Google+ users can now send you messages without knowing your email address. Here’s learn how to opt out.
If you are a Gmail and Google+ user, a brand new change means you’ll be in for a surge of unwanted emails.
Google announced that it’ll allow users who’ve Gmail and Google+ accounts to email anyone who also has both accounts, although the user doesn’t know the person’s email address.
Google says that this transformation might be useful for those that know one another but haven’t yet exchanged email addresses.
“Have you started typing an email to someone only to comprehend halfway during the draft which you haven’t actually exchanged email addresses?” wrote David Nachum, project manager at Google. “As an extension of a few earlier improvements that keep Gmail contacts automatically recent using Google+, Gmail will suggest your Google+ connections as recipients if you are composing a brand new email.”
According to Google, anyone can send you email so long as the man follows you on Google+, which she or he can do without permission. Your email address won’t be visible to the user unless you reply to the person’s message.
These messages will land in a single of 2 separate tabs withon your inbox. If someone in your Google+ circles emails you, the e-mail will appear on your Primary tab. If a user you do not follow on Google+ emails you, that individual’s email may be filtered into the Social tab, and she could be ready to start another conversation with you just in the event you respond or add that person for your circles, Google said.
While this selection is automatically enabled for all users, you may opt out. Visit your Gmail settings and click on the overall tab.
Find the setting Email via Google+ and click on the drop-down menu. You may opt to receive email from anyone on Google+ — that is the automated setting — extended circles, circles, or nobody. Select your preference and click on Save Changes on the bottom of the page.
This update is Google’s latest push to integrate Google+ further with its suite of goods. Most recently, Google required users to enroll in Google+ in an effort to touch upon YouTube videos, a move that rankled many users of the video site.
Gmail and Google+ users took to Twitter this morning to voice their disapproval of this new feature. Many called out Google for automatically opting in all users.
Graham Cluley, an independent security expert and previous consultant at security firm Sophos, said in a post that while Google does will let you opt out, the recent feature can be a nuisance for users — or even potentially dangerous.
“It is easy to visualize, for example, the way it may be utilized by those who were violent to send upsetting messages to a former spouse or domestic partner who has tried to create a brand new life far from physical abuse,” he said. “It is also easy to picture public figures receiving a torrent of unwelcome messages of their inbox from fans or obsessive individuals.”
This feature is rolling out over the following few days to everyone who uses Gmail and Google+, the corporate said. All users will receive an email detailing the changes.
Senior editor Kristin Burnham covers social media, social business, and IT leadership and careers for InformationWeek.com. Contact her at Kristin.Burnham@ubm.com or follow her on Twitter: @kmburnham.
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