Remember that free Gmail app you installed years ago and then forgot about? It's probably still accessing your email and collecting your data. 
Douglas MacMillan of the Wall Street Journal reminded of a problem we talk about every now and then: some apps ask for permissions when they're installed, and we allow them to have them. But then we forget about it.
Of course, some "free" (and not only) apps take advantage of this fact to have full access to your email.
What MacMillan says:
One of those companies is Return Path Inc., which collects data for advertisers by scanning the inboxes of more than two million people who have signed up for one of its free partner apps. Return Path collects every Gmail, Microsoft Corp. or Yahoo email address. The company’s computers typically do the scanning, analyzing about 100 million emails a day. About two years ago, Return Path employees were reading about 8,000 emails to help develop the software, people familiar with the company said.
Are you scared by the idea? And that's just one example MacMillan gave. Think about how many other examples there are of apps that you've given access to, willingly or without even knowing it.
Think carefully the next time you find a "free" app that asks you to access your Gmail account or any other email account you use.
It would be a good idea to immediately open the list of apps that you've given access to and remove anything you don't need.
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