Self-host your mail server
The author advocates for self-hosting email servers to promote internet decentralization and data sovereignty, arguing that it is feasible even for home users in 2026. The article provides practical advice on overcoming delivery challenges and suggests tools like docker-mailserver.
Why it matters
Self-hosting is a key practice for users seeking to reduce reliance on major tech conglomerates and maintain control over their digital communications.
If you have spent a few days online in self-hosting or data-sovereignty communities there is one advice that always pops up:
I do understand where they are coming from since there are horror stories around about blocklists and delivery problems but today I want to show you that it is in fact possible in 2026 and you might even be able to host it from home! By design email is an open system and we should not accept that a few big corporations have all our mail and the internet to become less decentralized in the process.
Since my small MSP company helps people and corporations on a daily basis to switch from Gmail and Microsoft to cloud alternatives or self-hosted solutions I thought I should put my money where my mouth is and also move away from Google Workspace.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in