r/degoogle • u/Anaalgarnaal • 9h ago

In case your still using Gmail..

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1.8k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

83 comments sorted by

352

u/iBUYWEED 7h ago

wait, wasnt google already reading our emails before gemini existed?

156

u/teh_lynx 7h ago

Yes, people forget this lol

43

u/Evol_Etah 6h ago

Yes, that's why google has the best scam protection.

Old unused dead accounts getting e-mails?: Clearly such emails are scam/promotional.

Google used that data, reads ours using keyword matching. And organises then into Tabs/scam folders.

8

u/backfrombanned 4h ago

And now they need data centers

-12

u/tophology 6h ago

Do you have any evidence of this at all?

18

u/DarkLeoWriter 5h ago

Disabling ai features tells you it disables categories which needs access to your emails to work along with spell check

3

u/jeffwingersballs 4h ago

My browser has spell check.

4

u/Evol_Etah 5h ago

Note although tuta is correct in scanning.

  • I feel like they are fearmongering us (also their post feels so AI generated ngl
  • Basically, google is scanning via "words" and what people's filters & blocklists move it into (or their own algorithm)
  • Google doesnt care about your bank statements. They are just checking if the words "Apply for Credit card" exists, so they can move it into PROMOTIONS tab. Etc.

Ofc before this happens there is 101 more security checks ofc so they dont waste computing power.

  • Everyone has a google account. Its a waste of money to genuinely scan with AI, the way tuta is protraying it.

Regardless, google is a privacy nightmare, so people using alternatives is a win.

3

u/SweetEbb9819 2h ago

There is an entire data economy organized around this "waste data".

They have no immediate use for it... Yet it costs

4

u/coladoir 5h ago

just learn how spam filtering works lmao

8

u/smackjack 4h ago

They've been scanning your emails literally since day one. The ads that you would see would be based on keywords that were in your emails.

50

u/StarWars_and_SNL 7h ago

This is why Amazon’s order update emails are generic now. They don’t list anything beyond the product category.

•

u/Crazychipmunk35 1h ago

But why? So Google doesn't have Amazon users' shopping info? So to keep it to themselves?

•

u/StarWars_and_SNL 1h ago

Yes. Product analytics like that is valuable.

•

u/Quirky_Inflation 1h ago

Probably. 

53

u/AnotherUsername1959 8h ago

Only Gmail addresses?

I have my regular isp address in the Gmail app, will it scan those?

Is there a better app to use, I hate using webmail.

23

u/Dummy-Demo-8773 6h ago

Thunderbird

8

u/SButtowski 4h ago

Or its spin-off Betterbird. I actually like that one better.

29

u/niraeth 7h ago

Proton

13

u/whatchasaidwhat 5h ago

Tutta as well

12

u/xJayMorex 8h ago

Aerion desktop client is great.

1

u/AnotherUsername1959 4h ago

I'll look into this for my husband's laptop. He never checks his email because microsoft forced a new program and it forces him to login every time.

3

u/Princelumpy 6h ago

Do not use proton, it's a paid ecosystem.

Use purely mail with Thunderbird if you like customizability, freedom, and privacy

5

u/Subject-Pineapple837 4h ago

Thinderbird is an app? What about the email provider

4

u/SwimmingLimpet 3h ago

Though there are many you can use - search "private email provider"

Here's a list from Cyberinsider: https://cyberinsider.com/email/secure/

2

u/Princelumpy 3h ago

Check out purelymail

6

u/kabigonbb 5h ago

Yup, not a fan of Proton as well. I'd rather use Thunderbird or Tuta.

•

u/logsqrtexp 37m ago

how privacy? there isn’t any support for message encryption

1

u/secularshower 4h ago

I set up a migadu server.

83

u/Repulsive_Chard_3652 7h ago

This was actually my final nail in the coffin early this year - when I found this out and went into my dzimejl settings to disable it, and gugl punished me by taking away the inbox filters and putting 10,000 unread emails into the main folder.

That shit pushed me over my limit and I got 5 folks on board to sign up together for Proton's family plan.

Fuck gugl.

50

u/fotoRS3 5h ago

I thought that was a strange option. I went to turn off AI but they also took away the folders which were part of Gmail for YEARS before AI. So for them to lump that into one setting is dishonest and scummy.

15

u/Jimbuscus 3h ago

It's literally a punishment

9

u/deltapak 4h ago

Does proton offer the same level of categorization? Currently in the same boat as you. I hate what has become of my Gmail inbox

•

u/Spritkopf 24m ago

They actually do. This was introduced recently, I think 1-2 weeks ago.

20

u/VeraxWolf 6h ago

Switch to Tuta. Or Proton.

15

u/Routine_Flamingo3857 5h ago

Don’t forget about all those Google Photos and Drive

•

u/n3vim 1h ago

Uploading everything as compressed .rar files is a good workaround for that.

28

u/Aggravating_Act0417 6h ago

Where do we join the class action suit

18

u/PIXELYVR 6h ago

everyone its time to switch to proton mail

8

u/OmniaII 3h ago

Dont be evil…

•

u/Quirky_Inflation 1h ago

Sorry, this founding mantra has been deprecated in 2018

7

u/Stigger32 5h ago

Cool. Good thing my Gmail account is only flooded with wacko Quora spam

5

u/BuckManscape 5h ago

I use Gmail as my shit stack email. All the bullshit gets sent there and never once looked at.

