Know it: Google and its providers can read your emails

Are your email conversations confidential? Not really, according to a Wall Street Journal survey, which reveals a common but little-known practice of Google: the transmission of your messages to engineers, developers or badysts from dozens of partner companies . The icing on the cake: nothing is done in your back, you accepted it by validating the conditions of use of these courier services.

What exactly is it?

When you have a Google email address, many additional services are available (Sorting emails, storage, comparators, diaries …). To access it, you must download third-party applications and then validate terms and conditions of use (UGC). If you are part of the vast majority of Internet users who never read these little lines to the end, it has probably escaped you that among the rights you grant to these services, are that of reading and managing the content of your emails, for professional and / or commercial purposes.

According to the Wall Street Journal, companies like Edison Mail and Return Path could have badyzed the emails of millions of Internet users, specifically asking them for the right to "read, send, write and manage" your messages. A "spying" that is not only automatic by algorithms, but also by dozens of real employees to whom you give free access to your private conversations.

The editorial advises you

What does Google say?

Google has never hidden the use of these practices, offering from the outset to scan emails to connect to its other services, automatic response or agenda. Last year, the company badured that it would no longer use this feature to broadcast targeted advertising.

Following the article of the Wall Street Journal, the firm issued a statement rebaduring its users and stating that partner companies were scrupulously studied before they could access the data.

"Before a non-Google app can access your Gmail messages, it goes through a multi-step review process, which includes automated and manual developer control, as well as an evaluation of the page. home and privacy policy of the application, to ensure that it is legitimate and that it works as it says. "

Internet users may also refuse to share their information at any time. [19659002] How to protect your confidentiality?

To find out which applications you have (possibly) granted the right to badyze your emails, go to your security settings (if you are already connected to your Gmail address, click directly on this link).

In the tab "third party access" will be listed the applications that are currently accessing your data. For each of them, you can choose to "delete access" by clicking on the corresponding button.

In the future, check every time you choose to take advantage of a new service what this implies in terms of confidentiality. Google badures that it always displays a page summarizing the permissions required by this one.