Gmail App Changes Will Cause Most IFTTT Features To Stop Working (extremetech.com) 47
Almost all of Gmail's IFTTT routines and actions will stop working at the end of the month as Google alters the Gmail API to make it more secure. The only functionality of IFTTT-Gmail integration will be sending yourself an email and sending an email to someone else. TechSpot reports: The roots of this problem reach back to a breathless report in the Wall Street Journal in the summer of 2018 that claimed Gmail app developers have been reading your email. What it actually meant was that Gmail's OAuth account access was too simple -- if you allowed an application to access to Gmail, it had access to all of it. Even apps that didn't need the full text of emails for their intended function would have access to that after you signed in. Google began tightening access to Gmail content for third-party apps, and that's where IFTTT comes in.
As of March 31, Google is placing new restrictions on Gmail apps. Apps can no longer read, create, or modify message bodies. None of IFTTT's seven Gmail triggers will work anymore after the new API rules go into effect. In conversations with Google, IFTTT was able to keep two of the Gmail actions: sending yourself an email and sending an email to someone else. However, the trigger needs to be from another service. You can log into your IFTTT account to see which of your Applets are affected by the change. The new API rules only affect Gmail. Other G Suite services like Google Drive and Assistant will remain operating normally.
As of March 31, Google is placing new restrictions on Gmail apps. Apps can no longer read, create, or modify message bodies. None of IFTTT's seven Gmail triggers will work anymore after the new API rules go into effect. In conversations with Google, IFTTT was able to keep two of the Gmail actions: sending yourself an email and sending an email to someone else. However, the trigger needs to be from another service. You can log into your IFTTT account to see which of your Applets are affected by the change. The new API rules only affect Gmail. Other G Suite services like Google Drive and Assistant will remain operating normally.
"sending yourself an email and sending an email to (Score:1)
"sending yourself an email and sending an email to someone else"? What? So in other words: sending e-mails?! Why type everything in the most convoluted, vague, fucking stupid manner possible?
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Because they are separate permissions. Same reason that you might say a user has read and write permissions to a directory as opposed to access.
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https://hardware.slashdot.org/... [slashdot.org] this is the last time it was mentioned: over a year ago. I'm not sure where you are getting this idea from.
If This Then That (Score:3)
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The main reason I use it is just this one service by itself: https://ifttt.com/applets/1952... [ifttt.com]
That one automatically puts in your Google calendar the expected delivery date of every product ordered.
Re:If This Then That (Score:4, Interesting)
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That functionality has been integrated into Gmail. It does it for flights and other bookings too.
Re:If This Then That (Score:4, Interesting)
"helps your apps and devices work together in new ways"
...as long as they use modern IoT/app http based protocols, and not the old-fangled purpose built protocols like IMAP, which could probably cover most of what Google is taking away, but is not trendy enough for modern developers to bother with.
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IFTTT, ie, bringing scripting to the masses. But they DO manage all passwords and keys. I'm REALLY not a fan of how opaque and proprietary the actual scripts are... namely because they would handle all my passwords and keys...
Also, I have a general distrust of any product or website that is ambiguous about just what the fuck it is that they do. Like "helps your apps and devices work together in new ways".... what an amazing non-answer. And the first I ran into this I fought for about 30 minutes just clic
Re:How about "In interesting new ways..." (Score:2)
wtf (Score:1)
WTF is IFTTT?
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Who knows? But it is going to stop working less than ever before!
oauth (Score:5, Insightful)
A very important detail was left out of the slashdot summary:
When IFTTT launched, it developed many of the service integration in-house. In more recent years, most integrations are maintained by the companies that run the services. In the case of Gmail, IFTTT looked at how it might be able to retain the email scanning functionality itself, but it would have required major changes to the IFTTT platform. Maintaining full integration would have been unsustainable for IFTTT, so itâ(TM)s disabling most of the Gmail features.
So raise your hand if you ever setup a procmail filter on your email that, based on some rules, pipes the email into a program.
That end-result type function is the only thing being broken here, and being broken by IFTTT not Google.
IFTTT claims if they can't root through your Gmail account unfettered, it's too difficult for them to act based on your rules.
What's ironic is if I wanted this ability, my first thought would be adding a Gmail filter with those rules to forward the email elsewhere.
That elsewhere would then trigger simply by the fact it is getting an email sent to it with a google signature.
There's no reason IFTTT can't do the exact same setup and let the end-user forward the emails to trigger on without having the ability to do anything and everything with your Gmail account.
I refuse to believe adding a forward in Gmail would be beyond anyone that is using IFTTT already, so "it isn't easy enough" is an awful excuse when you take the full picture in mind:
"It's not easy enough to forward an email, so if we can't root through everything in your account, then we refuse to play"
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Summary is confusing: IFTTT is not part of Gmail (Score:5, Informative)
The summary reads like IFTTT is a feature of Gmail.
It's the other way around, an app called If This Then That (IFTTT) has Gmail integration functionality that is going to stop working because of changes Google is making to Gmail's API and the IFTTT developers are incapable of finding a workaround for these changes (note: that's not the same as saying workarounds don't exist).
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Thanks. I was wondering what the hell IFTTT was. Never used it.
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Jesus Christ just pay for your email own already (Score:2, Interesting)
If your life is so carefree that all of your email isn't worth $3/month, then congratulations to you. I have things like mortgages and bank accounts that I need to keep private, at the very least.
Re:Jesus Christ just pay for your email own alread (Score:4, Insightful)
If your bank is sending private info via email you need a new bank.
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With all the asshattery going on, I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes mainstream in the near future, warts and all.
Really, you wouldn't be surprised? I'd be shocked.
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sell your email
Don't suppose you have any evidence of that do you? Like an auction page where I can bid for people's email or something?
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I was actually questioning if your claim is true. You keep saying that Google sells personal information and people's email, but never provide any evidence and strangely Google never advertises such a product or makes it discoverable via search.
Then again given that it would be illegal and land Google staff in jail, I can see why they would keep it on the down-low.
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Even if you think that Google doesn't actively read, harvest, and sell your email, why even take the chance? Awesome private, personal email is like $3/month.
I started working on my own email server. Then I noticed in my address book that most my contacts use gmail so google gets a copy anyways.
I guess I could set up my own email server and refuse to email anyone using gmail, but then I wouldn't have any people left to email.
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Good (Score:3)