4 ms·

> It's not like I can read your emails unless I break into Google's servers, no? Well, first of all, "breaking in" isn't the only way someone might get access

by thayne 7y ago

> It's not like I can read your emails unless I break into Google's servers, no? Well, first of all, "breaking in" isn't the only way someone might get access to data on Google's servers. There are such thing's as subpoenas, not to mention that it is possible a Google employee might abuse access to servers. And then I would be _very_ surprised if google doesn't use the content of your emails for advertisement and tracking purposes. Furthermore, unless both parties are using gmail, the email will be stored at least temporarily on other mail servers, which may be less secure (and you might not even know who controls them).

wodenokoto 7y ago
> And then I would be _very_ surprised if google doesn't use the content of your emails for advertisement and tracking purposes. That would go against their own privacy policy. But they are one change away from doing it.
- garmaine 7y ago
  Really? When gmail came out they were explicitly up front about using the content of the email to deliver targeted ads. Has that changed?
  - justincormack 7y ago
    If you pay Google for email they will not use the content for ads. Free accounts I think they still do.
  - riquito 7y ago
    There are a lot of misinformations around, and the Google haters crowd has plenty of pitchforks. https://safety.google/privacy/ads-and-data/ https://safety.google/privacy/ads-and-data/ > Google does not use keywords or messages in your inbox to show you ads. Nobody reads your email in order to show you ads.
    - comex 7y ago
      It's not misinformation. Gmail only stopped scanning messages for ad targeting in 2017: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/technology/gmail-ads.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/technology/gmail-ads.html
    - alxlaz 7y ago
      It's just the passage of time that has rendered it misinformation. Until not so long ago, Gmail messages were actually scanned for ads -- IIRC, Google was actually pretty upfront about it when they first launched Gmail, and explained that it's how they could afford to give users 1G of inbox space in a day and age where 25 MB was pretty good and 100 MB was pretty hard to get for free. They eventually stopped, although the phrasing of the privacy policy is vague enough that, as wodenokoto mentions above, I wouldn't be surprised if email messages were still scanned for some advertising purposes. The fragment on the page you link to is only about ads shown in Gmail, doesn't exclude using keywords and messages for tracking, classifying etc. (it just doesn't use them "to show you ads") and doesn't actually exclude using programs to process messages (i.e. you can still reasonably say that "nobody reads" messages if you just feed them into a program). It's also not very obvious if "messages in your inbox" also includes messages you send. FWIW, I think the policy is deliberately open-ended so as to be future-proof, but I doubt emails are an important source of advertising data today, so I think it's likely that Google doesn't rely on it that much anymore. Most sources of legitimate (i.e. non-spam email) that are useful for advertising -- e.g. online shops and the like -- already track you and show you ads, and Google is already deeply embedded there. Millions and millions of personal accounts are an useful strategic asset to have but I think there are better sources of data.
      - newscracker 7y ago
        > I doubt emails are an important source of advertising data today, so I think it's likely that Google doesn't rely on it that much anymore. I completely disagree with the first part of your assertion. Email is still the main medium for all organizations, especially private companies taking your money for something, to communicate with you with plenty of details. Be it ordering some product online or booking a flight or other travel ticket or ordering a service or anything else. The richness and amount of information conveyed over email pales in comparison to SMS notifications. So email is still a treasure trove of what people are doing and have done.
  - wodenokoto 7y ago
    Yes when. What changed was gsuit. They want to move away from the “we are harvesting your emails” image, in order to better sell paid accounts “Consumer Gmail content will not be used or scanned for any ads personalization after this change.” https://blog.google/products/gmail/g-suite-gains-traction-in-the-enterprise-g-suites-gmail-and-consumer-gmail-to-more-closely-align/?_ga=2.156827315.901606959.1563388031-739798098.1548590863 https://blog.google/products/gmail/g-suite-gains-traction-in...

by thayne 7y ago

wodenokoto 7y ago

> And then I would be _very_ surprised if google doesn't use the content of your emails for advertisement and tracking purposes. That would go against their own privacy policy. But they are one change away from doing it.

garmaine 7y ago
Really? When gmail came out they were explicitly up front about using the content of the email to deliver targeted ads. Has that changed?
- justincormack 7y ago
  If you pay Google for email they will not use the content for ads. Free accounts I think they still do.
- riquito 7y ago
  There are a lot of misinformations around, and the Google haters crowd has plenty of pitchforks. https://safety.google/privacy/ads-and-data/ https://safety.google/privacy/ads-and-data/ > Google does not use keywords or messages in your inbox to show you ads. Nobody reads your email in order to show you ads.
  - comex 7y ago
    It's not misinformation. Gmail only stopped scanning messages for ad targeting in 2017: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/technology/gmail-ads.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/technology/gmail-ads.html
  - alxlaz 7y ago
    It's just the passage of time that has rendered it misinformation. Until not so long ago, Gmail messages were actually scanned for ads -- IIRC, Google was actually pretty upfront about it when they first launched Gmail, and explained that it's how they could afford to give users 1G of inbox space in a day and age where 25 MB was pretty good and 100 MB was pretty hard to get for free. They eventually stopped, although the phrasing of the privacy policy is vague enough that, as wodenokoto mentions above, I wouldn't be surprised if email messages were still scanned for some advertising purposes. The fragment on the page you link to is only about ads shown in Gmail, doesn't exclude using keywords and messages for tracking, classifying etc. (it just doesn't use them "to show you ads") and doesn't actually exclude using programs to process messages (i.e. you can still reasonably say that "nobody reads" messages if you just feed them into a program). It's also not very obvious if "messages in your inbox" also includes messages you send. FWIW, I think the policy is deliberately open-ended so as to be future-proof, but I doubt emails are an important source of advertising data today, so I think it's likely that Google doesn't rely on it that much anymore. Most sources of legitimate (i.e. non-spam email) that are useful for advertising -- e.g. online shops and the like -- already track you and show you ads, and Google is already deeply embedded there. Millions and millions of personal accounts are an useful strategic asset to have but I think there are better sources of data.
    - newscracker 7y ago
      > I doubt emails are an important source of advertising data today, so I think it's likely that Google doesn't rely on it that much anymore. I completely disagree with the first part of your assertion. Email is still the main medium for all organizations, especially private companies taking your money for something, to communicate with you with plenty of details. Be it ordering some product online or booking a flight or other travel ticket or ordering a service or anything else. The richness and amount of information conveyed over email pales in comparison to SMS notifications. So email is still a treasure trove of what people are doing and have done.
- wodenokoto 7y ago
  Yes when. What changed was gsuit. They want to move away from the “we are harvesting your emails” image, in order to better sell paid accounts “Consumer Gmail content will not be used or scanned for any ads personalization after this change.” https://blog.google/products/gmail/g-suite-gains-traction-in-the-enterprise-g-suites-gmail-and-consumer-gmail-to-more-closely-align/?_ga=2.156827315.901606959.1563388031-739798098.1548590863 https://blog.google/products/gmail/g-suite-gains-traction-in...