It has been known for years, that Google reads Gmail.  Originally they were using the email content to target users with custom ads.  After a tidal wave of complaints and a couple of lawsuits they finally quit doing so last year. The ad targeting has stopped, but the automatic reading of email hasn’t.  What are they doing with that content? Well, they are sharing it with third party apps and you gave them the permission to do so.

Google states within their privacy policy that they share your information with third parties. This allows apps to deliver services based on your information. For example, to automatically book appointments or create travel itineraries, an app will need to scan your email content so it knows what appointments to create or what your travel plans are. Of course, this access isn’t given without your permission. You are asked if this is okay when you install the app.

What you don’t realize is when you give your okay, you are not just giving a machine permission to read your emails, but you are also giving the okay for the app developers to read them to.  So some bored programmer on his lunch break could entertain himself by going through your email.

How is this okay? Well, buried in privacy policies of third party apps is a statement that they will use personal information to monitor, operate and improve services. It doesn’t explicitly say that an actual person can read your emails and it doesn’t have to. To make things more confusing, if the app has other partners you will have to read their privacy policies as well to determine who has access to your information and what is being done with it.

So what is a user to do? First, visit Google’s accounts permissions page to determine what apps have email access and access to your Google account.  Then visit the app’s website and read their privacy policy. If you are okay with how your data is being stored, used and shared, carry on. If you aren’t, revoke the app’s access.

Not really up to spending an hour wading through privacy policies? Then assume that everything the app has access to is being shared elsewhere and can be read by anyone.  Concerning isn’t it? It just may be enough for you to reconsider your Gmail account all together or at least be real careful about what you put in your next email.  Heck it might be enough for you to dump Google.