Update – Evernote has rescinded its planned change to its privacy policy because of the backlash. Users must affirmatively opt in before the company’s employees will be reading the content of user notes as part of the machine learning process. This is somewhat silly because the same issue has been ignored for many years by Evernote users who also use “free” email services like Gmail and Yahoo mail.
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Original Article
Evernote is updating its privacy policy to reflect that some company employees may view your content as part of overseeing the machine learning process.
There’s an uproar because some users (e.g. technologically-impaired journalists) naively think their information is stored online secure from prying eyes.
Here’s What You Should Know About the Evernote Privacy Policy Change
First, the general rule of thumb is that anything stored online is not secure. Just ask the celebrities whose naked selfies were exposed in “The Fappening.”
Second, many of those complaining about Evernote’s policy change think nothing about using Google Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and other email services where machine learning is also supplemented by company employees viewing user content.
Third, Evernote is doing the right thing by disclosing how the machine learning process actually works with the assistance of real people. If the company hid this information, you’d undoubtedly see shakedown lawsuits because of the lack of transparency (Tip – if you’ve got a website or an app, you should have your Internet lawyer make sure your privacy policy is consistent with your actual practices).
If you don’t want your stuff seen by third parties, don’t put it online. If you want to access everyday tools that make your life easier (like Evernote and Gmail), then understand there’s a trade-off that includes a loss of privacy.
