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I stopped trusting Google the day they announced they would use Gmail email content for displaying ads. Sometime in the late 00’s it was I think.
by noncoml 8y ago
I stopped trusting Google the day they announced they would use Gmail email content for displaying ads. Sometime in the late 00’s it was I think.
- zavi 8y agoDo they really use email content for ad targeting or are you spreading misinformation?
- namdnay 8y agoThey did, for a few years. It was a bit scary, but also really good. It was really easy to test, if you sent an email discussing a weekend trip with some friends you'd immediately get hotel and flight ads for that destination. Actually quite useful...
- romanovcode 8y agoYep.
- zavi 8y agoNope. See other comment.
- pavlov 8y agoYour memory is a bit off. Algorithmic reading of emails for targeted ads was a feature of Gmail from day one. Here's an article from June 2004: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/15/gmail_spook_heaven/ https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/15/gmail_spook_heaven/ The privacy implications were widely discussed when Gmail launched, but then the media interest just faded out because people were apparently OK with it and Google promised to "do no evil". So here we are, 14 years later.