Live data from Hacker News

Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

bloomberg.com

81–90 of 460 posts

Re: Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

#82
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The spam filter is for my benefit, but scanning for ad keywords is designed to benefit someone else, not me.

Ads benefit both you and the other group that they connect you. You finding out about, say, a product you are interested benefits you.

What if you're buddhist?

Re: Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

#83
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The spam filter is for my benefit, but scanning for ad keywords is designed to benefit someone else, not me.

Ads benefit both you and the other group that they connect you. You finding out about, say, a product you are interested benefits you.

In theory, yes

In actuality: they are a waste of my time and mental space

Re: Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

#84
post #4

I should probably get fitted for a tinfoil hat because my immediate reaction was, "Oh shit! They must've developed something now that tracks you better and is less obvious."

Actually, you can buy some paint that blocks all RF signals. It's absurdly expensive but quite effective. There aren't many ways to get signals out of a room painted with the stuff. If you're thinking "Why not just build a faraday cage?" then you're thinking the right thing.

> "Why not just build a faraday cage?"

Then my very next thought is, "Who is going to notice my house-sized faraday cage, who are they going to tell, and what are those people going to do in turn?"

Re: Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

#85
post #4

I should probably get fitted for a tinfoil hat because my immediate reaction was, "Oh shit! They must've developed something now that tracks you better and is less obvious."

Same. I completed the headline in my head with "because they don't need to anymore".

Re: Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

#86
post #17

How do you know? That's the problem with closed source software, and software that runs in someone else's computer. You have no idea what it does. You aren't in control. Someone else is deciding what code runs on your computer. That's a problem.

How do you know they were ever reading your email to begin with? Maybe they were never reading your email and this is just a publicity stunt to backtrack on an unpopular decision that they never actually made.

Re: Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

#87
post #6

Hope this increases the chance of E2E encryption

How would you search your inbox? Or filter spam?

You could search and filter after decryption (there are implementation issues with both for sure, but it is technically possible).

Re: Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

#88
post #6

Hope this increases the chance of E2E encryption

How would you search your inbox? Or filter spam?

Using metadata? Headers? Anything other than Tue email body would be nice. We still have blacklisting by IP and stuff like that.

I mean if I write a Nigerian prince email and send it to my mum, it should reach her no matter what the text says, right?

Re: Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

#89
post #6

Hope this increases the chance of E2E encryption

How would you search your inbox? Or filter spam?

Using metadata? Headers? Anything other than Tue email body would be nice. We still have blacklisting by IP and stuff like that.

I mean if I write a Nigerian prince email and send it to my mum, it should reach her no matter what the text says, right?

Re: Google Will Stop Reading Your Emails for Gmail Ads

#90
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

stopped scanning Gmail altogether. Note that this is not what the article says. It says that they stopped scanning Gmail for ads , but does not say they stopped scanning email for non-ad purposes.

Any spam filtering implies scanning right? (Unless the filtering is purely on basis of headers and other non-message-body info)

It depends on whether you consider mail headers part of the email. I personally think scanning mail headers still counts as scanning email.
Post reply on HN