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Thread: Your Gmails are not safe and Google finally admits it:

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    Default Your Gmails are not safe and Google finally admits it:

    



    While it was well known for ages that they proof read your emails I was not aware that actual people sit down and read them,
    including those who do not belong to Google.
    Apparently anybody, who claims they are a 'Developer' have the ability to access and pass on your private life.

    Of course they always had that covered somewhere in their several hundred pages of 'terms and conditions' and nicely hidden a method to disable this third party access in your account/mails.

    I didn't trust Google even back in the early 2000's.
    It was never my search engine of choice, found more neutral and 'to the point' results with others that didn't track you. Quality over quantity.
    Never had a Google account and never touched that datamining, spam creating GoogleChrome piece of sh%#.

    OpenStreetMaps has improved massively and I find them partly more accurate than Google Maps + I got it all offline in my pocket.

    I have got on pretty well without Google and will continue to do so.

    I still believe that privacy is a basic human right and NOT a crime but it looks like many(particularly the younger "whatever" gens) are being conditioned to think otherwise.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 04-07-18 at 08:45 PM.
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    The article states there were two third party apps that could access some emails, if the users of those apps permitted those apps to have access to their emails.

    It’s not a case of Google allowing third parties to read users emails, but a case of the user giving permission to a non-Google app to access the emails.

    That’s a significant difference.

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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    .

    I didn't trust Google even back in the early 2000's.
    It was never my search engine of choice, found more neutral and 'to the point' results with others that didn't track you. Quality over quantity.
    Never had a Google account and never touched that datamining, spam creating GoogleChrome piece of sh%#.
    Well, I wouldnt consider myself young, and I dont spend my life running around thinking there are giant conspiracies against me everywhere.

    I have used Gmail since 2007 and still have all my email from that period. I have been using Google Chrome for as long as I can remember. I have had no problems with either and cant say I have had any "data mining or spam creating' either.

    There are a lot of older paranoid people about who insist on using Linux only because they think its unhackable and some sort of clapped out bare bones email system, but I prefer to live a little. It kind of reminds me of the difference between living in a cardboard box on the side of the road with a tin foil hat, or living in a house with a heater and other working utilities.

    I have used my Google account with several third party developer applications over the years. Its been very handy. Of course as Peteramjet mentioned, you are the one giving permissions. Gotta love the first paragraph in the ABC link with its misinformation, at least the first link actually tells the story. Nomeat's claims are on par with the ABC's :

    it was well known for ages that they proof read your emails
    Your Gmails are not safe and Google finally admits it
    Apparently anybody, who claims they are a 'Developer' have the ability to access and pass on your private life.
    and nicely hidden a method to disable this third party access in your account/mails.
    All the above is false.

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    I would have thought that unless your emails are encrypted they are not safe anywhere.
    If Australia is a democracy why, then, is voting compulsory?

    "What has changed between the arrival of the First Fleet and today?"
    "Wearing leg irons is now not required."

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    Regardless of who your e-mail provider is, or, for that fact, who your ISP is. ANY communication is about as secure as standing on one side of the street telling secrets to your significant other who is on the opposite side of the street.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Quote Originally Posted by admin View Post
    All the above is false.
    Yes Admin, we know your attitude by now. If it is not on the right wing media it is all a lie or conspiracy.

    Wikipedia must all be leftie BS for you too:


    Automated scanning of email content[]

    Google's mail servers automatically scan emails for multiple purposes, including to add context-sensitive advertisements next to emails, and to filter spam and malware.
    Privacy advocates raised concerns about this practice; concerns included that allowing email content to be read by a machine (as opposed to a person) can allow Google to keep unlimited amounts of information forever; the automated background scanning of data raises the risk that the in email usage will be reduced or eroded; information collected from emails could be retained by Google for years after its current relevancy to build complete profiles on users; emails sent by users from other email providers get scanned despite never having agreed to Google's privacy policy or terms of service; Google can change its privacy policy unilaterally, and for minor changes to the policy it can do so without informing users; in court cases, governments and organizations can potentially find it easier to legally monitor email communications; at any time, Google can change its current company policies to allow combining information from emails with data gathered from use of its other services; and any internal security problem on Google's systems can potentially expose many – or all – of its users.
    In 2004, thirty-one privacy and civil liberties organizations wrote a letter calling upon Google to suspend its Gmail service until the privacy issues were adequately addressed. The letter also called upon Google to clarify its written information policies regarding data retention and data sharing among its business units. The organizations also voiced their concerns about Google's plan to scan the text of all incoming messages for the purposes of ad placement, noting that the scanning of confidential email for inserting third-party ad content violates the implicit trust of an email service provider.
    On June 23, 2017, Google announced that, later in 2017, it will phase out the scanning of email content to generate contextual advertising, relying on personal data collected through other Google services instead. The company stated that this change was meant to clarify its practices and quell concerns among enterprisecustomers who felt an ambiguous distinction between the free consumer and paid professional variants, the latter being advertising-free.
    So it took almost 13 years before somebody managed to get Google to stop it's email scanning and data collection but now they have other ways to do it.


