It’s true that you are never too big to come under scrutiny, as Google found out earlier this week, with the Wall Street Journal alleging that that software developers were able to access and read Gmail users’ email via third-party Gmail apps. In the wake of the allegations, Google has responded in a rather clinical fashion, via a blog post that lays out exactly what developers can and cannot do.

The company elaborated that it enables applications from other developers to integrate with Gmail—like email clients, trip planners and customer relationship management (CRM) systems—so that its users, “have options around how you access and use your email.”

It reassured that Google works to, “vet developers and their apps that integrate with Gmail before we open them for general access, and we give both enterprise admins and individual consumers transparency and control over how their data is used.”

The company went on to note that before a non-Google app is able to access users’ data, a permissions screen is shown that, “clearly shows the types of data the app can access and how it can use that data.”

However, it seems like Google stopped short of any accountability, leaving the ball squarely in users’ court, with this: “We strongly encourage you to review the permissions screen before granting access to any non-Google application.”

You can read the rest of Google’s response here. Given the weight that the Wall Street Journal carries though, we can’t honestly say we are that reassured about the default privacy in Gmail at this point, or whether unscrupulous developers could access our mail content.