Google Stops Scanning Student Gmail Accounts for Ads

Google stopped scanning student Gmail accounts for advertising purposes after the practice was scrutinized during a recent court case.

Google Apps for Education, a free service used by more than 30 million students, teachers and administrators, offers Gmail email accounts, as well as calendars, cloud storage and document creation. Google didn’t place ads inside the apps, which it offered to educational institutions since 2006. However, the company continued to scan the contents of students’ Gmail accounts., gathering information that could potentially have been used to target ads to those students elsewhere online. Google’s move marked the second time in as many weeks that privacy concerns prompted changes at a maker of education software.