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Technical Help & Discussion => General Tech Discussion, News & Q&A => Topic started by: Clive on July 11, 2011, 21:10

Title: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: Clive on July 11, 2011, 21:10

Yahoo! is being criticised for the new Ts & Cs for its webmail service, which give it the right to scan your emails as well as making you responsible for telling anyone who might be emailing you, but the ICO has no problem with the changes.

Such scanning has been common for some time; Google was the first to scan all messages. But this led some to choose Yahoo! on the basis that it did not carry out such snooping.

Even more controversially, Yahoo! suggests it is the users' job to warn anyone who emails them that their messages will also be scanned.

Consumer lobby group Which?'s in-house lawyer Georgina Nelson said: "The obligation to notify those who email you that their message will be scanned is nonsensical and unrealistic. When exactly are you supposed to do this?"

The changes come as part of Yahoo!'s email upgrade. The company said all users will see a pop-up when they make the change.

Yahoo told PC Advisor that anyone who didn't like the changes should simply keep using their old account. But Yahoo! did say it would continue to scan old-school accounts for spam.

An ICO spokeswoman said: “We’ve spoken to Yahoo about their email scanning feature. As with any business or organisation that changes the way its customer data is used, Yahoo has an obligation to be upfront with their users to make sure their information is being processed fairly. This includes making sure they have clear and accessible privacy notices which will allow users to make informed decisions in relation to privacy and other aspects of the service.”®

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/11/yahoo_email_read/

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: Simon on July 11, 2011, 21:14

I expect they've been doing it as long as, if not longer than, Google.  Where do you think all the Yahoo! spam comes from?   ':|

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: GillE on July 11, 2011, 23:03

Quote from: Simon on July 11, 2011, 21:14

Where do you think all the Yahoo! spam comes from?   ':|

Google?

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: Simon on July 11, 2011, 23:50

They probably share. 

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: Rodders on July 12, 2011, 00:27

Curiously, my Yahoo!-owned Rocketmail account has no such warning regarding a change to the T&Cs.  Either way, the automated scanning of mail for keywords is unlikely to result in increased spam, since that isn't in the interests of any webmail provider.  It will simply mean more accurately targeted ads, which we can continue to ignore.

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: sam on July 12, 2011, 07:36

Indeed rod targeted stuff to ignore.

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: sam on July 12, 2011, 07:37

Still its always concerning when in a wedding thread you notice there are adverts for baby toys....

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: Simon on July 12, 2011, 09:47

Better than one for divorce lawyers.  ;D

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: sam on July 12, 2011, 13:32

Guess so.

I saw an advert today on an article about the spill of coolant all over a telescope that was- buy anti freeze here lol

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: Simon on July 12, 2011, 13:36

They can spot you a mile away.  :)

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: sam on July 12, 2011, 14:32

Well I am big.

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: Rik on July 12, 2011, 14:38

Not as big as me - at least in girth. ;D

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: Clive on July 12, 2011, 17:18

 :tmi:  ;D

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: sam on July 12, 2011, 18:32

 :devil:

Title: Re: Yahoo! reads! your! emails!
Post by: Simon on July 12, 2011, 23:25

;D