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Google's ad mechanism reads all emails sent and received by all gmail users, even in many cases people using paid Google Apps mail unless the administrator has

Google's ad mechanism reads all emails sent and received by all gmail users, even in many cases people using paid Google Apps mail unless the administrator has opted out (I've encountered companies that left gmail ads enabled). Even when the administrator has switched off ads, e-mails are still mined to show ads in Google services that are not covered under Google Apps: http://safegov.org/2014/1/31/google-admits-data-mining-student-emails-in-its-free-education-apps http://safegov.org/2014/1/31/google-admits-data-mining-stude... Since Google Apps for Business uses the same privacy policy, there is little reason to believe that anything is different when you are paying $5 per user per month. The privacy policy clearly states that Google can mine your data for ads. Ads can just be turned off for the services covered by Google Apps (but not Google+, Google Maps, Youtube, Google Search, etc.).

danieldk 13y ago
I have to add that it's not my intention to bash Google. I actually think their privacy policy is actually readable in comparison to many other services. Also, most other large services don't provide something akin to Google Dashboard.
magicalist 13y ago
Just so you're aware, safegov appears to be a Microsoft astrotufing site: http://readwrite.com/2013/01/03/googles-ftc-settlement-is-an-epic-fail-for-microsoft http://readwrite.com/2013/01/03/googles-ftc-settlement-is-an... though you can pretty much tell if you just look at their list of articles. In any case, the article is wrong, on a number of fronts, actually. e.g. the DoubleClick and Google account cookies are never mixed (Google agreed to this in the wake of concerns over the merger, and it's called out explicitly in the Google privacy policy), the statement on Enterprise privacy policies and that testimony about the University of Hawaii don't contradict each other at all, and it's ridiculous to base a whole article on an entry on the University of Alaska's email FAQ. The entry is wrong anyway. Check out the "Data Processing Amendment"[1] that comes with Enterprise/Education accounts, which prohibits processing data in ways that aren't explicitly enumerated in that document. Advertising profiling is not included. [1] https://www.google.com/intx/en/enterprise/apps/terms/dpa_terms.html https://www.google.com/intx/en/enterprise/apps/terms/dpa_ter...

danieldk 13y ago

I have to add that it's not my intention to bash Google. I actually think their privacy policy is actually readable in comparison to many other services. Also, most other large services don't provide something akin to Google Dashboard.

magicalist 13y ago

Just so you're aware, safegov appears to be a Microsoft astrotufing site: http://readwrite.com/2013/01/03/googles-ftc-settlement-is-an-epic-fail-for-microsoft http://readwrite.com/2013/01/03/googles-ftc-settlement-is-an... though you can pretty much tell if you just look at their list of articles. In any case, the article is wrong, on a number of fronts, actually. e.g. the DoubleClick and Google account cookies are never mixed (Google agreed to this in the wake of concerns over the merger, and it's called out explicitly in the Google privacy policy), the statement on Enterprise privacy policies and that testimony about the University of Hawaii don't contradict each other at all, and it's ridiculous to base a whole article on an entry on the University of Alaska's email FAQ. The entry is wrong anyway. Check out the "Data Processing Amendment"[1] that comes with Enterprise/Education accounts, which prohibits processing data in ways that aren't explicitly enumerated in that document. Advertising profiling is not included. [1] https://www.google.com/intx/en/enterprise/apps/terms/dpa_terms.html https://www.google.com/intx/en/enterprise/apps/terms/dpa_ter...