    Of course unencrypted mail can be accessed but this is considered illegal unless the police do it but it is A LOT HARDER than you think.
    Is there anybody here on this forum capable of reading all my emails?
    I don't see a great risk without physical access to my computer or the email provider's server, where they get deleted automatically after I have downloaded them on my PC.
    Also nobody can really know in advance through which nodes they get relayed either, except the last node that you would have to have physical access by monitoring my Wifi traffic but then I CAN SEE YOU !
    My ISP may be keeping my meta data but I am not aware that our Government forces them to collect everybody's emails unless provided with a warrant.


    On the contrary it is very easy to open other people's letter boxes to access their mail and physically read it.

    However I think all will agree that is unlawful, but if Google and it's third parties do it, then it is suddenly a conspiracy if somebody questions this practice.

    So most just continue to stick their heads even deeper in the sand while our privacy rights continue to diminish.


    What Google does here in a sneaky way could be compared to what is done to people in jail, who get all their mail read by the authorities. They have to accept it because they did the wrong thing that got them there.

    In Googles case you have to give them and third parties access to all your privates in order to use their apps otherwise you are doing the wrong thing by not allowing them to breach your privacy and then some of these apps will not work or install.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 05-07-18 at 06:25 PM.
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    Don't know what everyone is worried about. The govt has put the metadata crap in place and it is probably overseas in some data bank.

    if you don't want anyone to know, don't use electronic means of communication including texts.

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    Quote Originally Posted by efab View Post
    Don't know what everyone is worried about. The govt has put the metadata crap in place and it is probably overseas in some data bank.

    if you don't want anyone to know, don't use electronic means of communication including texts.
    Then what other safe means exactly should I use to communicate? Encrypted smoke signals maybe

    I pointed out how vulnerable your letter box is for snail mail and how difficult it is getting access to somebody's Emails even if they are not encrypted.
    Therefore I find Email a rather safe method of communication + you can upgrade it with a secure socket layer but that becomes all pointless if
    providers like Google can basically hand out your mails to anybody who asks for them, just because they claim they are developer of
    some dodgy app.

    Google's sole existence is about collecting data, mainly yours. I don't care about meta data or web search strings but there must be one room somewhere on the internet where I can communicate privately.
    I still have to trust the providers that I use but Google will certainly never be one of them.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 05-07-18 at 11:03 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    but that becomes all pointless if
    providers like Google can basically hand out your mails to anybody who asks for them, just because they claim they are developer of
    some dodgy app.
    But Google did not hand out the data to ‘anyone who asks’. The user gave the app developer specific permission to access their Google emails.

    The privacy issue here is not Google’s to own - the issue is idiot users giving random third-parties permission access to their emails.

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    What I'm saying is if you don't want very private info to be seen don't put it into emails texts etc.

    If you have a work phone more than likely the company you work for (as mine does) logs all you calls texts and emails.

    The Aust govt does the same now

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    If you want to keep anything private, TELL NO ONE, not even your significant other!! Privacy is a myth. NOTHING is private, it's all relative, Look at how many crooks get caught because of one minor mistake.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    Quote Originally Posted by lsemmens View Post
    If you want to keep anything private, TELL NO ONE, not even your significant other!! Privacy is a myth. NOTHING is private, it's all relative, Look at how many crooks get caught because of one minor mistake.
    I think you are all confusing privacy with secrecy here.

    Generally it is nobody's f'ing business what I talk about with people in private.
    Then there is for example always the risk of identity theft and eaves droppers getting the wrong picture when they spy on you.
    Any information a third party acquires can be used against you even if you did nothing wrong and even if it only causes embarrassment.

    Also I do not want to be spammed to hell.


    It is not about keeping secrets and privacy is NOT a crime!
    But there should be space where privacy is respected.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 06-07-18 at 03:52 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by peteramjet View Post
    But Google did not hand out the data to ‘anyone who asks’. The user gave the app developer specific permission to access their Google emails.

    The privacy issue here is not Google’s to own - the issue is idiot users giving random third-parties permission access to their emails.
    What the..?
    Show me one user who asks strangers: "Can you please read all my private mails and pass them around to others?"

