Google Has Been Letting App Developers Gain Access To Users’ Gmails, Unsurprisingly

Janet Burns:

Google has reportedly allowed third-party developers of Android apps to review millions of Gmail messages, which seems about right.

On Monday, a report by The Wall Street Journal drew attention to the fact that access settings for Gmail, Google’s popular email platform, allow users to opt-in to sharing data with developers, which can include users’ personal content and details.

According to the WSJ, third parties have gotten human and AI access to whole Gmail messages, time stamps, and recipients’ addresses, among other things. The report also suggested that Gmail’s associated consent form isn’t explicit enough about that fact that human eyes will be studying users’ content, not just AI.