Gmail

611 'Gmail' stories June 2011 - September 2018

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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.

Gmail’s Smart Reply prototype thought ‘Sent from my iPhone’ was a good response

Stephen Hall Sep 19 2018 - 1:05 pm PT

The Wall Street Journal is out today with a quick story on the rollout and reception of Gmail’s new Smart Reply feature, and it comes with a few interesting bits of information and anecdotes from random users and Google alike — one of which is particularly humorous…

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Gmail Offline

Google retiring ‘Gmail Offline’ Chrome app in favor of new built-in functionality

Stephen Hall Sep 13 2018 - 10:21 pm PT

With the new Gmail, Google introduced an offline mode as part of the web app itself. That means that the longstanding Gmail Offline Chrome app that was used to enable offline functionality in the old Gmail is no longer necessary. So it makes sense that Google just announced its retirement…

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Google unsurprisingly killing Inbox next year, given overlap with Gmail

Abner Li Sep 12 2018 - 11:21 am PT

Inbox by Gmail

With the launch of the new Gmail earlier this year, many questioned the future of Inbox, the company’s experimental email client. Today, Google announced that Inbox by Gmail will be discontinued next year.

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Gmail

Don’t like Gmail’s new sidebar? Now you can hide it with a single click

Stephen Hall Sep 10 2018 - 9:07 pm PT

Gmail sidebar

Google launched a completely redesigned Gmail on the web, featuring the Google Material Theme, earlier this year. We’ve been fans of it for quite a while from purely an aesthetic perspective, but it’s definitely had some places where it feels like Google chose form over function. No longer!

Now, Google’s letting you hide that pesky new Gmail sidebar that you never use.

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Gmail for Android

Gmail for Android adds ‘Undo Send’ feature from desktop version

Abner Li Aug 20 2018 - 1:09 pm PT

One of the useful features that Gmail gained over the years is “Undo Send.” Like the name suggests, Gmail will allow you to take back an email after tapping the send button through an artificial delay. Long available on the web, this functionality is now making its way to Gmail for Android.

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Gmail

Gmail Confidential Mode rolls out to mobile as EFF warns of misleading claims

Kyle Bradshaw Aug 17 2018 - 11:17 am PT

Gmail for Android

Features of the new Gmail have been rolling out to users since its unveiling just before I/O. One such feature, Confidential Mode, which offers a suite of email protection options, is arriving now on mobile. However, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is advising users to be fully aware of how Confidential Mode works, and how its use can affect others.

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Google removing Contacts shortcut and old interface from legacy Gmail

Abner Li Aug 8 2018 - 1:18 pm PT

For the most part, the redesigned Gmail that launched in April maintained feature parity with the previous iteration. However, one minor grievance did emerge over the lack of a Google Contacts shortcut. This was an intentional change with Google now removing the Contacts shortcut and experience from legacy Gmail.

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Gmail for Android’s Google Material Theme will add new features from web, density, more

Abner Li Jul 25 2018 - 5:13 pm PT

Gmail for Android

During a session at Cloud Next 2018, Google showed off Gmail for Android’s upcoming Google Material Theme update. To match the recent web revamp, the mobile version of Gmail will gain traditional desktop features like density options and quick attachments in the inbox view.

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Google Material demo reel shows off revamped Gmail, Drive on mobile, Google Photos on web

Abner Li Jul 23 2018 - 10:23 am PT

Google’s transition to update all of its apps with the Material Theme is well underway. A new video now shows off elements of the company’s new design language, while featuring various concepts for refreshed Google apps and services.

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How to remove third-party access to your Gmail inbox w/ Google Security Checkup

Stephen Hall Jul 6 2018 - 10:56 am PT

Google Account sign-in

There’s been a lot of brouhaha this week about Gmail and the access that it’s giving third-party apps to your email. I already outlined exactly why this is not something to be particularly concerned about and how those headlines might be misleading to some. One of the key takeaways of my argument is that you still have control over your data and who gets to use it, so here’s how to do that…

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Third-party Gmail developers are not reading your emails unless you’ve allowed them to

Stephen Hall Jul 5 2018 - 2:40 pm PT

Gmail for Android

There’s been a lot of noise this week about Gmail and the access that some third-parties have to your Gmail inbox. Hidden under misleading headlines, reports have, I think rightfully, highlighted the parallels between Gmail’s system and Facebook’s prior third-party allowances which led to Cambridge Analytica-related repercussions. The public perception of these stories is much different, though.

