Gmail Email Privacy Concerns

The cluster discusses Google's scanning and analysis of Gmail emails for advertising and other purposes, privacy implications for both Gmail users and non-users emailing them, and debates over Google's policies and promises not to use email content for ads.

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e.g IT NYT AI HN mako.cc moderncrypto.org HR google.com theguardian.com gmail google email emails mail ads privacy metadata scan sender

Sample Comments

gress • Aug 22, 2014 • View on HN

Gmail users permit google to analyze their email for their own purposes.

netizen-9748 • Jan 18, 2021 • View on HN

Using gmail means Google still gets to read your emails and metadata

berntb • Mar 3, 2010 • View on HN

Yes, Google analyze the email for ad purposes. I thought we were talking about much worse behaviors (e.g. looking for business insider information or things usable for blackmail).

propogandist • Apr 11, 2018 • View on HN

by using Gmail, you are allowing Google to scrape what might otherwise be private messages

yen223 • Mar 19, 2014 • View on HN

This negates the privacy benefits of not using gmail, no?

icebraining • May 26, 2018 • View on HN

Gmail can't use that data for ads unless they ask for consent separately (which the user can refuse).

Crontab • May 27, 2017 • View on HN

Isn't Google doing the same thing to people who email Gmail users?

pmontra • Jul 24, 2018 • View on HN

About half of the people I exchange email with are @gmail.com It means that Google reads and possibly sell half of my email conversations even if I don't use Google as email provider. The same probably happens to you. Our choice is limited to not to send email to people with some addresses. Tough luck.

bengale • Sep 23, 2021 • View on HN

Isn’t this largely the point of gmail? It’s a data collection tool isn’t it?

MaxBarraclough • Jul 24, 2020 • View on HN

Google promise not to scan your Gmail emails for ad purposes.https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21918595 , https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6603