Microsoft goes after Google with attack on Gmail privacy

Read here.

 

Pot, meet kettle.

This is from the company the reserve the right to look at and remove user content from any (yes Hotmail is explicitly mentioned) of their services.

Cheers, Nick

 

LOL True, very surprising indeed

 

Simple solution ... use Opera with inbuilt M2 client where you set up a Gmail account and are sending and receiving mails without Google ads. I use Gmail accounts in Opera for ages and never had a need to go to Gmail web interface.

 

This is common to all these companies. AFAIK, they both reserve that right but explicitly say that they only exercise it if obligated by law or in case of TOS break.

What isn't common between them is precisely what Microsoft attacks on Google's Gmail: Google's automated scanning of private content to display what they consider "relevant" ads.

 

Microsoft is not an angel but they do have a point!
http://www.scroogled.com/

 

I almost spilled my coffee when I came across reports of this earlier. FWIW, that was at the WSJ (http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/02/06/microsoft-revives-critiques-of-googles-gmail/?mod=) and included:

I saw a second article, somewhere, which asserted that Microsoft also targets Outlook.com ads based on the sender's email address. There was no elaboration on that, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me to learn that Microsoft is doing so in cases where it has acquired information about those senders. Perhaps via the linking of social accounts, the sender also having an Outlook.com account, what have you. Datamining the relationships you have is just another way to probe into your life and mind.

I'm too lazy to dig into the subject further but I would strongly suggest that any users do so. We're talking two corporations which are heavily involved in the targeted/personalized/behavioral advertising business. Inappropriate collection and use of information is a large part of their business.

 

Honestly, does anyone really "see" ads even when not using any blockers?
Even in real life, do you "see" billboards, posters, tv ads?
Or does your mind block them out defensively?
Mine does.

Mrk

 

Exactly right, in my own case, I don't even see them at all. I am too busy looking at what I'm there for and not the ads. The mind is a pretty good adblocker..

 

Unfortunately, not "seeing" ads doesn't prevent the tracking, profiling, etc which has come to be so widely used for the selection and display of ads. So the mind is actually a poor adblocker! I'd agree, though, it can indeed be pretty darn good when it comes to ignoring things that are there.

 

I worry about "the tracking, profiling, etc" about as much as I worry about the world coming to an end tomorrow...

 

My mind blocks them when I'm selective and focus on what I need to see.
When I don't, my brilliant mind seems to be more aware of it's surroundings.
Some of those annoy me; some don't bother me; and some please me. All that is a different story though.

 

LOL,Yea I dont see them either but maybe my eye site is worse then I thought.

 

Where are the adds? I turned off my ABP and I still can't find them.... No, seriously.

 

Webmail + Adblock Plus + Easy List with Easy Privacy serves me well

 

These ads are hard to ignore: http://www.callcredit.co.uk/press-office/market-news/2011/06/new-ad-technology-for-soccer-games

In fact, any ads that have a chance to generate an emotion (such as irritation) before you even actually see and understand their very content are hard to ignore (like those banners/boxes that follow you on a page blocking your view until you close them, lol).

 

The augmented reality eyewear ads will be hard to ignore

 

Another anti-Google site (not from MS):
http://www.leavegooglebehind.com/

 

@TheWindBringeth
Long time Hotmail/Outlook free service user, I never saw a single ad in there - even today.

 

It is not about the ads (they can easily be stopped) , it is about the data colletion and the how this data is used

 

Interestingly though, Microsoft are offering an ad-free version of Hotmail/Outlook for $19.95 a year: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/hotmail/ad-free-hotmail-and-outlook. By that definition, does that mean there are ads somewhere in the free version?

 

DoNotTrackMe helps.

 

That is what it should mean. But I have used Hotmail (now Outlook.com) since its early years and I never paid for it and I never saw any ads anywhere.

 

Nobody in their right mind would be using these dumb free webmail services. None of them are secure, and all of them harvest your data.

It's just not a smart thing to do.

 

Whats the big deal? I need an alternative easily accesible cloud email/storage and they provide one. Just because their little bots read my emails and provide targeted advertising that I dont see (seriously cant find it). I dont see a problem with it. Beats carrying and loose a million USBs any time of the day. And if they want to read my medically oriented power point presentations. Let them, they will learn something.
As for privacy, no email client gives you one unless both sides are encrypted. Might as well go with the big guy that offers decent service.