One of the easiest ways people can sign up for studies, activities, do interviews, gather opinions, and spread surveys is through Google Forms.

However, the platform is at high risk of being hacked and fished for information because it is filled with sensitive and personal data. 

Because of this risk, Google has decided to restrict the feature that can let you transfer ownership of your form and the data that comes with it, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Google Forms to take a step on privacy

Personal Google accounts are no longer allowed to transfer ownership of Google Forms to other accounts. Users of Google Workspace and G Suite for Education will still be able to transfer ownership, but they can only do it within their domains.

According to TechTarget, the changes were announced on a community post on Google Drive Help, and they were made as an alternative to remove the feature altogether.

Also Read: Apple's iOs 14.5 Beta Directs 'Safe Browsing' Traffic Control Through Own Server Instead of Google, Why?

Aside from the Google Form, even Google Sheets spreadsheet connected to a Google Form also can't have its ownership transferred.

However, users can unlink the Google Form from the Google Sheet and transfer the sheet's ownership. That could be considered a loophole by some people who do not consider the data to be time-sensitive.

Meanwhile, other Google Drive files such as Google Sheets, Google Docs, Google My Maps, Google Slides, Google Drawings, and Google Folders can still be transferred to new owners.

Google privacy

Google Forms is not the only platform for getting privacy settings, the App Store's privacy labels to its Gmail app for all iOS devices.

Instead of launching a new version for the update, Google has just added the privacy labels to its Gmail app. This means that users won't get any new features or bug fixes, but some details on how Gmail collects data will be revealed.

According to MacRumors, Gmail for iOS on the App Store has now shown privacy labels, suggesting what all data is taken from you and shared through the Google App.

The privacy labels that are attached to Gmail's listing show that the app shares your coarse location and ID with advertisers. It can also collect information based on interaction with advertisements.

Gmail is known to collect data for analytics according to the privacy labels that show on the App Store. That data includes the user's email address, their content like pictures, audio data and videos, their search history, and their location information.

The app is also suggested to gather your contact details and your search history, and how users interact with it to give a personalized experience. Also, the privacy labels suggest that Gmail collects details such as the user's name, location, and contacts to strengthen the app's functionality.

It is crucial to point out that Gmail is not the only email client with privacy labels showing data collection of its users. Other apps that have similar features are Microsoft Outlook, Hey, and Apple's Mail.

Related Article: Gmail Privacy Labels: Google Now Updates Apps to Adhere to Apple's Policies on iOS 14!

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Written by Sieeka Khan

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