Editing Webmail (section)

== Privacy concerns ==
{{Main|Email privacy}}
Although emails stored [[Encryption|unencrypted]] on any service provider's servers can be read by that service provider, specific concerns have been raised regarding webmail services that automatically analyze the contents of users' emails for the purpose of [[targeted advertising]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3602745.stm |work=BBC News |title=Google's Gmail sparks privacy row |date=April 5, 2004 |access-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://advertising.microsoft.com/uk/hotmail-advertising|title=Hotmail Advertising|work=Microsoft|access-date=July 6, 2011|archive-date=October 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002235314/http://advertising.microsoft.com/uk/hotmail-advertising|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=GmailAds>{{cite web |url=http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6603 |title=How Gmail Ads work |work=Google |access-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref> At least two such services, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail, give users the option to opt out of targeted advertising.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/yahoo-forces-mail-update-you-can-opt-out-ad-targeting-f6C10167273|title=Yahoo forces mail update (but you can opt out of ad targeting) - NBC News|newspaper=NBC News|access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref>

Webmail that is accessed over unsecured HTTP may be readable by a third party who has access to the data transmission, such as over an unsecured [[Wi-Fi]] connection. This may be avoided by connecting to the webmail service via [[HTTPS]], which encrypts the connection.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://gmail.googleblog.com/2008/07/making-security-easier.html|title=Making security easier|newspaper=Official Gmail Blog|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref> Gmail has supported HTTPS since launch<ref name=":0" /> and in 2014 began requiring it for all webmail connections.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/staying-at-forefront-of-email-security.html|title=Staying at the forefront of email security and reliability: HTTPS-only and 99.978 percent availability|website=Official Google Blog|date=March 20, 2014 |access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref> Yahoo! Mail added the option to connect over HTTPS in 2013<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/01/08/yahoo-mail-https-ssl/|title=Using Yahoo Mail? You should turn on this privacy option as soon as possible|date=2013-01-08|website=Naked Security|access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref> and made HTTPS required in 2014.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/yahoo-enables-default-https-encryption-for-yahoo-mail/|title=Yahoo enables default HTTPS encryption for Yahoo Mail|newspaper=CNET|access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://yahoomail.tumblr.com/post/72588816144/https-now-default-in-yahoo-mail|title=HTTPS Now Default in Yahoo Mail|newspaper=Yahoo Mail|access-date=2017-01-04}}</ref>