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Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails For Gmail Ads (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the change-of-heart dept.

Google will soon stop scanning emails received by some Gmail users, a practice that has allowed it to show them targeted advertising but which stirred privacy worries. From a report: The decision didn't come from Google's ad team, but from its cloud unit, which is angling to sign up more corporate customers. Alphabet's Google Cloud sells a package of office software, called G Suite, that competes with market leader Microsoft. Paying Gmail users never received the email-scanning ads like the free version of the program, but some business customers were confused by the distinction and its privacy implications, said Diane Greene, Google's senior vice president of cloud. "What we're going to do is make it unambiguous," she said. Ads will continue to appear inside the free version of Gmail, as promoted messages. But instead of scanning a user's email, the ads will now be targeted with other personal information Google already pulls from sources such as search and YouTube.

4 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. We Already Know All About You by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    We already know all about you and no longer need to continue to read your email.

    Besides, your sad, pathetic lives were depressing our mail reading Ad-bots.

  2. So, how long until they shut it down? by Anubis+IV · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Kidding aside, if they're no longer mining free users for useful information, it becomes nothing more than a vehicle for delivering ads. Given that Gmail is a gateway into the Google ecosystem for a lot of people, I seriously doubt that they'd kill it entirely, but I wouldn't bet on seeing any more major increases to the storage space allotted for the free tier.

  3. Read what they said by al0ha · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Google will no longer scan emails for the purposes of advertising targeting. They never said they would no longer scan emails altogether.

    Speak No Evil :P

    --
    Did you ever wake up in the morning, with a Zombie Woof behind your eyes? -- FZ
    1. Re:Read what they said by Albanach · · Score: 5, Interesting

      They never said they would no longer scan emails altogether.

      I'd be pretty pissed if they did. It's nice to grab your phone and see that evening's flight details, or get a reminder that you have a bill due in three days, etc.

      These are features that make my life easier and are only possible by having a computer scan my email.