How You Can Stop Strangers From Emailing You On Gmail

Thanks to a new feature in Gmail, anyone with a Google plus profile will be able to e-mail you, even if they are a complete stranger. And as obvious it is, you can also reply them back. Now if you think this new feature is not so cool, and would like to opt out of it, then this post tells you how to go about it.

Before we go on to explain you how you can opt out of this feature, let’s know a bit about how it works.

At present, whenever you compose a new email in Gmail, and go on to type even the first word of the recipient’s email address, you get automatic suggestions. Gmail, however, only suggests the addresses you have interacted in the past.

With this new feature, Gmail will also suggest you people with Google plus profiles, as you can see in the image below:

So, as you can see in the image, the email addresses of two people are shown and those of two are not. This means that the last two users in the list are strangers. So, unless you interact with them, they won’t know your email address, and vice versa. Although, Google has kept some part of privacy in mind, this does not stop any random person from sending you emails. So, how can you prevent this from happening? This is how:

1. Login to your Gmail account.
2. Click the gear icon on the top-right corner.
3. Click ‘Settings’.
4. Find the option ‘Email via Google+’ under the General tab.

5. Clicking the drop down menu will give you the following options:

• Anyone on G+
• Extended circles
• Circles
• None

6. Choose accordingly, and click ‘Save Changes’ at the end of the page.

Note: Also, this feature involves the categorization of the email messages you receive. If anyone from your circle emails you, then the message will be listed under the Primary category. If someone who is not in your circle emails you, then it will be taken under the Social category.

This new move by Google might have raised a few eyebrows in the tech industry, which is evident by reactions such as the ones below:

“What (CEO Larry) Page and Google seem maddeningly unaware of is that nobody can ever be forced into having a party” – Chris Taylor, Mashable

“Oh god no.. Another reason to hate Google+” – Jeff Roberts, GigaOM

Will this new Gmail feature invade your privacy? Share your thoughts with us.

Data source:
https://readwrite.com
https://www.cnn.com

Rajiv Singha