Since the creation of Gmail 13 years ago, Google has analysed content on personal accounts in order to target account holders with tailored adverts. In 2014, these email scanning practices were clarified in a terms of service update, stating that incoming and outgoing emails were analysed by automated software. This system would only target customers using the free version of Gmail for personal use.
The description of this service from 2014 stated: "Our automated systems analyse your content (including emails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customised search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored."
This feature is compulsory and cannot be turned off. In contrast, users of its business offering, G Suite, have never had their emails scanned.
“G Suite’s Gmail is already not used as input for ads personalisation,” writes Diane Greene, the senior vice president in charge of Google Cloud. “Google has decided to follow suit later this year in our free consumer Gmail service. Consumer Gmail content will not be used or scanned for any ads personalisation after this change.”
While Google claims G Suite customers, who pay Google for use of a portfolio of web apps including Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar and Contacts, have never had their messages scanned for use in advertising, business emails have been scanned for other features. Administrative features that use scanning are still available in G Suite, such as security scans designed to pick up spam, hacking and phishing attempts.
Customers on personal accounts will no longer have their emails analysed. Advertisement personalisation will continue to be a feature across the service, using data derived from activity on users’ profiles, Google searches, browsing activity, and location tracking.
Furthermore, the promise of discontinuing scanning of personal Gmail accounts does not set aside other privacy concerns about the service. Google apps can still scan data using artificial intelligence services, to provide customers with various 'SmartReply features' - meaning automated systems will still read through email sections when this feature is used.