A barely-publicized Google page may have been tracking every purchase you make online, sucking in online order details from Gmail accounts without most people knowing it's happening. The revelation comes amid Google's attempts to shift the focus away from the huge quantity of personal data it holds on people, and instead position itself as a champion of privacy.
Google Pay is getting a new feature that makes it easier to retrieve your boarding pass, movie tickets, and other content typically emailed to customers. There's a catch, though: you need to use Gmail as your email service. The new feature is rolling out to Google Pay now, enabling users to automatically harvest tickets and similar content from a Gmail account.
While many of us are on the lookout for April Fools jokes today, one thing that is decidedly not a prank is the fact that it's Gmail's birthday. Google's email service is turning 15 years old today, prompting Google to look back on those first 15 years in a short retrospective. The big G didn't spend its time only reminiscing about the past, though, as it also took the opportunity to announce some new features coming to the service.
Google is killing off its well-loved Inbox app but it still hasn't brought its popular features to the main Gmail app. In some cases, Gmail is even inconsistent across the platforms it's available on. Case in point is Gmail on iPhones and iPads which is getting the feature that will let users choose what happens when they swipe on an email. Better late than never, of course, and will at least give them one less thing to complain about.
Today, Google is rolling out an update to Gmail that's centered around making our emails more dynamic and interactive. The static emails of the past are gone - at least on desktop - and in their place are messages that can automatically update with new information. As a result, users should see more instances where they can take action within an email, instead of jumping to another website in a different tab to complete those actions.
Inbox is going away. The folks at Google responsible for Inbox by Gmail are likely just as bummed about their work's fate as those that made Google Plus. That's the social network Google made, and the Gmail suite of services - a new interface for the email service - that's proved itself less-than-necessary. Google started notifying users via Gmail and Inbox (inside of which there is Gmail) that Inbox is going away on April 2nd.
For some people, writing emails is as natural as breathing or speaking. For others, nothing fills them with such dread. In order to ease the burden off users' shoulders, Google created Smart Compose to put its machine learning facilities at their service. Initially available only on the Web and exclusively to the Pixel 3 on smartphones, Smart Compose is now silently rolling out to all Android devices so that no one will have to fear writing an email on their phone.
Google's revamped Gmail app for Android is now rolling out to everybody, with iOS users also starting to see the Material Design update too. The new version of the email app was announced last month, bringing elements of the desktop web interface design to Google's mobile apps for iPhone and Android devices.
Gmail in the browser is about to get even more flexible, with Google adding new right-click menu options to its email UI. The update is designed to make those whose email lives still remain in the browser more straightforward, with Google promising it'll begin rolling out from today.
Last summer, Google rolled out a new redesign for Gmail on web. Though the redesign maybe rubbed some people the wrong way at first, we've had plenty of time to get used to it, as Google forced a switch for all Gmail for web users in the autumn. Now it's the mobile apps' turn, as Google has announced that a similar redesign will soon be landing on both iOS and Android.
Mozilla has a big update for Thunderbird, its email client, in the pipeline. The company hired more staff dedicated solely to full-time Thunderbird development last year, and the company plans to build upon what it got right with Thunderbird 60, adding better Gmail support and a prettier interface on top of it. The company reassures users that it has listened to their complaints and feedback and will address existing concerns.
Yesterday, Google announced its decision to discontinue Inbox by Gmail, citing the fact that many of its features are now available in Gmail proper. With that in mind, it isn't surprising to see the purge continue, and now Google has announced that it will discontinue the Gmail Offline Chrome app as well. The shut down officially happens later this year.