Apr, 2014 : Google Updates Terms of Service To Clarify Email Scanning

📅 April 16, 2014 - On Tuesday Google revised its terms of service, clarifying that the company does in fact scan users private emails, a practice that has the company facing much scrutiny from privacy groups.

The changes state that Google analyzes incoming and outgoing emails, as well as emails stored on Google's servers, through an automated software service, The Guardian reports.

“We want our policies to be simple and easy for users to understand. These changes will give people even greater clarity and are based on feedback we've received over the last few months,” said a Google spokeswoman.

The new policy scans users emails in order to customize search results and tailor advertisements.

“Our automated systems analyse your content (including emails) to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customized search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored,” states the revised terms of service.

Google's last changed its terms of service last November.