"Businesses behind Gmail add-ons allow employees to read e-mails" – IT Pro – News

According to a Wall Street Journal study, Google allows hundreds of software developers to analyze the content of emails from Gmail users. This applies to users who have registered for certain email services.

According to the WSJ, Google does not do much to keep these external application developers in mind during their activities, including training their systems and computers to read user emails. In some cases, there would also be employees of these companies who read e-mails. The WSJ says that he has spoken with over 24 employees and current ex-employees of these companies, who make apps for emails.

For example, the companies Return Path and Edison Software. The first collects data for marketers by scanning the inboxes of the two million users who have signed up via Gmail or a Yahoo email address for one of the company's free apps. Normally, computers are busy with this scanning process, but two years ago, employees would have read eight thousand unfiltered emails to improve the company's software.

With Edison Software, a Gmail Developer That Creates a Mobile Application for By reading and organizing emails, hundreds of emails from users have been viewed to create new features. The general manager of the company confirmed this. According to the WSJ, Return Path and Edison Software have not specifically asked users for permission to read e-mails; According to the companies, this practice is allowed, considering the agreements of use. Both companies also claim that there are strict protocols for employees who can access e-mails.

Google itself says that it only reads emails in very specific cases and only when users have requested it. The company says that it manually checks every developer and every app that wants to access Gmail. However, one of Contactually's co-founders reports that he has seen no evidence of human verification by Google.

A year ago, Google announced that it would stop analyzing Gmail messages for personalized advertisements. The search giant has done it earlier to tailor advertisements to user profiles.