Gmail enters the "extend" phase of Embrace, Extend, Extinguish by creating new proprietary features for email then forcing non-gmail users the view the mail through a link with Google Login (and sometimes SMS confirmation!)
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/04/gmail-com-redesign-includes-self-destructing-e-mails/#p3
@paul then it's not email, and we can safely ignore it.
@paul The article didn't mention how this works with google's ad placement within gmail. Do you know? Or have google said? Scanning an email in order to place ads, a normal gmail function, doesn't seem very compatible with confidentiality. (I searched but only found other articles basically recapping the same info as the one you linked.)
@jannamark Apparently because of the upcoming GDPR Gmail no longer scans emails to help build advertising profiles
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/technology/gmail-ads.html
But I don't think this new feature would make a difference anyway as it sounds like Google always has the keys any confidential email sent.
It would stop any competitors from reading the email though..
@jannamark Totally agree