Google is WATCHING you! Shock claim ‘hundreds’ of people read your GMAIL inboxes
GOOGLE has confirmed it allows external software developers to read and analyse the inboxes of Gmail users, despite the promise made to end the practice in 2017.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, which was published on Monday, the users most likely to be affected by Google’s surveillance are those who have signed up for “email-based services” that offer “shopping price comparisons” and “automated travel-itinerary planners”.
Dr Robert Epstein, senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioural Research and Technology, told Sputnik Radio “Loud and Clear” that the problem “is just huge”.
Dr Epstein said: "The problem with Google is that at least hundreds of people at Google, in order to do their job, have to have full access to our entire profiles, including all of our emails.|
"This problem is just huge, it goes way beyond what's in the Wall Street Journal."
When asked about Google inner workings, Dr Epstein revealed: "If you dig deep into Google's own materials you'll find that when you delete material, all that's happened is that you can no longer access it.
"Google's own official material, including terms of service and privacy policy, shows that they say that it could take up to six months for them to delete the material and that there could be delays after that — and after that, if you keep reading the contract material, they can keep the material indefinitely if they have reasonable cause.
"We live in a surveillance society, we've made that okay with our laws, we have no protections against it.
Dr Epstein noted: “We're talking about something far creepier than ‘Brave New World’, far creepier than ‘1984.' It's already here.”
In response to the Wall Street Journal's claims, Google published a blog on Tuesday explaining how third-party developers have to go through an involved review process before they are given access to Gmail.
Suzanne Frey, Google's director of security, trust, and privacy, also claimed Gmail's 1.4billion users have the power to control to their own data and control permissions.
Ms Frey said: "To be absolutely clear: No one at Google reads your Gmail."
She claimed that when employers do read inboxes, it is limited to "very specific cases", which include when users give Google permission to access their messages, and when the company needs to investigate a security issue, such as a bug or "abuse”.
Writing on a company blog, Ms Frey said: "A vibrant ecosystem of non-Google apps gives you choice and helps you get the most out of your email.
"However, before a published, non-Google app can access your Gmail messages, it goes through a multi-step review process.
"That includes automated and manual review of the developer, assessment of the app’s privacy policy and homepage to ensure it is a legitimate app, and in-app testing to ensure the app works as it says it does."
In 2017, Google confirmed about its practice to scan the emails in personal Gmail accounts in order to target users with personalised adverts but promised in a blogpost it would stop doing so in order to “more closely align” its business and consumer products.
Write your reviews in the comment section. And share your opinions.