A recent popular post on X alarmed netizens, claiming that Gmail was “coming to an end.” An email screenshot from Google labeled ‘Google is sunsetting Gmail’ was published in the post, and it quickly spread like wildfire on the internet, as people worried that the popular email service might be discontinued entirely.
“We are reaching out to share an important update about Gmail,” the message, supposedly attributed to Google, read. “After years of connecting millions worldwide, enabling seamless communication, and fostering countless connections, the journey of Gmail is coming to a close. As of August 1, 2024, Gmail will officially be sunsetted, marking the end of its service.”
The message continued: “This means that as of this date, Gmail will no longer support sending, receiving, or storing emails. The decision to sunset Gmail has been made with careful consideration of the evolving digital landscape and our commitment to providing high-quality, innovative solutions that meet the needs of our users. “
Netizens panicked
The post made a lot of stir in the Gmail community and among its committed users, since it had been seen over 4 million times by Thursday evening. However, several people perceived the screenshot as a forgery or a fraud.
One person was perplexed as he posted, “really confused if this is real or not,” on X.
Another user said, “Hope they shut it down, no security or privacy.”
Another person responded with a quip, “The real reason Google is sunsetting Gmail is because AGI has been achieved internally and we all don’t need to work email jobs anymore.”
According to Gizmodo, the post looks to be a faked Google email from 2023, when the tech giant announced its plans to put an end to Gmail Basic HTML view.
Gmail is here to stay
Google quickly replied to the hoax, stating on its official Gmail X account that “Gmail is here to stay”. So don’t worry, Gmail isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
It just modified the default Gmail view, which was previously ‘basic HTML’, to a new and more colorful one. This change occurred in January 2024.
“The Gmail Basic HTML views are previous versions of Gmail that were replaced by their modern successors 10+ years ago and do not include full Gmail feature functionality,” the previous email read.