Developers' Business Models Threatened by Gmail Privacy Change

Google’s move to cut developers from scanning people’s Gmail accounts for ad targeting might go unnoticed by most users — but it could upend a whole segment of apps, highlighting the outsize power and influence Google wields as a gatekeeper of data. Google said in its updated policy that third-party apps could collect information only in ways that improve email functionality, such as drawing information from email receipts to help customers track trip itineraries or find discounts for online shopping.