What the Tech? Gmail changes

(ABC 6 News) – Millions of people start their day by checking email. They might spend about 10 minutes of that time just deleting unwanted and junk emails. Google does a pretty good job of redirecting emails that contain malware, phishing, and spam links. Now, the company says it’s going to do even better.

In a blog post this week, Google announced it will be rolling out new features. They are aimed at keeping Gmail inboxes cleaner.

Gmail is the world’s largest email client and it isn’t even close. Over 1.8 billion people use it most every day. That makes Gmail a favorite vehicle for spammers and scammers.

Bulk email senders can send out millions of emails every day. Google says it aims to put a stop to some of it. If it works the way Google says it will, you can expect to see fewer unwanted emails each morning.

Google says bulk senders will need to be validated to ensure they are who they claim to be. Basically, email senders must have some form of authentication before the email winds up in Gmail inboxes.

As a matter of fact, Google started using a validation process last year and says the unauthenticated messages dropped by 75%. Overall, you may not have noticed it but take a look inside your Gmail spam folder (if you dare). This process requires those sending significant volumes of email to authenticate their email addresses.

Perhaps the best change coming to Gmail is the ability for users to easily unsubscribe to unwanted messages. Maybe you don’t even remember sharing your email address on a website to receive a free gift. Next, you receive emails from that company or person, you’re required to scroll to the bottom of an email. Then, you then and search the fine print for an “unsubscribe” link. Finally, once you click it you have to go to another website where they try their hardest to make you stay. Google says unsubscribing must take just one click and no more waiting for an unsubscribe request.

It says the emailer has two days to process the unsubscribe request. Google says moving forward email senders must be beneath a “spam” threshold. Eventually, if a large number of Gmail users mark their emails as “spam” then future emails will be blocked.

Google doesn’t say what the threshold will be and will begin enforcing the new rules in February 2024.