Leosghost - 9:36 pm on Aug 9, 2012 (gmt 0)

Probably for a lot longer than it's kept on the server, in fact.

G delete nothing, even when they say they have, they keep "finding" some data they forgot, or misplaced..
Gmail is for those who don't know how to run their own mail, are too lazy to run their own mail, who don't know how to kill/ avoid /speed read and recognise and delete spam, or who think that having more than 10 domains or a hundred email addresses makes all of that impossible to do them selves or too much hassle..

So they let it be "mined" by G and Y and MS etc..

Many and long were the debates here at the launch of Gmail where I and a handful of others said it will end in "mission creep", data made public and eventual tears..

Said the same about G+..

It is all coming to pass..

Social media and remote hosted email is not your friend, it is designed to gradually get you to tattoo the bar code on your neck yourself..( saving "the man" the trouble ) and to keep 99% of the sheeple smiling all the time, whilst marking themselves indelibly, and trackably, for the rest of their lives..