Gmail

623 'Gmail' stories June 2011 - May 2016

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Announced on April 1, 2004 with an unprecedented 1GB of user storage, many assumed that Gmail was just one of Google’s April Fools’ pranks. For comparison, competing services only had 2 to 4MB for users to store email messages and attachments. Currently, Gmail storage is combined with that of other Google products with 15GB available for free.

Gmail was released in beta with an invite system and was not open to the general public until February 2007. In July of 2009, it finally dropped its beta status. As of February 2016, Gmail is the most widely used web email provider with 1 billion active users worldwide.

Besides email, Gmail has a number of features, including integration with Google Drive for sending large attachments and choosing images from Google Photos. Users can fully search their email with advanced spam filtering and labels to manage messages. Google also scans emails to show context-related advertisements.

Since launch, the email service has gone through a number of redesigns. Apps are available for Android, iOS, and the mobile web.

Google feeds its AI machines steamy romance novels to improve natural language processing

Cam Bunton May 5 2016 - 6:05 am PT

Over the past couple of years, Google has been implementing a number of AI, or machine-learning technologies, in to its products. Whether it’s intuitive search within the Photos app, better automatic thumbnail creation in YouTube, ‘Smart Reply’ in Inbox, or just straight-out beating an 18-time Go world champion, its artificial intelligent brains are being developed and honed.

With all of its incredible talent, apparently, there’s still work to be done when it comes to results from neural networks sounding and looking like naturally spoken or written human language. The solution: feeding it steamy romance…

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Android Gmail app gets full Microsoft Exchange support on any device

Jordan Kahn Apr 25 2016 - 12:46 pm PT

Google is rolling out an update to the Android Gmail app that brings full support for Microsoft Exchange accounts on any device.

Full support for Exchange and the dual delivery feature allowing use of both Google Apps and Exchange simultaneously within the app was previously limited to certain Nexus Android devices. Users had previously found a workaround by installing the APK for the Gmail version with Exchange support on non-supported devices, but Google’s update will bring support for the feature to all Android users via the official Gmail app on Google Play.

Google said the feature is rolling out to all users now but that it could take a few days

Look out for the updated Gmail for Android app on Google Play.

Inbox by Gmail update makes newsletters glanceable and adds a Pocket-like save feature

Abner Li Apr 20 2016 - 9:55 am PT

Since its launch in 2014, Inbox has been updated with many smart features to make managing email simpler. An update today adds a trio of new features to keep better track of Google Calendar events, shorten newsletters, and save links to view later.

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Google pulls Gmail ‘mic drop’ feature after acknowledging prank caused embarrassment

Ben Lovejoy Apr 1 2016 - 3:52 am PT

Google has acknowledged that one of its April Fools jokes backfired when it started causing real embarrassment to some Gmail users. It has now pulled the joke feature.

Google added a ‘send + mic drop’ button last night, that added a GIF of a Minion dropping a microphone to an email reply, before archiving the thread. It was intended as a fun way for users to express their desire to exit an email conversation, but the company made one schoolboy UI error: it put the joke button right where the usual ‘send and archive’ one sits …

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Gmail adds Safe Browsing warnings for nefarious links, state-sponsored attacks, more

Abner Li Mar 24 2016 - 10:03 am PT

Gmail introduced a feature last month that warns users before sending and receiving emails from insecure addresses. Today, it’s announcing a bevy of new features and standards that improve email security.

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Inbox by Gmail adds ‘Smart Reply’ suggestions for web users

Jordan Kahn Mar 15 2016 - 9:23 am PT

Google announced today that it’s bringing the “Smart Reply” feature previously only available to mobile users to Inbox by Gmail on the web.

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Inbox by Gmail adds a much-needed fullscreen compose window

Abner Li Mar 4 2016 - 9:44 am PT

Since its launch two years ago, Inbox has gotten more powerful and added legacy features from Gmail while remaining simple and smart. A minor update today adds the much-needed ability to expand the compose window on the web.

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Inbox by Gmail adds ‘later this week’ and ‘this weekend’ as default Snooze options

Abner Li Feb 26 2016 - 9:31 am PT

Since its launch last year, Inbox by Gmail has added more features to make it smarter and more convenient to use. Today, the app is getting a highly requested feature that allows users more granularity and adds more options to the popular email snoozing feature.

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How-To: Make email links default to Gmail in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox on OS X

Jeff Benjamin Feb 26 2016 - 9:18 am PT

I’ve never been a big proponent of the stock Mail application in OS X, so I generally find myself relying on Gmail inside a browser for all of my email needs. In fact, I don’t have any accounts configured inside of the Mail app at all. With this in mind, I get frustrated when I accidentally click a mailto link while I’m using Chrome. Doing so forces the Mail app to open, which wastes time.

