Yahoo! set to snoop on users

Yahoo! set to snoop on users

www.which.co.uk

The world’s biggest email provider has updated its terms and conditions to allow it to read and analyse its customers’ emails and messaging content, Which? Computing has learned.

Yahoo! said by agreeing to its Additional Terms of Service (ATOS), customers are also giving it their express permission to scan and analyse the content of any electronic correspondence sent to their accounts.

This includes Mail and Messenger content already stored in your account. Unless expressly stated otherwis

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
info.yahoo.com
info.yahoo.com


Above are links to Yahoo's updated privacy policy, and steer you in the direction of the opt out page, should you choose to.

I actually found the above whlst reading the Metro on the school run this morning, but can't seem to find it on their online site, but this article is from "Which" who are trusted consumer analysts.

As a Yahoo mail user I felt very uneasy when I read this, the thought that Yahoo could take an "access all area's" approach to online life, sent a shiver done my spine.

Yahoo have responded in the above article with this ....

Yahoo! says it is scanning and analysing this content in order to ‘provide personally relevant product features and content, to match and serve targeted advertising'. And also to provide spam and malware detection and abuse protection to its customers.

'Yahoo! has made a number of changes to its new Yahoo! Mail beta service, designed to provide an improved service to customers,' a spokesperson said.

'As part of Yahoo! Mail Beta, we will provide personally relevant product features, content, advertising, spam and malware detection by analysing (via machine scanning) inbound and outbound emails. Some of these features and advertising will be based on our understanding of the content and meaning of users’ emails.'

I don't know about you, but I can't stand targeted/ personalised advertising, I want to feel as I am in control of my own choices, and not feel manipulated.

Of course I do welcome increased security online, but if it comes at this sort of a price, I'm not sure if I want it.

On a positive note there is an opt out feature, because one of the things I read this morning is that not only will it read your emails on your Yahoo account, but it will in turn read ones sent to you by your friends, compromising their privacy too. I also read that even they will receive a little pop up window specifying that this is the case, should they wish to send an e-mail to a Yahoo account.

Not sure how 'out there' this info is at present, but thought I would share it with you all

www.which.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Not sure if what i'm talking about has to do with this thread, but has anyone noticed when they type in a URL or search through many different places, at the bottom of your screen in the status bar, you see: google-analytics.com I know they use it for keeping records on site log ins and visitors, as well as ads, but I'm curious if its also used for spying by means of IP and traffic reporting and recording.

Any thoughts?

I'm going to send myself an e-mail on how disgusted I am with Yahoo about this.

reply to post by Pegasus2000


I don't know personally, but I wouldn't put it past them.

It seems increasingly as though technology is removing privacy to anything, but then I guess this was perhaps inevitable, we use the internet to acquire information, and the internet uses us in turn.

With the recent phone hacking scandal, how far into the future will it be before journalists are aslo interested in reading our inboxes via our providers consent ?

reply to post by chrismicha77


Think I might follow your lead

I'm glad i use my yahoo account for nothing more than junk mail and jokes. Thinking i should send myself an email about their service as well

Great, now they have all my drunk emails. Totally wrong if you ask me.

Yahoo is dead anyways.. They think this is going to help, by being able to give you better ads when really they'd be better off just starting a new company that people didn't already have the notion that it sucked

reply to post by solargeddon


So wait i thought you had mentioned something about an opt out feature or did i read that wrong?? can you explain more on that?? If I didnt get it wrong??

Originally posted by American-philosopher
reply to post by solargeddon

 

So wait i thought you had mentioned something about an opt out feature or did i read that wrong?? can you explain more on that?? If I didnt get it wrong??

You have no option to opt out. Only option, delete the account.

Humm perhaps this explains why their email is down right now?

Well anyways I'm going to stop using yahoo mail from now on

Originally posted by American-philosopher
reply to post by solargeddon

 

So wait i thought you had mentioned something about an opt out feature or did i read that wrong?? can you explain more on that?? If I didnt get it wrong??

Yes, yes I did, there is an opt out feature, you eagled eyed thing you, you win a star

one of the links at the bottom of the OP should direct you to their updated privacy policy, and you should be able to opt out from there.

The link below leads you one step closer to the opt out feature, sorry it was the best I could do, but it should be enough to stop it

Hope it helps

Go with myway email.

Originally posted by Manhater

Originally posted by American-philosopher
reply to post by solargeddon

 

So wait i thought you had mentioned something about an opt out feature or did i read that wrong?? can you explain more on that?? If I didnt get it wrong??

You have no option to opt out. Only option, delete the account.

edit on 8-7-2011 by Manhater because: (no reason given)

I thought that, but check out my links at the bottom of the op it looks as though opt out is possible

Originally posted by solargeddon

Originally posted by Manhater

Originally posted by American-philosopher
reply to post by solargeddon

 

So wait i thought you had mentioned something about an opt out feature or did i read that wrong?? can you explain more on that?? If I didnt get it wrong??

You have no option to opt out. Only option, delete the account.

edit on 8-7-2011 by Manhater because: (no reason given)

I thought that, but check out my links at the bottom of the op it looks as though opt out is possible

Customers can't 'opt out' of this feature

07 July 2011

Where do you see that?

reply to post by Manhater


On the first link, scroll down and its on the left hand side in a body of text "OPT OUT" in purple

But it says they can still read your emails, I don't agree with that. That feature, you can't opt out of.

reply to post by Manhater


Ah ok, this is why I wish I could find the article in the metro online, because it did print a link to opt out, whether it was only talking about what you have described I'm not sure, but I thought it was giving you the option to opt out of the email thingy.

Why oh why did I not keep this mornings Metro paper ???! I usually do

If there is any communication you want to keep private, you should learn how to use PGP or Pretty Good Privacy.

I have never used it, but for Windows I've heard good things about "gpg4win".