Gmail Privacy Risk

[watch for more privacy and surveillance on “security aware page”]

What privacy risks are presented by Gmail?

a. Non-Subscribers Do Not Consent to “Content Extraction.”Subscribers consent to “content extraction” and analysis of their e-mail (“We serve highly relevant ads and other information as part of the service using our unique content-targeting technology,” according to the privacy policy). But non-subscribers who are e-mailing a Gmail user have not consented, and indeed may not even be aware that their communications are being analyzed or that a profile may being compiled on him or her. (See 2.3 “Will Google Build Profiles of Subscribers and/or Non-subscribers?”)

b. Unlimited Data Retention.While the prospect of never having to delete or file an e-mail is an attractive feature for space-hungry users, the implications of indefinite storage of e-mail communications presents several serious implications. Although Google has is held in high esteem by the public as a good corporate citizen, past performance is no guarantee of future behavior — especially following Google’s IPO when the company will have a legal duty to maximize shareholder wealth. Although Google currently saysthat they will not record the “concepts” extracted from scanned e-mails, they could decide to do so in the future and thereby create detailed profiles of users. Building such profiles on years of past communication in addition to current communications is made easier if users never delete e-mails. Additionally, communications stored for more than 180 days are exposed to lower protectionsfrom law enforcement access; with Gmail, many such e-mails could be made easily available. …more