Oath has recently revised its privacy policy statement to reflect the Verizon-owned company’s ability to decide on what ads to serve to a specific user based on the email and SMS content sent and received by that individual. It’s worth noting that Oath is comprised of AOL and Yahoo Mail. The communication media firm says in its updated privacy policy page that it scans and examines user activities on its diverse portfolio of websites, applications, and services as part of an effort to target more relevant ads to potential customers, among other things. Oath uses automated systems to identify specific words, which will serve as the keywords or key phrases that will form part of the analysis, provided the service containing the communications content is synced with the user’s account.
It is, perhaps, important to remember that Oath was formed in April last year through the amalgamation of AOL and Yahoo after the largest wireless carrier in the United States completed its acquisition of Yahoo last June. Now the Yahoo and AOL brands are getting a consolidated privacy policy as Oath seeks to learn the users’ activities and behavior on the web. On top of the user’s Yahoo and AOL content, Oath’s automated system also scans photos and videos in an effort to enhance the company’s products and services for consumers and deliver ads across devices using the information inferred from a user’s activity, interests, and location. Oath also states that it uses the information it gains from your email content to send reports to external partners, third-parties, and the public, including analytical data on the use of its services and ads. Additionally, Oath aims for the automated email scanning to help beef up its security systems in order to identify and ward off fraudulent activities on its platform.
The company, nevertheless, reiterates that before using the data it collects from user emails, its system automatically eliminates information that could reveal the identity of the content owner. And thankfully for users who don’t want to see ads on their email, Oath’s privacy policy also includes terms that allow users to opt out of targeted ads and manage the way the company sends them marketing campaigns.