‘Price Of Free Gmail’—How Much Your Google Account Is Worth

InnovationCybersecurity‘Price Of Free Gmail’—How Much Your Google Account Is WorthByZak Doffman,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Zak Doffman writes about cybersecurity, surveillance and privacy.Follow AuthorApr 28, 2026, 02:18pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Your Gmail account now has a value.NurPhoto via Getty ImagesIf you’re not paying for the product — you are the product. Nothing in life is truly free, and that includes your Google and Gmail accounts. Now, a new report puts a dollar value on you, revealing exactly what your account is worth and how little privacy there is when you spend your time online.Here’s the “price of ‘free’ Gmail,” Proton told me, directing me to its new report on “what advertisers pay" to reach users. "Google has a price for you," says the company behind Gmail competitor Proton Mail. "We found it.”ForbesGoogle Confirms Gmail Upgrade And Warns Of ‘Sophisticated’ AI AttacksBy Zak DoffmanProton analyzed "over 54,000 demographic profiles using 2025 ad auction data to estimate what advertisers pay to reach different types of Americans.” The price points for different users is stark. While the average user “generates about $1,605 a year in advertising value,” if you’re 35 to 44 years of age, living in Bozeman without kids and using a desktop, that figures soars to $17,929.30.At the other end of the scale, “an 18- to 24-year-old father in Fort Smith, AR, using an Android phone and making low-value searches, generates $31.05. That’s a 577x difference between two people using the same free service.”MORE FOR YOUProton Mail trades on its privacy and security creds, which makes it a very different proposition to Google in general and Gmail in particular. The company says these estimates are for “advertiser demand for access to a given profile,” and do not directly reflect “the exact rev...