Internet search giant Yahoo has turned down accusations that it is 'snooping' through the emails of its webmail service users.

Yahoo has made amendments in the terms & conditions of its free webmail service, adding that the company will scan & analyze all incoming as well as outgoing communications, including instant messages and SMS, from accounts like Mail and Messenger.

Moreover, webmail users have been made responsible for alerting non-Yahoo users about the so-called snooping.

Yahoo is arguing that the alterations made in the terms & conditions of the webmail service, which is presently used to flag-up spam, can be used to underscore other aspects of the email that may improve services.

Criticizing Yahoo’s new terms & conditions that allow it to snoop into users’ emails, Which? Computing Editor Sarah Kidner said, “People should have the right to send messages without Yahoo! snooping through them.”

But, Yahoo argues that their business depends on the trust of our users. Thus, they ask users for permission to the extension of machine-scanning inbound and outbound emails to find out keywords and links to protect them from spam, and serve them with interest-based advertising.