Google is to stop scanning emails, a
practice that allows it to show targeted advertising, but which has
stirred privacy worries. The scanning has only been
used on users of the free version of Gmail. However, confusion about the extent of the
scanning had made it harder to sign up new corporate customers to the paid service. Google said it would continue to deliver advertising in its free
consumer Gmail service. It will still have
plenty of data to target the messages, since it will have full access to users’ search histories and YouTube viewing.