Author Archives: The Gmail Team

Inbox by Gmail: a better way to keep track of events, newsletters and links

Posted by Pras Sarkar, Software Engineer

Life can get really busy. Inboxes too. Just think about everything inside your own inbox, from personal messages and trip itineraries to promotional offers and yes, even bills. It's all (mostly) important, but it can be overwhelming to stay on top of everything. And sometimes, you might miss something really important amidst all the rest.

Starting today, you'll discover three new experiences in Inbox—streamlined events, glanceable newsletters and saved links—that help you better keep track of things that matter to you and feel more in control.

Keep up with Google Calendar events
Events can be hard to keep track of in your inbox because details—and people’s plans—may change. Inbox now gathers emails from a single event together and shows you what's changed at a glance. When you tap on an event, you'll see a comprehensive overview, all in one place.
Stay on top of your favorite email newsletters
Similarly, it’s now easier to preview the newsletters you read often and click through to the articles that interest you most. And once you've taken a look at the latest, newsletters will minimize to save space in the inbox.
Store links to remember with "Save to Inbox"
Lastly, your inbox is much more than just the emails sent to you. Chances are you've emailed yourself a link or two (or three)—to an article you want to read later or a recipe you want to try. Now instead of sending yourself a bunch of separate emails, try the new "Save to Inbox" feature to easily save links for later.

Simply share the link to Inbox on Android or iOS, or use the new Inbox by Gmail Chrome extension on web. When you check your email, you'll see your saved links grouped together in one place.

With these updates, Inbox helps you organize and access the information that matters most, saving time and reducing email overload. Take these new features for a spin by sharing to Inbox on mobile, installing the Chrome extension, subscribing to an email newsletter or scheduling an event.

Source: Gmail Blog


Find time for your goals with Google Calendar

Posted by Jyoti Ramnath, Product Manager

Whether it’s reading more books, learning a new language or working out regularly, achieving your goals can be really hard. One day it's "I got called into a last-minute meeting." The next day it's "I have a friend in town." And before you know it, your goals are delayed or forgotten. In fact, with all the things you need to do in a given week, it’s probably harder than ever to find the time—even when your goal really matters to you.

That’s why starting today, we’re introducing Goals in Google Calendar. Just add a personal goal—like “run 3 times a week”—and Calendar will help you find the time and stick to it.
Goals are easy to set up
To set a goal (like “Work out more”), simply answer a few questions (like “How often?” and “Best time?”), and you’re all set. From there Calendar will look at your schedule and find the best windows to pencil in time for that goal.

Goals adjust to your busy life
Goals aren't easy—especially when the unexpected comes up—but Calendar can help you adjust in a number of important ways. For example, Calendar will automatically reschedule if you add another event that's a direct conflict with a goal.
You can also defer a goal at any time, and Calendar will make time for it later.
Finally, Calendar actually gets better at scheduling the more you use it—just defer, edit or complete your goals like normal, and Calendar will choose even better times in the future.
Calendars should help you make the most of your time—not just be tools to track events. So as Google Calendar turns 10 today (?), we're excited to invest in more updates like Goals, and to help you find time for everything that matters—from your daily must-dos, to exercising more, to just a little "me time."

To get started, download the Google Calendar app for Android or iPhone, and set your first goal.

Source: Gmail Blog


Reminders come to Google Calendar on the web

Posted by Erick Johnson, Software Engineer

Starting this week, we’re bringing Reminders in Google Calendar to the web so you can keep track of your to-dos alongside your events.

Just like on Android and iPhone, you’ll get the following:

  • Reminders stick around - If a reminder isn't completed, it will appear at the top of your calendar until you mark it done.
  • Reminders work across Google - Reminders you create in Inbox, Keep, and the Google app will also show in Google Calendar. 
  • Reminders sync with mobile - Reminders created in mobile show up on the web and vice versa. So you can stay on track from just about anywhere. 
With Reminders alongside your events on the web, Android and iPhone, you now have a single way to manage your day.

Source: Gmail Blog


Introducing Gmail Mic Drop

Posted by Victor-bogdan Anchidin, Software Engineer

Email's great, but sometimes you just wanna hit the eject button. Like those heated threads at work, when everyone's wrong except you (obviously). Or those times when someone's seeking group approval, but your opinion is the only one that matters (amirite?). Or maybe you just nailed it, and there's nothing more to say (bam).

Today, Gmail is making it easier to have the last word on any email with Mic Drop. Simply reply to any email using the new 'Send + Mic Drop' button. Everyone will get your message, but that's the last you'll ever hear about it. Yes, even if folks try to respond, you won't see it.

When you drop the mic, your email will also include an explanatory image--just to help set expectations.

Friends and family have been testing Gmail Mic Drop for months, and the response so far has been awesome:

  • "Sending email is so much easier when you don't have to worry about people responding!"
  • "Mic Drop is a huge improvement over Mute! I can finally let everyone know I'm just not interested."
  • "My team solves problems so much faster with Mic Drop. In fact, we stopped talking to each other entirely!"

Gmail Mic Drop is launching first on the web, but mobile updates are on the way. So stay tuned, and stay saucy.

