Google is going to stop reading your emails for Gmail ads

Ever since its inception in 2004, Google has been showing ads in Gmail based on the contents in the mail. This service has been controversial and was criticized by privacy advocates. Now 13 years later Google has announced that it will stop scanning users email for personalized targeted advertisements later this year.

According to Google's blog post, the company's move comes at a time when G Suite productivity package (paid service that include Gmail, Google Docs, Google Spreadsheets, Google Drive, etc) has been gaining traction. G Suite's Gmail is not used as input for ads personalization, and Google has decided to follow suit for consumer free Gmail service. Consumer Gmail content will not be used or scanned for any ads personalization after this change.

That said, Google will show ads in the free consumer Gmail service, which has more than 1.2 billion users, but they will be based personal information, Google gets from sources such as search and YouTube. But users can go to settings and disable these ads. G Suite will continue to be ad free. “This decision brings Gmail ads in line with how we personalize ads for other Google products,” Diane Greene, Google’s senior vice president in charge of Google Cloud.

Google will continue to scan Gmail, to provide protection from potential spam or phising attack, as well as offer suggestions for automated replies on email via "smart reply". 

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