Wouldn’t it be better if you could configure Gmail to be the default mail client inside of Chrome or another browser? In this video tutorial, I’ll show you how easy it is to configure Chrome, Safari, and even Firefox to use Gmail as default.
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Gmail for Android gets rich text formatting & one-tap RSVPs for calendar invites

Jordan Kahn Feb 24 2016 - 9:00 am PT

Google is announcing two notable new features for Gmail for Android today, including support for rich text formatting and a new “Instant RSVPs” feature that offers one-tap access to responding to Calendar invites.
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Gmailify adds Gmail’s spam filtering, inbox organization, Google Now cards to third-party email accounts

Abner Li Feb 17 2016 - 9:38 am PT

Starting with Android Lollipop, users could use the Gmail app to manage their Outlook or Yahoo email addresses instead of a rarely updated and generic email app. Now, those users will have the option to get access to more advanced Gmail features like spam protection and inbox organization with a new feature called Gmailify.

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Play Store will begin using Gmail itineraries to recommend apps

Abner Li Feb 10 2016 - 8:49 am PT

The Play Store currently recommends apps based on various signals from the people you follow on Google+. Starting with version 6.2, the store will also begin using a user’s Gmail itinerary to make app suggestions. Here’s how it will work:

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Google is rolling out a fix for missing Gmail notifications on Nexus devices

Abner Li Feb 10 2016 - 8:26 am PT

Since late last year, there have been reports of Nexus devices running Android Marshmallow not getting Gmail notifications until the app was manually opened. Google has been investigating the issue for a while now and has finally come up with a fix that will be rolled out to users over the next week.

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Gmail will warn users before sending & receiving emails from insecure addresses

Abner Li Feb 9 2016 - 10:10 am PT

Google and the rest of the tech industry take security very seriously. As part of this year’s Safer Internet Day, Google is offering users 2GB of Drive storage if they perform a security check on their account. In another security minded update, Gmail will now flag emails sent to and received from non-encrypted sources.

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Both Gmail and WhatsApp have now passed more than 1 billion active monthly users

Stephen Hall Feb 1 2016 - 2:54 pm PT

In Alphabet’s earnings call today, Google CEO Sundar Pichai mentioned that Gmail has joined a list of 6 other Google services that now have more than 1 billion active monthly users. The other services include Search, Android, Maps, Chrome, YouTube, and Google Play.

To go along with the announcement, Google posted a really creepy video on Twitter:

Thanks a billion for helping us make Gmail better and better!https://t.co/Rd82YqwGjl

— Gmail (@gmail) February 1, 2016

WhatsApp also announced on its blog today that the service has passed the same milestone.

As of today, one billion people are using WhatsApp.

That’s nearly one in seven people on Earth who use WhatsApp each month to stay in touch with their loved ones, their friends and their family.

While Gmail and WhatsApp may now have more than 1 billion active monthly users, both apps have long since passed the 1 billion stall mark on the Google Play Store. Speaking of that—it’s been a while since we’ve seen a new 1 billion+ install app. It’s probably time.

Inbox’s new quick search results mean you never have to dig around in your emails again

Abner Li Jan 26 2016 - 8:52 am PT

If Gmail was Google’s answer to email in 2004, Inbox is how the company wants everyone to do email in the future. Like Google Now, it has intelligent features that make it easier for regular users to manage their email. An update today makes search smarter so that users don’t have to dig around their messages to find something.

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Gmail update fixes Hotmail sync issue, but not missing notifications on Nexus devices yet

Abner Li Jan 22 2016 - 8:26 am PT

Earlier this week, Gmail for Android version 5.10 shipped with a fix for a sync issue involving Hotmail accounts. However, Google is still working on a bug that prevents Nexus devices in particular from getting notified about incoming Gmail messages.

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Inbox by Gmail adds Photos-integreated attachment picker, posts can be pinned to Google+ Profile

Abner Li Jan 15 2016 - 11:51 am PT

Google has been sprucing up their web apps this week as the first new updates of 2016 start to trickle in. Inbox by Gmail on the web adds a super convenient photo and attachment picker, while Google Plus now allows users to pin posts to their profiles.

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Yahoo Mail’s Android app finally gains Gmail support

Cam Bunton Dec 11 2015 - 7:04 am PT

With Mailbox now decommissioned, the third party Android email app scene is a little more bleak than it was before. One company hoping to bring us a little joy is Yahoo. It recently updated its Yahoo Mail app to version 5.1.0 which (among other things) now includes support for Gmail. With it being an Android app, you’d assume that it should have Gmail compatibility from the outset. But apparently, Yahoo didn’t see it that way.

Gmail support is added to the pre-existing list of providers, including Outlook, AOL and Yahoo mail accounts. What’s more, you can search your inbox and archive messages just as you would with any good Google-supporting email client. Along with the ability to connect with Gmail accounts, version 5.1.0 also brings the option to select all messages in any individual folder for mass-deleting and moving. They’ve also made it easier to access different accounts and settings.

