Google stops scanning Gmail messages for ads in Apps for Education

Google's practice of serving ads based on the content of Gmail messages has long been controversial

Google will no longer scan the email messages of students and other school staff who use its Google Apps for Education suite, exempting about 30 million users from the chronically controversial practice for Gmail advertising.

Apps for Education is used by students at all levels, from kindergarten to university, so a portion of the user base is made up of minors.

"We've permanently removed all ads scanning in Gmail for Apps for Education, which means Google cannot collect or use student data in Apps for Education services for advertising purposes," wrote Bram Bout, director of Google for Education, in a blog post.

Google rivals like Microsoft, as well as privacy advocates, have long criticized the company for scanning Gmail messages and serving ads to users based on the content of the emails.

The company is also facing at least one lawsuit challenging the practice. In the case "Google Inc. Gmail Litigation," number 5:13-md-002430 being heard in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, several plaintiffs allege that by scanning the content of their Gmail messages, Google violated wiretapping laws and breached their privacy.

Google is also removing the option for Apps for Education administrators to allow ads to be shown to their users. Until now, ads were turned off by default, but admins could turn on this feature at their discretion.

"We're also making similar changes for all our Google Apps customers, including Business, Government and for legacy users of the free version, and we'll provide an update when the rollout is complete," he wrote.

Another change announced Wednesday impacts Apps for Education users who were running AdSense ads on sites and pages they created using the suite's Google Sites Web builder service. These users will retain the ability to display those existing ads on their websites but they will no longer be able to edit or add new AdSense ads to existing sites or to new pages, according to Google.

Google will hold a Hangout on Air session on Thursday at 9 a.m. U.S. Pacific Time to discuss this announcement. Participants will include Bout, Jonathan Rochelle, director of Product Management for Docs and Drive, and Apps for Education customer Hank Thiele, CTO for Maine Township High School District 207 in Park Ridge, Illinois.

"We'll be discussing these changes and answering your questions. We look forward to hearing from you," Bout wrote.

Google will continue to scan messages in its consumer Gmail version and serve up ads based on their content.

A Google spokeswoman declined to comment further.

Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.

Tags privacycloud computinginternetGooglesoftwareapplicationse-mailSoftware as a service

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