Yahoo has announced that the Yahoo Mail API now allows Read and Read+Write access to full message contents for any type of user. What this means is that developers can create more useful ways to use Yahoo Mail.

"Say a company builds a tool that sends users a text message alert whenever their boss e-mails them," says Risher. "With the new tools we’re announcing, Yahoo! Mail users who are interested in this service can securely grant access to that company without sharing their password (which would be a definite no-no); because they don’t have to share their password, they can also easily revoke access if they change their mind. We’ve even added the ability to limit whether the company can view whole messages or just selected bits like the Subject line."

"With these enhancements, it’s easier than ever for companies to build new features, and we’re all excited to see what new inventions they’ll build with this service," he says.

Last month at SXSW, we spoke with Risher about some innovations going on at Yahoo Mail, one of the most widely used email services to this day (the video was done live – the actual interview starts a couple minutes in):

Risher said Yahoo mail has about 350 million users. We don’t know what all companies will come up with, based on Yahoo’s new full API access, but with that kind of usage, there is plenty of reason for them to innnovate in this area.