6

u/PlatinumFire14 5h ago

Not only is this not new.
Years and years ago, it was common place for Google.
They even had a whole page dedicated to scanning your emails for transactions to give you a bank statement like page.
They’ve been scanning your emails always.
Adding AI to it is really no big deal at this point.
If you use Google, you lose privacy.

5

u/RodjaJP 4h ago

The fact that Gemini chats are checked by humans but not a single help request is feels very insulting ngl

9

u/Solid_Blackberry9383 6h ago

John McAfee was using gmail himself but changing the account regulary because he tought end to end encryption is pointless when they have access to your phone by malware.

3

u/byirbarqayin 5h ago edited 4h ago

I've reduced my presence as far as possible already. I can't at this time close all my gmail accounts.

6

u/jesus_is_my_toilet 6h ago

Time to start emailing myself pictures of my asshole and balls. OnlyBalls no dick

3

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3

u/vou_discordar 5h ago

Is there a way to opt out?

3

u/HokumsRazor 5h ago

A decade ago or so I relegated my Gmail account to newsletters and registered a non-descript domain with another provider for anything I don't want Google to ingest (banking, medical, investments, work, etc).

3

u/dupontping 3h ago

I have been saying this. And the lawsuit won’t amount to jack. They will be guilty, will pay a meaningless fine and then they will continue to do it. They’re using ALL the tools and data available to them, whether you opt in or not, to train their AI. And if you believe otherwise, boy do I have a bridge.

5

u/HearMeJoy 5h ago

Imagine a company had *dont be evil* motto for a decade and then suddenly they turned right opposite of it lmao

but still Google > apple

1

u/atuarre 2h ago

They were still doing evil even when that was their motto. Some people just never payed attention.

6

u/apegen 7h ago

In the EU this is already switched off, I just checked. However it might be turned on by default in other regions.

4

u/Androxilogin 5h ago

*you're.

You must be new here.

1

u/magiCAD 5h ago

Nobody wants to grammar anymore. Amirite?

2

u/Androxilogin 3h ago

My English teacher would have kicked my desk, stomped to the front of the class room screaming. Then glared at me and mentioned my fuck up to every other class that came in the rest of the day.

2

u/justec1 2h ago

Mine wood loose there mined if they were not unalived too see it's affect on society. Bruh.

•

u/magiCAD 1h ago

A+

3

u/JeffersonSteefl3x 4h ago

gonna get downvoted to hell but if you have any piece of modern electronic, the government knows everything about you. You literally cannot do anything to hide if the state wants your info, they're gonna get it. This includes companies with a boatload of money. We should take precautions of course but this is next level fear mongering

2

u/incredulous- 5h ago

I use Proton, and Tuta. They are both good.

2

u/Environmental_Yak13 5h ago

It turned on???

2

u/Awful-Apartment-33 Tech Geek 3h ago

I'm switching to Proton, definitely after this shit

2

u/sweet3rr 3h ago

Tuta is fantastic and I would recommend it over Proton personally, but you should add that emails sent from Tuta are only e2ee if you're sending to another Tuta address.

•

u/n3vim 1h ago

Well, my Gmail is 90% spam so good luck with AI training on that.

•

u/SniperSRSRecon 1h ago

Good thing I use it for junk. Sadly still using Outlook though......

•

u/logsqrtexp 39m ago

but… but…. this is not new. what do y’all think they’ve been doing for the last 20 years? the AI tech is new, reading your email isn’t

2

u/fotoRS3 6h ago

Add that to another reason I’m trying to ditch Gmail. Probably moving to Proton soon.

2

u/Infinite-Stable9417 3h ago

turn off gemini and all the AI features and it stops, go into your gmail settings and turn all the smart features off and it disables it lol

1

u/Floofontheroof 5h ago

If someone can help me, I have a Gmail address I use for work. I would like to look into other mail providers.

  1. What providers should I look into?
  2. Is there a way for me to receive my work mails on my new address even if there are sent on my old address? I feel like asking my clients to write to me on another mail address would bother them 🥲

1

u/zeek48 2h ago

I have doubt. Now even if I switch to proton or tuta. Doesn't the phone number of mobile device i already use compromised. I mean my phone already has google ecosystem. Even if I switch email client the phone registered to google ecosystem knows I am now using proton or tuta rt? Is there a workaround that to be completely anonymous of what email client I am using.

•

u/Nogardtist 15m ago

since youtube sposors are 99/100 scams their system gonna enjoy reading AI slop or scams

1

u/No-Grade4475 3h ago

it's "you're

-22

u/Eliatron 7h ago

Everybody knows this? How do you think they train Gemini.

I mean, I cant believe people in 2026 think their email is private

22

u/Cold-Sandwich-34 7h ago

Not everyone is chronically online.

24

u/oliviab_96 7h ago

Should we just accept this invasion of privacy?

7

u/teh_lynx 7h ago

Perhaps It should be.... Lmao

-31

u/LordSargaras 7h ago

Okay, and?

-38

u/33beno33 7h ago

And? Nothing illegal here.