Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) permanently removed all of its ads scanning in Gmail for Apps for Education, which is used by more than 30 million students, teachers, administrators worldwide as part of its initiative to protect privacy and provide best security measures to users.
According to the search engine giant, the move means it will no longer collect or use student data in Apps for Education for advertising purposes.
In a blog post, Braum Bout, director for Education at Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) wrote, “Earning and keeping their trust [refers to students, teachers and administrators] drives our business forward. We know that trust is earned through protecting their privacy and providing the best security measures.”
Bout said the search engine giant turned off adds by default in Apps for Education services since day one, and last year it removed altogether ads from Google Search for signed-in K-12 users. According to him, students will not see any advertisement when they sign in and navigate Google.com.
In addition, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) also permanently removed the enable/disable toggle for ads in the Apps for Education Administration console. Administrators no longer have the ability to turn on ads in the Apps for Education services.
For those users who have opted to show AdSense ads on their Google Sites, the search engine giant said they will still have the ability to display those existing advertisements on their websites, but their ability to edit or add new AdSense ads to existing site or to new sites has been removed.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOG) plans to implement similar changes for all of its Apps customers including business, government, and legacy users of the free version.
In terms of security, Bout emphasized that the search engine giant have more than 400 full-time engineers expert in security working to protect users’ information. “We always use an encrypted HTTPS connection when you check or send email in Gmail, which means no one can listen in on your messages as they go back and forth between your laptop, phone or tablet and Gmail’s servers — even if you’re using public WiFi,” said Bout.
A spokesperson for the search engine giant previously acknowledged that the company is scanning and indexing user’s emails on Apps for Education for different purposes such as advertising. A lawsuit was filed against Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on allegations that it violated state and federal law by going further and crossing a “creepy line “ by using data collected from Apps for Education for purposes such as targeted advertising.
