This morning, I signed into Yahoo! mail. On a whim, I checked the contents of my "Important" folder.
I found no messages inside.
This is not the first time that I have caught mail messages disappearing from my Yahoo! account. Furthermore, this is the second time that the same message has disappeared.
Last time it happened, I asked my roommate to re-forward the message from his GMail account. On a whim, I created a separate folder, "Important," intended to contain that particular message.
And indeed, the message has disappeared -- again. This cannot be coincidence, I think to myself. Time for me to download all my messages through the POP service and figure out where to go from here.
What scares me, in particular, is that the message contains information that I would never send through plaintext email. In other words, the email message could have value to an unscrupulous third party.
I pay Yahoo $20 per year for their service. As it is a paid service, I have higher expectations for security and privacy; however, I have lost all confidence that my information is private, secure, and won't be lost. I think it's time for me to be a lot more careful about my own personal data.
Database errors? Hackers? Sleepwalking baitisj browsing email and clicking the 'delete' button? Or simply paranoia?
Goodbye, Yahoo. You were convenient; I should have left you as soon as you turned over someone's personal information to the Chinese government.