Source: Gmail Blog


Express yo’self with emoji in Smart Reply

Posted by Balint Miklos, Software Engineer

When someone emails you asking to schedule a meeting, there's a good chance you're thinking, "Aw ? ." Or, when you get that 17th update on that topic you stopped caring about 10 emails ago, you just wanna say ? . Or maybe your friend just emailed you photos from Vegas, and you get inspired to stand up and ? . Whatever you want to say, emoji can say it better (obvs). So we figured we'd take the deep neural network behind Smart Reply, and make it more sassy.

The result is emoji suggestions in addition to (or instead of) really boring text replies. In our testing, we've also found that emoji do a better job of plumbing the emotional depths of one's soul, so we're optimistic that today's update will encourage more open and honest email conversations.

Looking ahead, Smart Reply will actually get better the more you use it, so you'll be able to strike just the right balance between written responses, and ? ? ? ?.

PS: Smart Reply is only suggesting emoji. We are investigating. Pardon our dust.

PPS: We are happy to report that our deep neural network had quickly learned that when given a choice, you, our users, always pick emoji. Smart Reply adapted so quickly that we thought it was a bug. Thankfully, Smart Reply will continue to show the three most perfect replies, which happen to always be emoji.

PPPS: ??????

Source: Gmail Blog


Smart Reply comes to Inbox by Gmail on the web

Posted by Taylor Kourim, Software Engineer

Today, we're bringing Smart Reply to Inbox on the web.

Just like in the Inbox mobile app, Smart Reply saves you precious time by suggesting up to three responses based on the emails you get. Selecting an option starts a reply, ready for you to either edit or send:

10% of all your replies on mobile already use Smart Reply, so we’re excited to bring this same convenience to the web. It's particularly helpful when you're jamming through lots of emails on your laptop.

Keep the feedback coming using the "Help & Feedback" link in the app.

Source: Gmail Blog


Inbox by Gmail: Saving time with Snooze

Posted by Michael Landry, Software Engineer

Snoozing emails is great because it helps you focus on what you need to do now instead of what you can put off until later. Starting today, Snooze is getting a new look and two time-saving improvements — all based on your feedback.

First, Snooze is getting two highly-requested snooze times: Later this week and This weekend. These new options should hopefully save you some time, and decrease the need to use custom snooze.
Snooze’s new look

Second, just like you can set your preferred morning time to receive emails, you can now choose the weekend days that work best for you.
New weekend setting

This feature is especially useful for people living who live in places where the weekend spans different days of the week.

Look for these new options in Inbox over the next week. And don’t forget to continue sharing your feedback, so we can keep working on your top requests. Enjoy your snoozing :)

Source: Gmail Blog


Productivity at your fingertips with rich text formatting and instant RSVPs

Posted by Matthew Izatt, Product Manager

These days, more than two-thirds of all Gmail users check email with their phones, so having a really amazing mobile experience is more important than ever. That’s why today, we’re introducing two new Android features to help you manage your inbox on the go: rich text formatting and instant RSVPs.

Rich Text Formatting
Now you can add bold, italic, underlined, colored and highlighted text to your email—all from inside the mobile app. These new options are great for making a point or emphasizing what’s important.

Instant RSVPs
If you use Google Calendar or Microsoft Exchange, calendar invitations now include a one-tap option to show your schedule and respond. No more opening up separate apps just to see if you can squeeze in a meeting.

Source: Gmail Blog


Gmailify: The best of Gmail, without an @gmail address

Posted by Michael Käser, Software Engineer

For the last year, you’ve been able to access your email from other providers, like Yahoo! Mail or Outlook.com, in the Gmail app on Android. And we’ve been getting lots of great feedback from those of you that do. Many of you would like more of Gmail’s powerful features, like spam protection and inbox organization, on these accounts—but don’t want to go through the hassle of changing your email address.

We agree. So starting today, if you use Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail/Outlook.com, you now have the option to Gmailify your inbox.

Gmailify links your existing account to Gmail so that you get all the bells and whistles—spam protection, inbox organization and even Google Now cards based on your mail—without having to leave your current address behind.

All you need to do is open the Gmail app, sign in to your email account(s), and enable Gmailify. And of course, you're always in control—so if you ever change your mind, you can unlink your account(s) at any time, and continue to access them through the Gmail app without using Gmailify.
We’re really excited to bring the best of Gmail to more people, and we’re planning to add other email providers to Gmailify in the future.

Source: Gmail Blog


Making email safer for you

Posted by John Rae-Grant, Product Manager

It’s Safer Internet Day, and when it comes to the security of your email, we don’t mess around. Gmail has always supported encryption in transit using TLS, and will automatically encrypt your incoming and outgoing emails if it can. We support industry-standard authentication to help combat email impersonation. And there are tons of other security measures running behind the scenes to keep your email safe.

Of course, it takes at least two people to send and receive an email, so it’s really important that other services take similar measures to protect your messages---not just Gmail. Unfortunately, not all email services do. And that’s why, starting this week in Gmail on the web, you’ll see two changes that highlight any affected messages:

  1. If you receive a message from, or are about to send a message to, someone whose email service doesn’t support TLS encryption, you’ll see a broken lock icon in the message.

  2. If you receive a message that can’t be authenticated, you’ll see a question mark in place of the sender’s profile photo, corporate logo, or avatar.
Not all affected email will necessarily be dangerous. But we encourage you to be extra careful about replying to, or clicking on links in messages that you’re not sure about. And with these updates, you’ll have the tools to make these kinds of decisions.

Source: Gmail Blog