Microsoft Creates Scroogled to Take Users from Google Gmail
February 26, 2013

It’s really shocking to many people that Google has been going through their emails even though the technology giant has been clear about this process for quite some time. It was most likely Google’s goal to keep this process quiet from the majority of Gmail users, but Microsoft has launched an ad campaign called “Scroogled” to try and get the word out.

The key to Microsoft’s campaign is the completely false idea that employees at Google are sitting there reading through the personal emails of Gmail users. In reality, a system simply scans the emails for keywords that are then used to generate relevant ads. The actual messages behind the words in an email never come into play.

Nevertheless, people are not happy, and Microsoft has seen a surprising amount of supporters sign their petition. They have already surpassed 100,000 signatures from people telling Google CEO Mike Schmidt to stop going through their personal emails. This also means Microsoft has have enjoyed a lot of new user sign ups on their own free online email service, Outlook.

Although it’s an obvious attempt to drag users from Gmail to Outlook, Microsoft is making the public realize that everything they write is analyzed and used to show them ads about “relevant” products and services. A very high percentage of Gmail users believe they should have the option to opt out of this system.

The Scroogled campaign may not force Google to ultimately change their policies, but it will definitely get their attention as well as the attention of the public.