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Gmail redesign adds self-destructing emails

Gmail is getting a redesign
Gmail is getting a redesign

Google is making some sweeping changes to Gmail in the biggest set of updates to its flagship email service.

Gmail is used by more than 1.4 billion people, from home users to thousands of businesses, but it has remained more or less the same since its last major upgrade back in 2012.

The updates are set to add a host of features to make the service quicker and easier to use, while also adding some useful modes to improve privacy and safety.

From Wednesday, users will be able to update early to the new Gmail, while it will change for all users over the coming weeks. Here are all the features to expect from Gmail's new look:

A full re-design

Gmail should look a little different to before. The site has been refreshed, with new tools to enable quick downloads to open attachments, quick links to archive or delete messages, and a new snooze feature.

Google responsive image tab
Google responsive image tab

Now attachments like pictures, PDFs or presentations will appear clearly under the email subject line, rather than buried deep in email threads which had been one of the more frustrating design elements Gmail had clung on to. With a click users can open the attachment, instead of scrolling through a conversation.

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When users scroll over an email it will also come up with a buttons to quickly archive, delete or mark the email as read.

The fourth standard button here is snooze, this lets you put off replying to the email for a few hours or days, or pick a time to reply. 

Confidential Mode

The biggest new feature on the Gmail is Confidential Mode. Aside from aesthetic changes, Confidential Mode will probably bring the most updated features that will change how you use Gmail either personally or at work.

Google secure message
Google secure message

Confidential mode lets users set expiration dates to emails, so they lock themselves after a certain time if they are unopened.  This will be useful for stopping emails sitting around in the wrong inbox if they have been sent incorrectly and protect user data, if you have to send private information such as bank details or sensitive documents. 

It also makes it easier to remove the ability to download, forward or print messages. Google already had a similar feature to this, but it was not so easy to find, and it already allows you to unsend messages.

This self-destruct mode will also helpfully allow users to comply better with General Data Protection Regulation, new European data laws that are stricter on how users employ data.

Gmail
Google's new email update

Users will also be able to enable additional security with two factor authentication for emails, so users can require a text message to send a code before an email can be opened.

Nudges and reminders

Google is adding more intelligence to Gmail which it says will help prompt uses about important emails they may have missed. Google is calling this "nudging", introducing prompts to let users know if they haven't replied to an important email.

Google nudge - Credit: Google
Gmail's Nudge reminder Credit: Google

This could see Google surfacing emails that it says have "slipped through the cracks" using its algorithm, rather than having a straight-up chronological email. Google added this will be done "subtly", perhaps to placate worries the site will be messing too much with user emails.

 Smart replies

Google has brought over a feature of its Gmail mobile app to its web version, adding "smart replies".

Google smart reply
Google smart reply

 These automatic replies let you send short messages that Google generates, like predictive texting, with quick, natural sounding messages like "Let's do it".

Fewer app notifications

One welcome change will be to Google's mobile app, which is set to reduce the number of notifications users receive and offer ways to let them de-clutter their inbox.

Gmail app - Credit: Google
The Gmail app stays mostly the same, but has more AI functions Credit: Google

 Anyone with their work Gmail on their phone will know that the notifications can be pretty constant, so Google is going to use its artificial intelligence software to limit this, claiming it will only send alerts for the most important emails. Google Gsuit product head David Thacker said: "High-priority notifications is a new setting that only notifies you of important messages, keeping interruptions to a minimum."

Crucially, it will cut the amount of notifications users receive down by up to 97pc, Gmail product head Jacob Banks told The Verge.

The smarter Gmail app will also flag dodgy messages with warning messages, and it will offer prompts to unsubscribe from newsletters that you don't read.

New, clearer warnings

New Gmail warnings
The update will add new warnings to Gmail

 A new safety feature for Gmail will include larger, clearer warnings when Google has detected dangerous or spam emails, including a clear button to delete malicious emails.

It works better with Google's other apps

Google says the new features will also let Gmail work more smoothly with other apps, such as its calendar or its Keep ideas app.

Google Gsuite
Google Gsuite

The new Gmail design will allow users to bring up their work in an add-on, rather than a separate tab, splitting the screen so users can work on both apps at once. This will allow users to quickly edit calendar invites or add to a to-do list.

How to get the new Gmail

It isn't available for all users just yet, and in businesses you may have to wait for their IT team to allow the upgrade. But many people can simply go to settings and select Try the new Gmail.