Should You Still Use Bigpond Email in 2025?

If you’ve been using a Bigpond (Telstra Mail) email address for years, you’re not alone. For a long time, Bigpond was the go-to option for many Telstra internet customers.

It felt familiar and convenient—after all, it came bundled right in with your home broadband, and you never really needed to shop around.

But here we are in 2024 and heading into 2025, and the email landscape has changed big time. New providers, better security features, and seamless integration across devices are now the standard.

You might be wondering: is Bigpond email still cutting it, or is it time to move on to a more modern, flexible service?

In this article, we’ll break down the pros and cons of sticking with Bigpond, give you a look at what newer email providers can do, and even share tips for transitioning to a new address without losing your digital life.

We’ll also show you a neat trick on how to hide your email using Apple’s built-in feature—this can help protect your new address and keep your inbox clutter-free right from the start.

Bigpond (Telstra Mail) in 2024: What’s Going On?

Back in the day, having a Bigpond address was basically part of being an Aussie internet user, especially if you were on Telstra’s broadband.

It was simple and got the job done. But like that trusty old computer you kept for too long, Bigpond email hasn’t aged gracefully.

While Telstra has rolled Bigpond under its wider Telstra Mail umbrella, it still feels like a service from a different era.

Pros of Keeping Your Bigpond Email

1. Familiar Setup: If you’ve been with Bigpond for ages, you know the ropes. You’ve got your contacts in there, maybe some old messages you’re nostalgic about, and you know how to reach Telstra’s support if something goes wrong.

2. Everything Under One Roof: For those who like having one provider for phone, internet, and email, Bigpond offers an all-in-one experience. Manage your bills, track your services, and access your email through Telstra’s webmail portal and support pages.

Why It Might Be Time to Move On

1. Outdated Interface & Features: Compared to modern email services like Gmail, Outlook, or Proton Mail, Bigpond just feels old-school. You won’t find the slick interfaces, built-in calendars, or advanced spam filters that come standard elsewhere.

2. Performance & Reliability Issues: Hop onto forums like Reddit or Whirlpool, and you’ll see quite a few folks complaining about downtime, trouble with new email clients, or issues accessing old emails, Bigpond just hasn’t kept pace with more resilient and faster competitors.

3. Urged to Migrate: Even some organizations are pushing users to move away from Bigpond. For example, news from certain Australian sectors warns that Bigpond email’s reliability may not be up to par in the long run.

Exploring Better (and Free) Email Alternatives

If you’re thinking of making the leap, the good news is that there are plenty of great options:

• Gmail:
  Comes with best-in-class spam filtering, integrates with Google Drive and Google Docs, and is updated constantly with new features.
• Outlook:
  Part of Microsoft’s ecosystem, Outlook is great if you use Office programs. It’s user-friendly and syncs well with Windows devices.
• Proton Mail:
  If privacy is top of your list, Proton Mail offers end-to-end encryption. Perfect for anyone who wants tight security and no ads.

Each of these services works smoothly across all your devices and gives you way more tools than Bigpond ever did.

Making the Switch: How to Move On Smoothly

Switching email providers isn’t as scary as it sounds. Here are a few tips:

1. Back Up Your Stuff: Before you jump ship, download or export any important messages, documents, or contacts.
2. Set Up Forwarding: If possible, forward your Bigpond emails to your new address for a while. This gives you a grace period where you won’t miss any important messages.
3. Tell Your Contacts: Shoot out a quick “Hey, I’ve got a new email address!” note to your friends, family, and colleagues. Most email clients make it easy to create a template and send it out in one go.
4. Update Your Accounts: Remember to change your email on essential services like banking, utilities, streaming subscriptions, and social media. It might take a bit, but it’s worth it in the long run.

For those worried about spam or giving out their shiny new email too freely, consider using Apple’s “Hide My Email” feature.

This neat tool creates a unique, random email address that forwards to your main inbox, so you can keep your actual address private.

You can learn more about how to set it up here: How to Hide Your Email Address with Apple.

Time to Leave Bigpond in the Past

Yes, Bigpond served you well back in the day, and there’s something comforting about sticking with what you know.

But let’s face it: 2024’s email environment is a whole lot richer, safer, and more efficient than what Bigpond offers.

By jumping ship to a new, free provider—be it Gmail, Outlook, Proton Mail, or another reputable service—you’ll likely feel a weight lifted.

Your email will run smoother, you’ll have more features at your fingertips, and you’ll know you’re backed by industry-leading security and support.

Change can be tough, but in this case, it’s worth it. Your inbox deserves to keep up with the times.

Go ahead, make the move—and while you’re at it, consider hiding your new email to keep it safe and secure.