Google has moved to reassure users it is not about to retire Gmail after a hoax message went viral online.
The company's official Twitter account was forced to post a message clarifying that "Gmail is here to stay" after many users reacted in alarm to the hoax post about its email service.
The fake announcement was made by X employee and social media troll Chris Bakke, who pretended to be the "SVP of Product at Google", who was told by Google Sundar Pichai to shut down the Google Gemini AI platform, but accidentally closed Gmail instead.
Gmail closing hoax
Despite being an obviously fake message, the post didn't stop thousands of users retweeting and reposting, leading to Gmail becoming one of the biggest trending topics on the platform.
The hoax was given a little credence due to the fact that Google actually did retire a version of Gmail recently - albeit one that many users may not even have been aware of.
As revealed back in September 2023, the "classic" HTML version of Gmail was closed in January 2024 as part of Google's bid to update and upgrade its services.
Built for slower connections and legacy browsers, the Gmail Basic HTML view for desktop web and mobile web was also popular for users who preferred or needed to use older browser versions and operating systems, or those who simply do not have sufficient bandwidth to warrant using the more intensive version - as well as visually impaired individuals because it can be deciphered a lot more easily by screen-reading aids.
Users trying to access the service will now be automatically redirected to the standard Gmail view - but this will possibly require an update to the user's browser or even device.
Along with its more modern design, the standard view of Gmail allows account holders to use tools like Chat, spell checker, keyboard shortcuts, adding or importing contacts, custom "from" addresses, and rich formatting.
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