Google’s ‘Trusted’ Third-Party App Developers Can Access Your Gmail Data

• Third-party app developers that are “trusted” by Google can get access to all of your Gmail data including your emails, contact information, and timestamps.
• Google recently revealed that it gives out data to trusted third party developers which allows them to monitor emails.
• Google employees can also get access to your Gmail data, but it requires users to grant permission explicitly.

Google’s access settings allow third-party app developers and data companies to access your Gmail data. The tech giant revealed that it gives out data to third-parties that are trusted that includes time stamps, contact details, and email messages. However, user consent is required for third-party companies to access your Gmail data.

It is not clear how secure Google’s system of identifying “trusted” third parties is, and the tech giant has not confirmed the number of third parties that have access to personal information. A recent Google Docs data breach that allowed hackers to exploit the permissions system and steal private contacts.

While Google’s system may be secure, it still poses the risk of third-parties transferring personal information to others without permission or simply not storing Gmail user data securely. The system is wide open for abuse and is reminiscent of the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal that involved Facebook and other third parties.

Luckily for users, the recent Gmail redesign allows users to access a dedicated permissions page and manage settings on a per-app basis. You can check which third-party developers have access to your email data by heading to the permissions page. It is recommended to review third-parties that fall under the “Third-party apps with account access” category on Google’s permission manager periodically to keep your account secure.

If you spot any third parties you are not comfortable sharing your private data with or no longer use a particular service, you can revoke its permissions by tapping on Remove Access button.

Google also revealed that its employees have access to private data but only when investigating bugs or instances of abuse in Gmail accounts. Users need to explicitly grant permissions to allow any Gmail support staff to access private data for security purposes.

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