Rest easy, everyone. Gmail is not going anywhere.
People became very worried on Thursday after a post on X went viral, saying that the well-liked email service might be shutting down. The concerns started because someone shared a picture of an email that seemed to say Google was planning to stop Gmail, almost 20 years after it started.
“We are reaching out to share an important update about Gmail,” the bogus message 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. In the spirit of progress and adaptation, we are focusing our resources on developing new technologies and platforms that will continue to revolutionize the way we communicate and interact online.”
By Thursday evening, over 4 million people had seen the post, leading many users to quickly save their Gmail information. However, the viral screenshot was actually fake and spread by various popular X accounts, including online artist @Shl0ms.
According to Gizmodo, the screenshot seems to be an edited Google email from 2023, where the tech company mentioned its intentions to discontinue Gmail Basic HTML view. Google encouraged users to get accustomed to the “standard view,” as the OG view would be unavailable after February 2024.
“We’re writing to let you know that the Gmail Basic HTML view for desktop web and mobile web will be disabled starting early January 2024,” the actual message read. “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.”
Gizmodo also mentioned that Gmail has over 1.8 billion users.
The official Gmail X account definitively let users know that the service “is here to stay.”
