Google: Gmail Users Should Have No Expectation of Privacy

[AmNotATroll]

Wow, did the author of this article actually do any research? How about the people commenting, did you question anything in this article? Try this link for something less sensationalistic.

http/www.theverge.com/2013/8/14/4621474/yes-gmail-users-have-an-expectation-of-privacy

 

[brandonjclark]

I just read their privacy policy and it specifically reads "with consent".

 

[inerax]

So. whats up with the double posts? even triple in this case.... I only submitted my comment one time...... Broken?!

 

[IAmVortigaunt]

I think what makes gmail a bit different is that they're targeting ads based on email content. This is something I'm not sure other email providers do, and if they do, I don't know that it's as robust as google's mega ad network. As far as I can tell, Outlook.com doesn't even display ads, though I rarely use the web interface anyway. And by the way, I don't really think Google NEEDS to do this to provide gmail for free. They could easily serve "dumb" ads to people that aren't keyed off of email text. Or even ads generated based on search history (if they must) or browsing history, which they already do. They don't NEED to also include your email conversations. But then it seems Google is really interested in building the most robust profiles on all its users...in pretty much everything they do. It's no wonder, as their business model is over 90% ad revenue supported. They basically sell nothing to consumers, except some premium email/storage services and some other stuff that doesn't amount to much revenue.

 

[J A]

Google lawyers attempting to suggest that their GMail site could not function without scanning is nonsense. Providing filtering and searching has nothing to do with extending that same data to third parties.

 

[dgingeri]

Sounds to me like the US Post Office has just become the world most secure mode of communication.

 

[quilciri]

Google's argument is bullshit. Though goverment pressure forced them to close just recently, Lavabit offered an encrypted email service. Even lavabit itself could not access your email.

http/techcrunch.com/2013/08/13/why-ladar-levison-shuttered-encrypted-email-service-lavabit-in-the-face-of-government-pressure/

 

[leoscott]

Privacy in email content depends on who you are worried about. If it is the NSA then you better have a non-network connected computer with non-commercial encryption software on it. What guarantee does anyone have that companies like Microsoft doesn't have backdoors in the OS that the NSA has access to. If they do under a FISA warrant you wouldn't know without someone like Snowden. You can transfer the encrypted text to the connected computer via a thumb drive. The best way to key the data would be to use a book. Buy 2 copies and UPS or FedEx one copy to the person you are going to communicate with. Don't use the Bible o Karan. Then in the subject line put the Page, Paragraph and Word numbers for several words so the recipient can look up the key.

A better solution would be for about a million of us to generate text of about 1000 random characters several times a day and put it in messages with subjects that have NSA key words in them. Bomb, attack, etc. This would drive the NSA's decryptions servers to their knees going after nothing.

 

[DRosencraft]

I just love how there are all these people talking about "in the old days". Well, in the old days you had to write stuff down on paper and put it in an envelope if you wanted to "mail" anyone. Should Google's statement be a surprise? Not really. Anyone who didn't know this before either didn't want to know, or didn't try thinking about it at all. But I would think some appropriate discussion should be proffered over whether this should be considered acceptable.

 

[majudhu]

I use GnuPG, I have already given them my public key personally.

 

[none12345]

Anything sent out on the internet shoudl be considered public.

That said, i dont believe that google or any other company has any right to read your emails.

I dont care if an automated tool is used to search the email if you tell it to. But it should not do so on its own. And any data it reads for the purpose of that search should NOT be used in any other way except the search.

An automated tool used to filter email based on filters you set is also fine. But again it should not use that data for any other purpose except to filter the email. With the exception of spam filters, im fine if you do whatever you want with a email that i consider spam.

If a email service wants to display adds that fines, but it should not do so based on the content of your emails. This allows them to build a profile based on your email content, which is an invasion of privacy.

Really any tool read your emails all day long, as long as NONE of that data is stored anywere, in any form, relational or not.

 

[maxiim]

Didnt expect this from google....what else is left as far as email services go that isnt garbage or turning into garbage?

 

[pjmelect]

The way to send a truly private email (unless 'hacked') is to write it as a doc and compress it with anything else you wish to send with say WINRAR and a password protect it. Then email the password separately, ideally to a different account through a different provider.


You just try that, the major email providers block encrypted attachments.

 

[f-14]

all good did was publicly admit that anything going thru Gmail is being watched and classified, categorized and stored just the way the FBI does, and yes, by the FBI also as well as several american government agencies and google itself which was made legal A) because it wasn't made illegal to begin with B) made legal by special laws C) because the service isn't paid for to keep private for users.

transporting was already covered by law, storage was not, the U.S. postal service follows the same laws when you leave your mail at the post office forever. same with any freight company.
you pay for electricity yes? do you pay for its storage? if you don't pay, what happens?

the law only covers transfer, not storage, after so many days like all things already covered by law it's considered abandoned or public property police have already gone over this with pulling evidence from your garbage cans or things you discard on public property or some one else's private property decades ago, it has all been clearly defined and is legal, i do believe there were a number of set days given for email 15 before it could be used by the government i do not remember the clauses just that it fell into abandonment on public private property description perfectly defined by laws before the internet was ever invented.

how to expose this guy John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project director into the fool he is: " with out being paid for mailmen do not accept your mail, no stamp, no service, the U.S. Mail, UPS, FEDEX are paid for services.
show me your receipts, stamps, and other such proof you pay for Gmail"

"as part of providing the free Gmail service to the public. This is fatal to plaintiffs’ claims," the Google attorneys state."

Simpson argues that handing Google an email is identical to giving the mailman an envelope to deliver. It's expected to be delivered to the recipient based on the email address, completely unopened and unread. Why would anyone expect their messages to be retrieved and read by Google?

 

[rantoc]

Isn't data in the cloud just awesome, the corp's don't even have to work to gather data about your a$$ and what it did the last week - Your providing it for free to google, facebook and god knows what else!

 

[makaveli316]

It's about time someone to step up and make some super duper safe / private email. I'm willing to switch, cause Google is pissing me off lately.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

They did, but shut down because the govt wanted to read it.

 

[shin0bi272]

google's motto is "dont be evil" ... well I guess youve failed at that huh google? Of course when youre a leftist and you bend over backwards for the nsa and the obama administration what should we have expected? Hushmail is free for 25mb of storage space and its secure. I think we should all switch and give google the finger.

 

[megamanxtreme]

Google makes Chrome
Firefox: "We welcome competition."
Microsoft makes IE
Firefox: "We will beat them down!"

Google does DNS service
OpenDNS: "We welcome competition."

Now, Microsoft is snooping on your stuff,
Us: "You can't do that Microsoft."
Google is snooping on your stuff,
Us: "It is completely okay."

Man, what's wrong with you people. Just because Google is also innovative and does great services, it doesn't mean that we should just let the get away with this.

 

[megamanxtreme]

Google makes Chrome
Firefox: "We welcome competition."
Microsoft makes IE
Firefox: "We will beat them down!"

Google does DNS service
OpenDNS: "We welcome competition."

Now, Microsoft is snooping on your stuff,
Us: "You can't do that Microsoft."
Google is snooping on your stuff,
Us: "It is completely okay."

Man, what's wrong with you people. Just because Google is also innovative and does great services, it doesn't mean that we should just let the get away with this.