Tech Knock

L ast year, Google was criticised for accessing users’ inbox to show them relevant ads. In the time that followed, the search giant stopped its practices, but the ability for third-party apps to look into people’s Gmail inbox remained intact. Recent reports have suggested that not just the computers and apps, even third-party developers are able to read people’s emails. And the practice doesn’t happen without the explicit consent of the users which doesn’t explicitly mention that the data accessed would be viewed by human eyes. Google has also clarified that Gmail access to third party apps isn’t given without them being subjected to a thorough vetting process. Anyway, there may or may not be some evil mind trying to access your Gmail. But taking an extra step towards your privacy and security is a must. You can find out what apps can look into your Gmail inbox. How to check and disable apps from accessing your Gmail account? Every setting associated to your...

T here are many third-party apps that require access to your Gmail account. For instance, the ones that help you plan trips or shop online. The situation seems to be fine until one realizes other humans are also reading their emails. According to a report from WSJ, third-party apps have access to users’ Gmail accounts and permission to read people’s emails but only after the consent of the users which nowadays isn’t important anymore. The publication has named two apps among the list of many. Return Path – an app that collects data for marketers – read around 8,000 emails a couple of years ago. Another is Edison Software that is known to have allowed its employees to read thousands of emails to train their smart reply feature. They defended themselves by saying their policies reflect their actions which are now a thing of the past and user consent was obtained before using the data. When accessing user data, the employees must stick to the rules. Typically, ...