Google has been tracking nearly everything you buy online — see for yourself with this tool

Gmail is way more convenient than any other mail service I know, only MS Live/Outlook can rivals Gmail, but shifting to MS is like stopping cigarettes for cigares lol

 

"Way more convenient" in what sense? All email services are accessible via IMAP (and most of them via POP3, too) and SMTP. Many of them offer saving/synchronizing your contacts and your events. Most of them offer a decent spam filter. What else do you expect from an email service?

 

I also don't get it what is that convenient in Gmail.
When it comes to spam in my experience if you don't publish your e-mail address everywhere you can then there is usually not spam at all or very small amount of. I don't mean spam in inbox, but everywhere on the account including spam folder.

BTW Not all e-mail services today are accessible by IMAP. Some have some custom API accessible by HTTP and used by proprietary mobile e-mail clients. But most are accessible by IMAP. Sometimes there are some additions for authentication such as Gmail's OAuth.

 

Exactly. Google is a monster but still, I certainly don't need gmail or anything else the make you sign up for.

 

Well, I do think web-mail is way handier than a standalone email client. But luckily I'm not using Gmail that much. On the other hand, Yahoo Mail is probably not much better when it comes to privacy, I've noticed that when booking.com sends you an email, they will show an ad for Yahoo Travel.

 

Only if we continue to allow companies like Google to continue to usurp our privacy rights, so I don't see how this comment is a useful reply when others point out corporate overreach.

The point about banks and shops knowing about your purchases is also a specious argument... they know your purchase history as an integral part of their rendering a service on your behalf (i.e., clearly a credit card company or bank has to know you want to purchase something in order to authorize or decline it). The same cannot be said for Google and Gmail. There is nothing intrinsically related between the provision of an email service and Google processing through the contents of your emails for your purchase history. Moreover, the credit card company typically doesn't even know what was purchased... simply the date, time, store, and amount... whereas Google likely parses out, to the best of its abilities, an exact item description from the email receipt. That's far more intrusive.

 

You quoted only part of my post. Maybe rest of it is more useful.

 

Fair point. I guess I did quote you somewhat out of context. I suppose I was still reacting to the other article I had just read about the CEO of Google stating that Apple was making privacy a luxury, when I came across your statement as well.

 

@Minimalist - to me, there's a distinct difference between a CC or bank knowing (or today, sending you alerts, to prevent a WHOLE lot of trouble) vs. Google & their kind.
We have a direct, legal & financial connection to financial institutions. It's their job... to keep up w/ what we buy - at least the amount. If you have a complaint with a seller, then it's the CC's job to know where you bought it & the price - but not exact items.

Snooping email providers DO want to know everything. But they don't protect us & our money or help us sometimes keep others from ruining our credit score or stop / reverse charges from thieves running up $1000's in transactions. Snoopy email providers potentially look at everything we talk about in email.

To each his own, I guess.

 

I had to reread this thread to remember what it was about
Yes, I agree with you @phkhgh. They think that your data is your "payment" for their "free" email service. That's why I said that privacy has become a luxury.

 

It is right. Contract with bank vs just accepting ToS.

 

I've never google anything or browse while signed with Google email!
I use various VPN's (and various their servers, plus, various their protocols, plus Canvas Defender, etc...) while using the Internet.

How could Google track me?

 

If you check original post and link in it, you can see that it's about data collected through your email and not other data (searches...), while you're signed in:

So you shouldn't use Google mail at all if you don't want to be "tracked".

 

I let them track me when I allow it and what I allow. I'm a regular Internet user.