Verizon’s media division Oath, which now owns both AOL and Yahoo, has merged the privacy policies of the two widely used online services and email providers around. And you know what this means – the updated terms will bring changes on how the company can utilize customer data and what it’s allowed to do with it.
If you can recall, Verizon bought Yahoo in 2016 (amidst news of its massive data breach) and AOL in 2015. Under the Oath umbrella, expect that the two services will be sharing data with its mother company Verizon, as well.
In the shadow of the recent Cambridge Analytica and Facebook data fiasco, it’s as critical as ever to read and scrutinize the fine print of any service before you agree to its privacy policy.
Read on and we’ll break down what Oath, AOL and Yahoo’s new privacy policies can actually mean for you. You probably won’t like what you’re about to hear.
The right to read everything
If you recently checked your Yahoo email, you’ve most likely received this email announcing the updates to Yahoo and AOL’s privacy policies. It explains briefly the merger of Yahoo and AOL to form Oath and how it’s unifying the terms of service of sites and services under the Oath umbrella.
But more importantly, the updated privacy policy reveals that Oath will have the permission to “analyze content and information when you use its services (including emails, instant messages, posts, photos, attachment and other communications.)”
Before you click “I Accept,” there are a few things you need to know about.