Gmail again in the crossfire of criticism

Google wanted "that users can be certain that Google respects privacy and security". That's what the giant wrote a year ago and he promised to no longer scan the inboxes of Gmail users to deliver personalized ads.

Good. The Wall Street Journal says Google continues to let "hundreds of external software developers scan the inboxes of millions of Gmail users." Developers use emails to train AI or for marketing activities.

Are concerned users who have subscribed to e-mail based services, automatic trip planners or other tools. And, according to the article, "Google does little to monitor developers who train their computers – and in some cases, employees – to read e-mails from their users."

The Wall Street Journal names two US companies in which

Developers should be able to read up to 8,000 emails not subject to blackmail during training sessions. The text is based on information from more than two dozen current and former employees of application and data miners.

Google defends itself in a blog post saying that it only gives data to authorized third-party developers and only to Gmail users who explicitly authorize access. Google employees read emails only "in specific cases where you ask for your consent or for security reasons, such as investigating an error or abuse," said the giant in a written statement, according to Wall Street Newspaper. ".

"Before an application other than Google can access your Gmail messages, it goes through a multi-step review process that includes an automated and manual review of the developer, an evaluation of the privacy rules and the page. "It's a legal application and we do in-app testing to make sure the application works as it says," Google writes.

Google also notes that the Gmail business model is not based primarily on advertising, but on the Enterprise version as part of the G-Suite.

However, the companies mentioned by the Wall Street Journal claim never to have asked for or received a specific permit. This must be part of normal usage conditions.

"The Worst of Both Worlds"
The famous security expert Troy Hunt sees it all a little more differentiated, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. This is a serious decision to grant each application access to emails and this has a great impact on privacy and data security. But that someone reading Gmail messages is not really the most disturbing part. "By granting such permissions, your data is no longer on Google and it's impossible to know what's happening to them," says Hunt. Then there is "a third party who wrote code reading your emails, it could be analyzed for keywords, it could be sent to another third party who will read it". This is the consequence of granting permissions, when third parties are involved, "says Hunt. "It's there that the worst of both worlds is combined: the third-party code automatically scans e-mails and strangers read it in person."

Two-thirds of the world's active users have a Gmail account of 1.4 billion people. The conditions of use have been read or even understood by some. And wondering what application really needs access permissions, like little.

This ends with all who participate in the vote of confidence. And he will show how he is answered. The criticism of the Wall Street Journal is favored by the fact that Google and Gmail have been controversial since launch, again and again because of privacy and confidentiality practices. (Mag)