Sunday 17 September 2017

No More Targeted Ads From Gmail

We like to think we are safe in the confines of our personal Gmail account but how mistaken are we. Not only is your browsing habit observed and recorded but Google also sneaks a peak at our emails just so they can show us targeted ads, all for the love of (sponsor’s) money. You really can’t remain anonymous on the web anymore because you leave digital footprints that a tech giant like Google can take advantage of. Sadly, though, you have no choice unless you totally give up modern email and switch back to snail mail that may still inadvertently get lost en route to your receiver and can take a lifetime to get there.

Modern technology has indeed made life easier but there are a lot of catch that not all the time we are aware of. And the fact that Google reads your emails in Gmail is not new anymore because it made the headlines years ago. Targeted-advertising generates the biggest cash inflow for Google even though we aren’t thrilled at the news of them spying in on us. Do you even feel comfortable knowing that other people can read the contents of your personal email account? But then, it’s an efficient and comprehensive free web email service, so can we really complain at all?

Google is making a change to its advertising practices that will affect millions of Gmail users around the globe. Starting later this year, the company will stop reading your emails to refine its ads.

If you're just learning that Gmail scans your messages, this is an issue that dates back for years. Google's automated systems routinely scanned Gmail users' incoming and outgoing emails to help refine the company's massive data-gathering operation, which in turn supported its enormous targeted-advertising business.

Google's ad business is what keeps the entire company chugging along. Last year, 88 percent of all revenue at Alphabet, Google's parent company, came from Google advertising, according to its annual report.

(Via: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/06/26/gmail-will-no-longer-snoop-on-your-emails-for-advertising-purposes/?utm_term=.d51d438f04dc)

But all these things are about to change as Google announced they will cease to read emails anymore as they refine their controversial advertising practices. The new changes will give users more control as to what ads they want to see popping in and out of their browser (not email, please) although the company has not yet specified when these changes will actually take place.

Google said it does not scan the email of paying corporate customers of its G Suite of services, but it made the policy change — announced in a company blog post on Friday — on its free consumer version to eliminate confusion and create one uniform policy toward Gmail.

As it builds its Google Cloud business for selling internet infrastructure and services to corporate customers, Google is trying to ease concerns that it will use data from corporate customers to help its mainstay advertising business.

Google said it plans to carry out the changes to the Gmail ad policy “later this year.” It will continue to scan Gmail to screen for potential spam or phishing attacks as well as offering suggestions for automated replies to email.

(Via: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/technology/gmail-ads.html)

Google snooping in on emails coming in and out of Gmail isn’t entirely a bad thing as it helps them filter out dangerous spam and malware that can harm your system but that does not erase the fact that they do so without the user’s consent. Meanwhile, they will now streamline ads depending on data you have set on your settings or on your search history on other Google-related services like Youtube. This move may eventually help Google win some of the lawsuits filed against them regarding wiretapping allegations and even win over corporate clients into using their web services and infrastructures.

The following blog article No More Targeted Ads From Gmail See more on: www.keatingeconomics.com



source https://www.keatingeconomics.com/no-more-targeted-ads-from-gmail/

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