Google Just Made It Really Easy For Strangers to Email You

[Turk]

You no longer need someone's email address to send them an email. At least, that will soon be the case if you want to email another Google+ user. A new Gmail "feature" will let you simply type in anyone's name into Gmail's "to" field and send them an email. Google announced the new Google+ integration on its Gmail blog today, but company representatives have clarified to The Verge that by default anyone on its social network will be able to send messages to your Gmail inbox.

Once the service goes live over the next few days, a new setting will appear in Gmail called "Email via Google+." If you don't want everyone on Google+ to be able to send you an email, you'll have to opt out by selecting "no one" or choosing another option to limit the feature to people in certain circles. It's important to note that even if you do let people send you emails through their Google+ connection, your actual email address won't be revealed unless you choose to respond to the email. Google also says that emails from Google+ users outside of your circles will not hit your "primary" inbox they'll be placed in the new "social" tab it introduced earlier this year. The change continues the company's push to integrate Google+ with the rest of its popular online services, but it's concerning as it turns a private space your inbox into a social one.

The new feature and the guaranteed controversy to follow is reminiscent of the company's attitude towards its failed Buzz social network. The service was opt-out only and led to backlash and ultimately a class-action lawsuit. Notably, the feature itself would be helpful if it was opt in; it'd provide an easy way to allow those you've added to your circles to contact you even if you haven't yet exchanged email addresses. By making this an opt-out feature, it seems that Google wants to challenge Facebook's dominance in communication: the preeminent social network has effectively made email addresses less important.

A Google representative tells The Verge that while the setting itself will not go live for a couple of days, the ability to send emails via Google+ will not be enabled until a later date. When the company does turn on the feature it'll send emails to Gmail users letting them know of the change.

Update: This article has been heavily modified from its original version with clarification from Google that the feature will be opt-out.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/9/5292310/gmail-now-lets-you-send-emails-to-other-google-users

[Sonar]

I'm glad i don't use gmail for my main email address.

[Matt]

This's a good new option will be useful for some people.

[Matt]

I'm glad i don't use gmail for my main email address.

What are you using ...

[jackieo]

google+ wants to be facebook so bad, they are a bunch of wanna-bes!

I dont use either one.

social apps are the biggest invasion of privacy on the planet

[khashim]

thnx alot.

very glad ive seen this

@jackieo yep pretty much any profiling stuff, specially anything that require/allow associating your profile(liking, befriending etc) to whom you know that uses their real name.

Edited January 9, 2014 by khashim

[calguyhunk]

This is not really E-mail per sé. Somebody who can see your profile - your real name and all - can send you a message delivered to your Mailbox. That's what this is all about! Extremely annoying and an intrusion of privacy maybe, but then as long as they're not getting your mail-ID, it's not earth shattering. You can disable that for good and in any case, you can completely ignore that awful good-for-nothing 'social tab' in you GMail inbox anyways! ;)

The really disconcerting thing Google did here was to have this enabled for 'Everyone on G+' by default. Should have either been disabled or enabled only for "Circles". But to give stalkers even the chance to communicate with impressionable kids or far-right groups the ability to send propaganda material directly to angst-ridden youngsters is a really $hitty thing to do. But then again, Google had long ago sacrificed their "Do no Evil" moto at the alter of corporate profits :angry:

Edited January 10, 2014 by calguyhunk

[khashim]

 

This is not really E-mail per sé. Somebody who can see your profile - your real name and all - can send you a message delivered to your Mailbox. That's what this is all about! Extremely annoying and an intrusion of privacy maybe, but then as long as they're not getting your mail-ID, it's not earth shattering. You can disable that for good and in any case, you can completely ignore that awful good-for-nothing 'social tab' in you GMail inbox anyways! ;)

The really disconcerting thing Google did here was to have this enabled for 'Everyone on G+' by default. Should have either been disabled or enabled only for "Circles". But to give stalkers even the chance to communicate with impressionable kids or far-right groups the ability to send propaganda material directly to angst-ridden youngsters is a really $hitty thing to do. But then again, Google has long ago sacrificed their "Do no Evil" moto at the alter of corporate profits :angry:

 

this post of yours reminded me of the incident when an insane fucktard chatted with kids and tried convincing them to commit suicide.

[ASIO]

best service cpanel

[Yorel]

I just saw the Gmail Team email notifying it to me and I'm just disabled. For me, it doesn't matter people don't see my e-mail till I don't answer, I don't wanna receive e-mails from people I don't know.

[sanjoa]

Just disabled it. If it's regarding privacy, we shouldn't use cellphones, computers, etc.

[Sonar]

disabled everything possible in settings that i can see.

[MidnightDistortions]

I don't use my real name on google. It's sorta on facebook (don't put my full name, just my first 3 letters on my last name), but i'm changing that. Besides hardly any stranger messages me on those networks.

[edwardecl]

Seems like a good idea to me. If people want feedback from the general public on something then you can give them a username on this service to do it. I'm assume you can also respond to the user with the same system rather than email so your address would not be exposed?

Also would it not be possible to set a whitelist/blacklist, perhaps even filter by country of origin. Maybe Google will make a hard line on spammers on their own service and kick people off if they receive complaints, normal email is a bit crap on that.

[AlexCross]

Lol, I like how people react when they hear the word privacy in the US. Well, how do you people react when you go outside your house and strangers can see your face and talk to you. Isn't the same thing? People watch too much SF movies. Who would lose his time to send a mail to you if he doesn't know you. What's the point. You're not Bil Gates.

[overload2014]

as I said before... google is dirty

if you want a privacy take away from google product and services

[overload2014]

I'm glad i don't use gmail for my main email address.

yahhh ... go for outlook and yahoo..

[LeeSmithG]

google+ wants to be facebook so bad, they are a bunch of wanna-bes!

I dont use either one.

social apps are the biggest invasion of privacy on the planet

No word to a lie blud!

Facebook should be renamed shagbook.

I don't do social networking due to lamers.

I did however do one for the cricket club, within minutes, lamers begging to link to it, people I don't even know.

So I hit the report spam or abuse or whatever it is link.