“Omnipresent tech giant Google told US senators that it lets third-party apps read data from Gmail accounts and share this information with marketers, even though Google itself allegedly stopped this practice last year.”
“Google itself has mined users’ emails since Gmail was launched in 2004, but announced last year that it would stop the practice, amid privacy concerns and a federal wiretapping lawsuit.”
Why exactly did you think they GAVE YOU free e-mail service? This mega-corporation is NOT a charitable enterprise. It is a massive, profitable, powerful, international conglomerate. That they no longer read your mail does not mean they are no longer harvesting your information. Their goals have not changed.
“At least 379 apps available on the Apple and Android marketplaces can access users’ email data. In Google’s letter to Congress, the firm declined to say when, if ever, it has suspended an app for not complying with its rules.”
This, obviously, is not unique to GooGoo. Apple, Microsoft, The Cloud, Windoze, Android, GPS, EyePhone … darn near all wireless devices today are built for snooping on you.
The word “smart” is a relative term. Smart is a relationship to something stupider. One should ask themselves what exactly are they comparing their smart appliances to?
I prefer to be more intelligent than my tools.
That does require thinking, but for some of us that is not overly taxing.
………………………………… WEB SEARCHING ………………………………………………………….
Google not only tracks your searches, it follows up by tracking everything else you do after that search. And records every bit. It also edits (aka: censors) the information it does provide.
Websearching does not have to be that way.
DuckDuckGo
Search secrets should remain private and away from the targeting of advertisers.
DuckDuckGo apps block Google’s hidden trackers.
Google trackers lurk on 75% of the top million websites. No thanks.
Get unbiased results outside the Filter Bubble.
We’re committed to unbiased search that’s never based on your search history.
Stand up for a pro-privacy business model.
The world needs an alternative to the collect-it-all business model.
There are other choices. Websearch, using DuckDuckGo, “websearch + privacy”
………………………………… E-MAIL ………………………………………………………….
There are plenty of e-mail alternatives that don’t consider your business THEIR business. Providers and reviewers thereof are plentiful. Seek and you will find.
I pay companies to host my websites. Webhosting always includes e-mail hosting as part of their packages. But there are plenty of choices for e-mail providers who are open and honest about how they afford to handle your e-mails. I have tried a few, but do not have a screaming need for much more than the nearly unlimited accounts I can have as part of my hosting services.
I have one outside my hosting service as a backup and supplement. This one offers incredible security for those who want it. I have not exercised it yet, but the little use I have given has been solid. I will let them tell their own story:
Welcome to ProtonMail! Learn about your encrypted inbox
Welcome to the future of email!
You now have an inbox that is protected by strong encryption. Even we do not have the ability to read your emails. ProtonMail can send and receive emails from other email providers such as Gmail. It is even possible to end-to-end encrypt the messages you send to external recipients. If your friends also use ProtonMail, all your communications with them will be automatically end-to-end encrypted.
We would also like to welcome you to our community. For the past three years, we have been providing reliable and easy-to-use encrypted email to users in over 150 countries. Since the early days when ProtonMail was used by fewer than 1000 scientists at CERN, our community has now grown to over 1 million people.
You can connect with the ProtonMail community online here:
Facebook: facebook.com/protonmail
Twitter: twitter.com/protonmail
Google+: plus.google.com/+protonmail
Reddit: reddit.com/r/ProtonMailThe latest news can also be found on our official blog: protonmail.com/blog
ProtonMail is an open-source community-driven project and basic accounts are always free. However, the costs to run ProtonMail are quite high, and we depend on support from the community to keep the service running.
If you would like to support the project, you can upgrade to a paid account by clicking on the ‘Upgrade’ link in the top menu. Your support is essential to ensuring that ProtonMail is financially stable and can continue to offer the service to the public. It is also possible to make a donation to the project here: protonmail.com/donate
Our goal is to help build an internet where everyone has the right to privacy. Together, we are making this a reality.
Best Wishes,
The ProtonMail TeamP.S. You can request new features and vote on them here: https://protonmail.uservoice.com
More details about our encryption can be found here.
………………………………………….. the google news ………………………………………………..
See more of the lead story here: