I always try and serve my customers. So I googled, what else was there to do? google, mail, privacy and gmail. Here's the policy aptly titled:
Gmail and Privacy
They do go into detail there, and cover the issues raised in the article.
Me: the simple fact is anything on your hard drive, anything one puts out over the computer, states over the phone, sends in a letter, can be compromised. Simple fact. People's diaries have been used against them in court; a step I think is foolish, out of bounds and should be illegal as diaries are used as personal sounding boards; they are not necessarily facts-- however, that is a side issue. Once something is written or expressed there is a chance, even if the person the information is related to, is a doctor or psychologist or religious clergy, for the information to be used against one in court. (Which is why one of the first things I do when someone is ranting about an ex online or some similar such situation is to warn them not to do so; what they say can be used in court against them, whether a rant to one's fave. e-mail list, best friend or on a blog.)
Is it possible that some sleaze bucket employed by gmail is reading my e-mail. Yes of course there is a possibility. But that possibility exists period. E-mail is collected and stored somewhere; anyone who has ever had a problem retrieving their e-mail and had to call the service provider can affirm that. The mail is stored, the service personnel will search through their database and try and find the problem; that sometimes means deleting the message with the problem. I know this as a fact because it has happened to me and they could tell me over the phone where the message originated from.
So, I'm not all bent out of shape and worried about gmail in particular. I wish these facts weren't so, but they are. We have a much more limited right to privacy than most of us realize. I don't know if it was ever really different; the change now is there are so many more ways for our thoughts to be taken without our expressed permission.
Sorry, I didn't mean for this to become so heavy.
Posted by Rachel Ann at September 9, 2004 08:16 PM