Evernote is tweaking privacy policy to allow machine learning technologies to access user content

Evernote is tweaking its privacy policy to allow employees to access account information to make sure their machine learning features are working correctly. Only a limited number of employees will have access to the data, and Evernote says they undergo training to be updated to the latest privacy and security standards at least once a year. The changes are being put in place to improve the machine learning capabilities of Evernote, and give users a better experience.

Individual users as well as Business Accounts can opt out of the service, with an option available in account settings. The feature will not prevent employees from accessing account information for reasons other than improving the machine learning based capabilities. Apart from the toggle option to disallow global access to all notes, there is an option to restrict access to specific notes. Individual notes can be encrypted within the application, and these notes will not be available to anyone without the password to access the notes.

Evernote stressed on the data security measures in place. The data accessed by employees is stored in secure locations with strong authentication measures. The team checks the systems for vulnerabilities in the code. Evernote also hires external teams to try and actively compromise the data and reveal any weaknesses in the system that Evernote employees may not be aware of. Evernote will not be using the account information to deliver targeted advertisements, but will be using analysis to serve features relevant to the usage.

Tech services have to find a delicate balance between deploying machine learning for a better user experience, and protecting the data of the user. Allo, an instant messaging app, failed to carry out the promise of not saving the chats of users.

Google is saving Allo conversations to  improve its machine learning capabilities . Google Assistant is an important feature of Allo, and can be called on in group conversations, and is a third entity in two way chats.