    These are sneaky practices hidden in the permissions that admittedly many people are not aware of because they don't scroll all the way down when they install an app or read Googles '100 pages' of T&C that constantly change the whole time.

    Pretty sure very few knew that actual people read them. Even I thought these were just bots that scan for keywords and then send off some adware.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 06-07-18 at 03:54 PM.
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    I understand privacy is a mentality thing.
    Many don't care that the microphones from Google Home or Amazon's Alexa are constantly recording every word spoken in you house and transmitting it to hell knows whom.
    Many people like to be in a Big Brother reality show. They are being conditioned that way.

    It has been reported that Alexa recordings have been 'accidently' sent to random email addresses!
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    These are sneaky practices hidden in the permissions that admittedly many people are not aware of because they don't scroll all the way down when they install an app or read Googles '100 pages' of T&C that constantly change the whole time.
    This doesn’t have anything to do with Google’s ‘sneaky practices’, permissions or T&C’s, it has to do with the terms of the two identified apps.

    The users have downloaded the third-party apps and the app has asked for permission to access the emails. The user gave permission to the app, and provided their Google email address and password.

    It’s the user who is giving the app access to the emails, not Google.

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    Your nitpicking is pointless. You are not seeing the big picture.
    This more than about just these two apps.
    It is about the general practice of Google that they have been doing for well over a decade and now in paticlar by allowing developers to directly read emails

    The Wallsteet Journal report speaks of hundreds of apps, which unfortunately I can't see but is refered to here:

    Also from the same link:
    "I didn't agree to have my data evaluated by Return Path, but by signing up for the service, somebody I sent an email to has opted me into it," Khatibloo said. "And I think that is the big privacy violation."
    It was yesterday mentioned in the Australian
    which should link here but I don't have a sub:


    It would be great if somebody could copy/paste it here
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    Well if you have nothing to hide regards tracking privacy then you should have no problems with FREE Apps & Services; right.!!

    Some of you think all this free internet access to information should be free from tracking??
    Why would they provide this time occupying entertainment for you for free?
    It is all about information collecting so it can be bought, sold & shared.

    If you want privacy then start spending for it, don't use the free apps & info available.

    reminds me of this funny video.

    Cheers, Tiny
    "You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
    The information is out there; you just have to let it in."

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    accepted without prejudice

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tiny View Post
    Well if you have nothing to hide regards tracking privacy then you should have no problems with FREE Apps & Services; right.!
    Quote Originally Posted by Tiny View Post
    Some of you think all this free internet access to information should be free from tracking??
    Why would they provide this time occupying entertainment for you for free?
    It is all about information collecting so it can be bought, sold & shared.

    If you want privacy then start spending for it, don't use the free apps & info available.

    The Video is funny, although seen before, your comment that paying for services suddenly gives you 'privacy' is incorrect.

    Not only is the usage of the application generally just a much tracked, they might have your credit card details and possibly your address as well.

    You can stay more anonymous by using free services where you can sign up with a generated (non Google)email and different name, which then protects you from miss use of your details.

    By the way Google doesn't provide information, it collects ALREADY FREE information.

    DuckDuckGo does that too, without all the tracking(REALLY FOR FREE) but it also provides sometimes actual answers or solutions to your queries even without having to click in links.
    You might want to ask them why they do that for free?
    ...and while you are at it The Wikipedia, that DOES provide information for free, although they occasionally would like a donation that they truely deserve.

    Everybody is just sooooo Goooooogle fixated.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 06-07-18 at 08:30 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    Your nitpicking is pointless. You are not seeing the big picture.
    This more than about just these two apps.
    I’m not nitpicking, I think your comments about Google (opposed to the end user) are not correct. The original post linked to articles about two apps, both of which require the users permission, not Google’s, to access the emails.

    Quote Originally Posted by nomeat View Post
    It is about the general practice of Google that they have been doing for well over a decade and now in paticlar by allowing developers to directly read emails
    But again, it is not Google allowing developers to directly read the emails - it is the user, via the developers app.

    Eg:
    I use Gmail, but not the third-party apps.
    - Does Google give my data to those providers? No.
    - Did I give my data to those developers? No.

    The third-party developers don’t get my data. Simple.

    On the other hand, Joe Bloggs uses Gmail and one of the third-party apps.
    - Does Google give JB’s data to those providers? No.
    - Did JB give those developers access to his data by allowing the app to access his Gmail? Yes.

    The third-party developers now get access to the data, but not from Google, from the user.

    See the difference? It is not Google allowing the developers to access the emails, it is the user.

    Google can’t control (nor prevent) a user giving a third-party access to their emails. That is the big picture that people need to be aware of.

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