It is a form of ‘dark patterns’ where the data sent to Google to “improve our services” is really sending personal info to train their AI. It is not solely a productivity feature for ‘the user’ (aka the product).
It’s like reCAPTCHA (‘I am not a robot’), where you click images of cars, fire hoses, traffic lights, etc. Here there is ‘dark behavior’ at play, where they make it near impossible to pass when you have ad-blockers installed.
Another thing related to GMail is that legit mail from non-GMail servers can end up in spam box, and there is no one to help you change that. Inaction on these issues is either intentional or laziness.
On the resource page?
I don’t know if this should be on the Resources page, but it may be a good idea to make this kind of thing part of the website somewhere. Note that there are existing sites that collect Dark Patterns (i.e. darkpatterns.org) which can be on the Resource page (btw we also collect them on the forum in Identifying deception patterns on the web).
Security appliances
This is a good subject to address somewhere. There is a flood of Internet of Things appliances that offer some consumer service, but which do have the security of the consumer at heart. They go for quick market share. The RIng doorbell and security camera’s are a good example. Only one of many Hacker News threads on this: For Owners of Ring Security Cameras, Strangers May Have Been Watching Too.