds up writing with AI-powered suggestions. If you already use Google Calendar, Drive, or Meet, everything connects without extra setup.

Worth knowing

Gmail is free because Google's business model runs on advertising. Google stopped scanning emails directly for ad targeting in 2017, but your email activity still feeds into the broader profile Google builds about you. That profile powers ads across Search, YouTube, and other Google products.

Your data sits primarily on US servers. Under the CLOUD Act, US authorities can request access to that data even when Google stores a copy in European data centers. Paid Workspace accounts come with GDPR data processing agreements. Free Gmail accounts don't get those protections. France fined Google 325 million euros in 2025 for running promotional ads in Gmail without proper consent.

Google processes your emails with AI for features like Smart Compose and inbox categorization. That processing happens on Google's servers, not on your device.