Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

How private is your Gmail, and should you switch?

How private is your Gmail, and should you switch?

You might be surprised how much Google’s email service – and others – know about you. Here’s how to set some boundaries

Most people are aware of the cookies that track them across the web, and the privacy-invading practices of Google search, but did you know Google’s email service, Gmail, collects large amounts of data too?

This was recently put into stark focus for iPhone users when Gmail published its app “privacy label” – a self-declared breakdown of the data it collects and shares with advertisers as part of a new stipulation on the Apple App Store.

According to the label, those that grant the appropriate permission to the iOS Gmail app can expect Google to share information including their approximate location, user ID – an identifier used to anonymously track them – and data about the ads they have viewed online with advertisers. More data is used for analytics – in Google’s words, “to build better services” – including purchase history, location, email address, photos and search history.

Gmail is by far the most popular email service, with more than 1.5 billion active users, compared with 400 million using Microsoft Outlook and 225 million signed up to Yahoo Mail.

Although Google stopped scanning email content to tailor ads in 2017, last year the company started showing shopping ads in Gmail. And it still scans emails to facilitate so-called smart features such as the ability to add holiday bookings or deliveries straight to your calendar, or to autocomplete suggestions.

Every way you interact with your Gmail account can be monitored, such as the dates and times you email at, who you are talking to, and topics you choose to email about, says Rowenna Fielding, founder of privacy consultancy Miss IG Geek.

How Google uses your data


Much of the information collected by Gmail and shared with advertisers is metadata – data about data. But if you carry cookies from other Google services, your activity can be correlated or “fingerprinted” from associated products such as Google Maps and YouTube. “Gmail becomes a window into your entire online life because of how wide and deep their surveillance architecture goes,” Fielding says. “Practically everything you do online will feed back to Google.”

Google claims none of the data collected from scanning emails for purchase information, delivery tracking numbers and flight bookings is used for advertising, but as Andy Yen, founder and CEO of secure email service ProtonMail says: “It remains a fact that Google keeps a record of these events and logs them regardless.”

Part of the problem is a lack of regulatory enforcement around email data collection and tracking. Most people are becoming aware of tracking as they visit websites due to regulation such as the EU’s ePrivacy Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

“People are aware of cookies because of privacy and data protection law – which states that planting trackers on your device requires your consent, and you have the right to be told about what is happening to your data,” says Fielding. “In Europe, those protections cover email tracking as well, but there hasn’t been much enforcement in this area.”

Gmail v other email services


Other mainstream email providers aren’t much more private. Like Gmail, Microsoft’s Outlook is embedded in the firm’s ecosystem and integrated with its other services. “Any mainstream, consumer-level account is only free in that you don’t pay it with money, but with data,” Fielding says. “Microsoft says it doesn’t look at the content of emails in Outlook to serve you ads, but it is open about collecting and using metadata about user activity across all of its services for advertising.”

Gmail is also the most hefty data collector, says Yen. He says the iOS privacy labels illustrate the “stark difference” in approach to data collection between the Gmail app and other email providers. “Outlook and Yahoo gather far more than they need, but even they don’t go as far as Gmail by collecting location data and purchase history.”

It’s often said by privacy experts that if you don’t pay for the product, you are the product, and when it comes to Google this is “undeniably the case”, says Yen. “Google’s business model is based on monetising the data it gathers from users, predominantly to sell it to Google’s real customers – advertisers… Gmail forms one part of that data-gathering infrastructure.”

Yet while it’s true that Google is absorbing your data, Jon Callas, director of technology projects at the US-based privacy advocate Electronic Frontier Foundation, says the most invasive tracking comes via email marketers, not the service providers. “Here, since Google is one of the world’s biggest advertising companies, it is intimately involved no matter what email service you use.”

These types of emails – from businesses offering products and services – can be monitored by the sender, whether you knowingly signed up or not. Data sent back to email marketers includes whether you’ve opened the email, how long for, and which links you’ve clicked on.

Callas explains: “When you load pictures remotely, the people who sent the email learn that you read the message, the time you read it, and an approximation of where you are via your network address.”

Often these “pictures” consist of a single pixel and are invisible to the naked eye. Callas says the best way to protect yourself against this stealthy type of tracking is to set your email so it does not load pictures or remote content by default.

Lock down your Gmail, or choose a privacy-focused alternative


The other problem with Gmail and services like it, according to privacy advocates, is a lack of end-to-end encryption. This gold-standard level of security protection, used by secure messaging apps such as Signal and WhatsApp as well as email services including ProtonMail and Hushmail, means no one can access the content of your emails, even the provider. It also gives you the reassurance that the email service can’t sell your data to advertisers.

But this level of security and privacy often comes at the expense of the functionality people are accustomed to in Gmail, such as integration with apps including Google Calendar.

Yet some experts question whether end-to-end encryption is necessary for email, when apps such as WhatsApp and Signal can be used for private and convenient communication. And as Callas says: “The ProtonMail service is encrypted, but for this to be effective, both parties need to be using some form of encrypted email.”

So, do you need to ditch Gmail? If much of the above sounds messy and leaky, you could consider a provider such as ProtonMail to email others using a similarly protected service, or Signal, which ensures the communication is end-to-end encrypted on both sides.

And if you are unconcerned about Google’s data-slurping habits, you may revise your opinion after using its privacy checkup function to review the tranche of data it holds about you. There are, however, lots of options to restrict the data that their services collect about you. In addition, Fielding recommends blocking online trackers across other Google services with tools including Privacy Badger or Ghostery.

If you have an iPhone, it’s possible to lock down Gmail even further by avoiding Google’s app and sticking to Apple’s own Mail client, or by opening your email via the Safari browser.

Although this might not offer the same level of functionality, Fielding says: “Using Apple Mail is an incremental improvement on using the Gmail app, because Apple’s business model is not as heavily dependent on data and ad tech as Google’s.”

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
×