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PSA: Some antivirus programs are causing connection issues with Google services

Kyle Bradshaw Jun 28 2018 - 7:49 am PT

This morning, some users have been reporting — and we’ve witnessed first-hand — a combination of issues with antivirus programs leading to not being able to access Google sites, including Gmail.

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Inbox by Gmail no longer lets you auto-redirect from Gmail on the web

Stephen Hall Jun 27 2018 - 3:50 pm PT

According to a tweet today from the Inbox by Gmail team, an option to automatically redirect gmail.com to inbox.google.com has been removed. That means you’ll have to go directly to inbox.google.com if you want to use Inbox as your primary desktop web browser email client.

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Gmail iOS app now uses AI to offer option of notifications only for important emails

Ben Lovejoy Jun 15 2018 - 5:58 am PT

My iPhone feels like a much calmer device since I went on a notifications diet, but if you can’t switch off email alerts because you need to know when important ones arrive, Google thinks it may have the solution. It’s iOS-only for now, but is coming ‘soon’ to Android …

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Gmail for Android update lets you customize swipe actions to delete, snooze, mark read, etc

Ben Schoon Jun 8 2018 - 10:40 am PT

There are about a million email clients available, but Google’s own Gmail app is my personal favorite just because it works so well. In a recent update, Google is giving users some new options for customizing in-app actions.

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Gmail’s new Material Design makeover will roll out to all users starting in July

Ben Schoon Jun 4 2018 - 1:51 pm PT

Gmail

A couple of months ago Google revealed that Gmail was going to be getting a huge makeover, and in late April, users finally started getting the option to try out that interface. So far, it’s been well-received, and Google is planning to kick off the full rollout in July.

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Gmail for Android

How to customize swipe actions in Gmail for mobile

Justin Duino Jun 2 2018 - 7:03 pm PT

Recently, Gmail was updated with new smart features previously exclusive to Inbox. One of these is the ability to customize the left and right swipe actions within the email app. Here’s how.

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AI-powered ‘Nudge’ respond reminders rolling out to the new Gmail

Abner Li May 14 2018 - 9:50 am PT

Last week, Google announced and began rolling out Smart Compose at I/O 2018, as well as native offline support for the new Gmail. Today, AI-powered response suggestions called “Nudges” are beginning to launch in the redesigned web client.

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Offline Gmail with support for search, archive, & compose is rolling out to the web

Abner Li May 13 2018 - 10:43 am PT

Gmail

The new Gmail launched with a slew of new features last month, and Google announced that more were on the way. While Smart Compose may have grabbed all the attention at I/O 2018 this week, native offline support is now rolling out.

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Gmail’s Smart Compose is already live as an ‘experimental feature,’ here’s how to enable it

Ben Schoon May 10 2018 - 6:58 am PT

Gmail

Google I/O’s opening keynote was packed with announcements and really impressive demos. So much so, that some of the early announcements ended up floating under the radar. One of those early announcements was a new Smart Compose feature for Gmail, and it’s already live, as long as you enable it.

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Gmail’s latest machine learning feature is ‘Smart Compose’ to autocomplete messages

Abner Li May 8 2018 - 10:19 am PT

Following a big revamp to Gmail last month, Google is adding a new machine learning feature this month. Smart Compose is similar to Smart Reply, but takes it a step further by allowing users to autocomplete the body of an email.

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‘Snooze’ rolling out to Gmail for Android, but with an unintuitive UI

Abner Li Apr 25 2018 - 11:34 am PT

An update to Gmail for Android is rolling out today with a corresponding “Snooze” functionality to match the revamped web interface and service. However, the implementation is unfortunately less intuitive than Inbox’s.

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Hands-on: Refreshed Material Design is the delightful cornerstone of the new, smarter Gmail [Gallery]

Abner Li Apr 25 2018 - 10:05 am PT

Gmail

After a midnight unveil, the new Gmail is beginning to launch for the first wave of users. We’ve managed to enable the new design on a personal Google Account, and are quickly finding that a refreshed Material Design is front and center in delivering this brand new experience with countless usability tweaks and streamlined features.

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Google launches Gmail web revamp w/ new UI, snoozing, Smart Reply, and confidential mode

Abner Li Apr 25 2018 - 1:16 am PT

smart reply

Two weeks ago, Google informed G Suite admins that a new version of Gmail on the web was in the works, with leaked screenshots quickly revealing the revamp. Google is officially launching that redesign today and taking the lid off a number of new smart features.

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