Thumbs up: Protecting privacy with "Images are not displayed" in HTML mail

Big thumbs up and thanks for rolling out the image display options for HTML mail.

This was the only privacy invasive snag with Zoho I was waiting to see resolved so I am thrilled to have it now.

About a year ago, I switched the majority of the web services - mail, docs, etc. - for my own private domains as well as all of my clients (SMB's and private individual clients wishing to establish a web presence or doing reputation management) from GoogleApps to Zoho Business because of the privacy implications associated with using any of the Google services:

the ambiguous privacy policies that deep link one page on a particular service's policy to another more general Google policy to yet another all encompassing policy, which somehow circles the user back to the original privacy policy one started with,
the data retention policies that amount to nothing more than word soup and should simply read "we retain your data indefinitely, even after you yourself delete it," and
the inconsistent, inaccurate help documentation (for many months, the online help for the Gmail webmail interface- which is where the online help for GoogleApps directs users to for issues with GoogleApps webmail - touted Google's commitment to user privacy by proclaiming a user's originating IP was not included in email headers, which was inaccurate for some GoogleApps customers depending it seemed on the age of the domain; in light of all the negative publicity surrounding Google's wifi data collection practices, they revised all their policies, including updating the help page to indicate that sometimes the originating IP may be included in the email headers, but giving no rhyme or reason why some emails may have them and some may not).

I am so happy to have Zoho has an alternative available to myself and to offer to my clients,
not only for its user friendly privacy practices , but because it has grown and developed into a truly excellent competitive alternative to GoogleApps. Granted, there's still some work to be done in integrating all of the Zoho services and I realize there are users here who have been with Zoho for a longer length of time than myself, and hence, have been waiting longer for this integration... but given the development I've seen over the year, it looks like there are really good things ahead.

A closing note:

If you haven't read Zoho's privacy policy, here is the excerpt I find most reassuring and relevant when making the choice to recommend Zoho over GoogleApps to my clients as well as professional peers and personal friends (the italicized bold portion is my added comment):

Contents of your User Account

....We assure you that the contents of your user account will not be disclosed to anyone and will not be accessible even to employees of Zoho except in circumstances specifically mentioned in this Privacy Policy Statement [which, as the policy details further on, are extraordinary and fairly standard, such as when ordered to do so by a legal subpoena ]. We also do not process the contents of your user account for serving targeted advertisements.

Google's privacy policies, in stark contrast, are not only just ambiguous and confusing to begin with, but are different for almost every service, and then, additionally, every service is also subject to the general Google Privacy Policy. Argh!

Disclaimer:

I am not a Zoho employee nor have I been compensated in any way to make these statements. I am just one heck of a satisfied customer!