Yahoo's next step after recycling old usernames is adding a new "Not My Email" button under "Actions" to notify the web giant if an email intended for the previous owner lands in the new user's inbox.
Before it gets too messy, Yahoo is taking a precautionary measure to stop any hassle following its popular move to recycle dormant usernames and release them to new users. Many people raised security concerns over Yahoo's move that could result in people with recycled usernames getting emails not intended for them. In response, Yahoo is introducing a new button "Not My Email" to tackle such situations.
Yahoo released all dormant email accounts in June to provide new and existing users with an email address of their choice. Later in July, the web giant officially opened a request page for users to claim their choice of user names. Initially, the move was much appreciated by users with lengthy complicated usernames, but it had its own cons. Several people raised concerns about any private emails, like something to do with banks that bear confidential information, landing in wrong accounts. Yahoo reassured that all such factors had been taken into account and it had taken all measures to prevent that.
But as feared, TechCrunch reported that a small percentage of Yahoo users were affected by the misdirected email issue. Dylan Casey, senior director platforms at Yahoo, responded to the serious concerns by detailing the measures Yahoo took to prevent such an issue. He told WebProNews that the recycled accounts were deactivated for more than 12 months and the company tried to reach out to all possible owners of the dormant accounts. Yahoo also deleted any private data related to the previous owner and sent bounce-back emails to the senders for at least 30-60 days, he said.
"In addition, we published a new email header to the IETF with Facebook for email senders to implement to reduce the risk of a new user receiving emails intended for the previous owner," Casey adds. "We also collaborated with email service providers, merchants and other large email senders so they were aware of this effort, and worked extensively to get the word out directly to our users."
Despite taking possible security measures, those emails that slip through the cracks can be flagged with a new option alongside "Report Spam, Hacked Account, Phishing Spam" option under "Actions" on the email page. The new "Not My Email" button will work similar to the spam function and prevent future emails from the reported users. But this is completely in the hands of the users. If some choose not to flag misdirected emails and misuse the confidential information for their personal gain, who is to be held accountable? Hope Yahoo finds a way to fix the loopholes.