Here’s the change log posted to the Yahoo Mail Play Store page:

5.1.0:

– Connect Gmail mailboxes to read, organize, search and respond to your Gmail messages within the Yahoo Mail app

– Select all messages in a specific folder on your device – just tap on the select all icon in the upper-left corner when moving or deleting multiple messages

Interface improvements for account switching, settings, touch targets, and message list readability

– TalkBack accessibility improvements

– Performance enhancements

As always, the app update is free to new and existing users and is available on the Play Store now.

Google is now redirecting some ‘Inbox by Gmail’ users from Gmail by default

Stephen Hall Dec 2 2015 - 8:25 am PT

I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Gmail is on the way out quite yet, but it seems a new message is appearing for some Inbox by Gmail users notifying them that they will now be redirected from Gmail to Inbox by default. Of course, users still have the option to turn this off if they would like their gmail.com and inbox.google.com inboxes to remain separate…
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Weird bug resulting in users seeing skull and crossbones emoji in Gmail

Abner Li Dec 1 2015 - 11:23 am PT

Update: Google has provided us with a statement, or rather a statememe, about the bug:

When logging into Gmail yesterday, some users saw a tiny “skull and crossbones” icon in the lower right of their window. Hovering over said icon revealed text like “Component Spy,” “Data Spy,” and “Channel Spy. The issue is not widespread with one user mentioning that the bug only appears on one of his three Gmail accounts.

Replying in a thread on the Gmail Help Forum, a Googler stated that the issue is “purely cosmetic and should not affect normal Gmail functionality.” An issue with Google’s in-house debugger is responsible for the skull and bones and a fix is being worked on.

For some, the skull is still present today in Gmail across Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. If the icon is so bothersome, switching to the HTML version of Gmail should get rid of it. Rest assured, however, that the skull and crossbones emoji should be gone very soon.

Notably, although probably unrelated, the skull and crossbones emoji was just recently added to iOS in the 9.1 release.

Google Calendar intros Trash feature on web, now lets you restore deleted events

Cam Bunton Nov 6 2015 - 2:12 am PT

Google is rolling out a new feature to its web-based Calendar interface. Users who delete calendar events (accidentally or on purpose) can now access a new Trash function that lets them restore the event. From the official blog post, it seems it’ll be available immediately to both regular Gmail users and Google Apps accounts.

Ever deleted a calendar event by mistake and wanted to get it back – just like you can in Gmail and Drive? Now you can: today we’re adding Trash functionality to Google Calendar on the web, providing an easy way for users to view, permanently delete, or restore individual and recurring deleted calendar events. Trash puts calendar users in control by letting them quickly reverse any event mishaps, and limits escalations to Google Apps admins.

You can access Trash from your calendar’s drop-down menu in the “My calendars” section as well as from your calendar settings. It’ll be available to any users who have editing privileges in both primary and secondary calendars. In the case of shared calendars, or Apps accounts, admins will be able to track which events are restored or removed from Trash.

It’s a useful new feature, especially in large teams where shared calendars can be altered for more than one person. The last thing you want is an important event disappearing from a group calendar, with no way to get it back again.

Inbox app will use AI-powered Smart Reply feature to respond to Gmail messages for you

Cam Bunton Nov 3 2015 - 7:24 am PT

Update: It looks like the Smart Reply feature is rolling out starting tomorrow.

To all those asking, Smart Reply will start rolling out to Inbox on Android and iOS tomorrow.

— Inbox by Gmail (@inboxbygmail) November 4, 2015

Google’s Inbox app for Gmail is one of the best things to happen to personal email management since email was invented. Using Google Now’s power, it can automatically create calendar events, sort out your junk and priority emails and suggest reminders. Now it’s about to get a whole lot smarter…

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Google now eats Google Apps fees for switchers w/ previous enterprise agreements

Stephen Hall Oct 19 2015 - 11:00 am PT

According to a post made on the Google for Work blog this morning, Google is now giving enterprises a new opportunity to try Google Docs. Google knows that many enterprises likely have previous enterprise agreements with other companies that would make trying out Docs for their organizations difficult, so the company is now offering to pay the usual Google Apps fees until those contracts run out:

In fact, we’re so confident that Docs has all the features you need, without the ones you don’t, that we’re making it even easier to give it a try. If you’re worried about switching to Docs because you still have an enterprise agreement (EA) with another provider, we’ll cover the fees of Google Apps until your contract runs out. We’ll even chip in on some of the deployment costs and set you up for success with one of our Google for Work Partners.

Google says that once your enterprise agreement is runs out, companies can sign up on a simple contract “with no traps or gotchas,” and that many businesses find that Google Apps is cheaper, as well. The company, additionally, points out that many of the features that businesses think are missing from Google Docs are actually present, and that more and more useful tools are being added constantly.

Businesses can head over to the Google Apps‘ website to learn more.