Yahoo

[Bouleversee]

So Verizon have taken over Yahoo and I am expected to read through pages of gibberish and give them my consent to access my data etc. etc. and it would appear I can't send an email without doing so. I can't find a suitable emoji. What are you all doing about this? It would seem we have no alternative other than to move to another email provider who might be just the same. Will we still be able to use an adblocker? I really hate all this big brother stuff.

[UncleEbenezer]

I doubt you'll be signing up for anything more onerous than you already signed up to with Yahoo. It just looks that way, because today's rules - notably GDPR - force them to spell out a lot more detail now than back then.

Is there anything in particular that concerns you?

[Redmires]

I recently started using Thunderbird to handle my yahoo email accounts. I know the same T&C's apply (as with any email provider) but it does cut out the adverts, 'sponsored' emails and nagging yahoo messages etc.

[Bouleversee]

I doubt you'll be signing up for anything more onerous than you already signed up to with Yahoo. It just looks that way, because today's rules - notably GDPR - force them to spell out a lot more detail now than back then.

Is there anything in particular that concerns you?

Well, I haven't had time to read through all the gibberish and don't intend to as I probably wouldn't understand it so I can't answer that. However, I don't want to be flooded with ads sparked off by looking at a website and basically I just don't want anyone looking over my shoulder all the time and feeding my info to advertisers.

[JohnB]

I think Yahoo are on the way out, and they have a poor record of handling wind-downs. See https://www.archiveteam.org/index.php?title=Yahoo! For something like email, where losing you account could cause big problems, I would consider an orderly migration to another provider.

[Breelander]

Well, I haven't had time to read through all the gibberish and don't intend to as I probably wouldn't understand it so I can't answer that. However, I don't want to be flooded with ads sparked off by looking at a website and basically I just don't want anyone looking over my shoulder all the time and feeding my info to advertisers.

Verizon actually took over Yahoo in 2017. What appears to have changed, and the reason you (and now I) are being asked to agree, is that....

Verizon Media works with partners to bring you relevant ads and provide a better overall experience. These partners may access your device to collect data for ad and content selection, delivery, measurement and personalisation....

...Verizon Media works with partners to bring you relevant ads and provide a better overall experience. These partners may access your device to collect data for ad and content selection, delivery, measurement and personalisation.

Basically by clicking 'OK' you are agreeing to let advertisers tailor ads to fit what they think is your profile. This isn't something new, it's been going on since long before Verizon took over Yahoo. What has changed is that their current Privacy Policy has been updated and you need to agree to it again before you can continue.

I have now found the previous Privacy Policy in the Wayback Machine. The only significant change I can find is a change of name from 'Oath' to 'Verizon Media', as set out in the first lines of the new policy....

1.About Verizon Media
a. Verizon Media, previously known as Oath, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Verizon...

The rest of the policy appears unchanged, so by agreeing you are not going to see any changes.

[Lootman]

I think Yahoo are on the way out . . . For something like email, where losing you account could cause big problems, I would consider an orderly migration to another provider.

My yahoo email account, which I have had for about 20 years, is the only reason I need to be in the Yahoo ecosystem. I suspect many others are in the same boat. That makes us captive users of Yahoo and it would be the height of folly for Yahoo to mess with that. It's the bait. So I think Yahoo would never voluntarily lose all those captive eyeballs. The rest of Yahoo has little value for me, although there are a couple of features of Yahoo Finance that I like.

But as a precaution, I moved all my financial accounts to a Gmail account some years ago, just in case.

[Bouleversee]

Thanks. I'll OK it then. I trust my adblocker will still work.